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Dow is one of the world’s largest chemical companies and we will grow larger – delivering greater value to all of our stakeholders as we grow.
As we advance our growth agenda, our success ultimately depends on three critical factors: our customers’ success, our employees’ capabilities and our license to operate. That is why we are keenly focused on fostering strong, win-win relationships with our customers and on delivering innovative solutions that effectively meet their needs. It’s why we are committed to strengthening our culture of excellence and commitment, in which every employee accepts responsibility and is rewarded for results. And it is why we assess not only the financial potential of growth opportunities, but also how those opportunities measure up from a social and an environmental perspective.
- Emerging economies present one of the best value-creating growth opportunities for Dow – as we are now seeing in Greater China, where sales in 2004 increased 34 percent compared with 2003. China, in particular, is a country with tremendous potential, but one that also faces significant environmental challenges. So, in 2004, we entered into an agreement with the country’s State Environmental Protection Agency to provide the technical know-how, financial support and hands-on expertise to guide local small and medium enterprises toward cleaner production processes. As we move forward in other emerging economies – Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, as well as Brazil, Russia and India – we will look for similar opportunities to share best practices.
- By more closely aligning our research and development activities with the strategic direction of our businesses, we are developing a pipeline of projects that better meet our customers’ needs and enable us to capitalize on emerging opportunities. For example, during 2004, more than 70 Dow customers were engaged in development programs relating to the VERSIFY* range of specialty polymers – a family of plastomers and elastomers introduced by the Company at the start of the year. Several customers are now scaling up to commercial validation projects.
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*VERSIFY and DOW XLA are trademarks of The Dow Chemical Company.
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