Overview

The economic prosperity of a city, state or nation is largely dependent on the amount, and type, of business being conducted there. Payroll, taxes and corporate purchases all contribute significantly to economic health — and, indirectly to infrastructure, civic institutions and culture. In this section we have tried to share some key indicators of our impact on the Dow Rhine Center community as well as of the economic performance of the site.

Here are some key indicators of our impact on the local community:

Capital Expenditures
This year's investments in plant optimization as well as in infrastructure and logistics projects have contributed to the consolidation of our operations.

Capital Expenditures
 

Production
The Rhine Center, strategically situated in a European crossroad, close to the borders of France, Germany, Switzerland, and Luxembourg, is the preferred site for supplying several lines of specialty products to the Central European markets. One third of the total production of extruded foams from Dow in Europe is produced in the Rhine Center.

 
Production
 

Local Purchasing
In 2004, US$27,871,507 was spent in the local community. As a competitive, global enterprise, we have a responsibility to actively manage our costs to a minimum. For certain products this means consolidating purchases and buying in large volumes independent of the location of the supplier. However, there are other products and services, which by their very nature will be bought locally, such as contract labor and certain maintenance activities. Dow's local purchasing department works closely with local suppliers to make them aware of our strategic purchasing requirements.
 


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