Dow UK Wins Innovation Award

Building Dow's Awareness and Reputation among influential stakeholder groups is a key focus of Dow's Strategic Plan.  Dow UK has continued to make strides in strengthening its reputation, and the Chemical Industry Association (CIA) Awards on 5 July proved to be another winning opportunity for the entity.

Out of the eleven awards presented in front of a glittering reception of around 500 people at the National Railway Museum in York, Dow UK was short listed for two awards and was the proud winner of one for Innovation.

The CIA awards are regarded as the premier accolades for the UK chemical industry and according to CIA Chief Executive Steve Elliott are a "showcase for true excellence at company, site, or individual level". 

This year, Dow UK was also key sponsor of the CIA's Building Trust and Reputation. Dow's Paul Jarosz presented the Award to the winners NEPIC (North East Process Industry Cluster) for their stakeholder engagement programme. 

True Innovation in Sustainability Recognised

Dow's Building Solutions business beat five other short listed companies including BASF, Rhodia and Terra Nitrogen to become overall winner of the Innovation Award for development of its ROOFMATE™ M^INK system, a STYOFOAM™ based solution that means less insulation is required to achieve the same energy efficiency targets - energy efficiency and conservation is a key area of our 2015 Sustainability Goals. 

Paddy Hall, Technical Manager UK and Ireland Dow Building Solutions, supported by colleagues Jayne Law and Richard Powell accepted the award on behalf of Dow Building Solutions.

"We developed the system some years ago but we were finding it difficult to penetrate a very conservative construction industry," explained Jayne. "By placing it firmly in the context of the current acute focus on global warming and sustainability issues - we've since seen spectacular results in sales as well as vital environmental benefits, and we're thrilled that our efforts have now been recognised by such a high profile industry award."

Dow's Energy Saving Rewarded

Dow's continued commitment to sustainability was further reinforced by its second short listed award entry, the Wilton site, for the Energy Saving Award.

Wilton utilised process automation techniques to reduce energy consumption during the manufacture of Ethylene Oxide and Ethylene Glycol, leading to an incredible 28 percent reduction in steam consumption.

The overall benefit of this work has resulted in a reduction of 34 percent of the energy consumption per unit of product, equivalent to a saving of 380 million kwh of energy on an annual basis - potentially enough to power over 15,000 UK households for a year.

Wilton was represented during the evening by site leader Malcolm Wilson, Gary Clark, Senior Advanced Control & Optimization Engineer, and Trevor Leech, Technical Advisor

"It was a fantastic achievement to be short listed for such an important award," said Malcolm, "The team has definitely helped to ensure that Dow's ongoing efforts to reduce its carbon footprint is broadly recognised."

The event was attended by senior figures from UK Government, as well as Alain Perroy, Director General of Cefic.

Keith Wiggins, General Manager, Dow UK, Ireland and Nordic, was delighted at the performance and pleased with the opportunity the Awards gave Dow UK to showcase its commitments to Sustainability. 

"We're all very focused on our day to day activities in line with accelerating the Dow strategy and it is particularly pleasing to see the recognition of Dow Building Solutions driving success at the market interface.  The award highlights the many progressive things going on within the market facing businesses." 

"I would like to congratulate both teams for their achievements, and for showcasing the work of Dow. This is an important event for the industry, and their efforts will no doubt bring significant benefits to Dow in the UK and beyond as we continue to build awareness of our organisation, its products and solutions."