Dow Canada’s Prentiss, Alberta site is located in the heart of central Alberta, near Red Deer. The site is home to a Dow-operated polyethylene plant and two world-scale ethylene glycol plants operated by MEGlobal™, a 50/50 joint venture between Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) of Kuwait, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, and The Dow Chemical Company.

Ethylene glycol operations began in 1984, with a second plant coming online in 1994. The polyethylene plant began production in 2000. The Prentiss site became part of the Dow Canada family when Dow Chemical Canada amalgamated with Union Carbide Canada Inc. in 2001.

Polyethylene is produced by reacting ethylene gas with a catalyst. The resin produced through this reaction is melted down and formed into small pellets. Customers purchase polyethylene in this form and heat it to suit their needs, whether that means stretching it into plastic form or molding it to produce consumer products. The polyethylene plant at Prentiss makes dozens of different grades of linear low- and high-density polyethylene. This basic plastic goes into products like grocery bags, drink bottles, and moisture barriers in construction.

Ethylene glycol is made by combining ethylene gas with oxygen, which is then passed across a reaction catalyst at high temperatures. The resulting ethylene oxide gas is then compressed into liquid form, and reacted with water to produce ethylene glycol. Ethylene glycol is a key ingredient for automobile antifreeze, as a solvent for paints, and as a key ingredient in making polyester fibre.