MIDLAND, MICHIGAN AND TOKYO, JAPAN (March
16, 1998)-The Dow Chemical Company and Asahi Chemical
Industry Co., Ltd. today announced the signing of a
commercial license agreement granting to Asahi the exclusive
right in Japan to use INSITE Technology, Dow's proprietary,
single-site constrained geometry catalyst technology,
for the manufacture and sale of slurry PE products,
and the non-exclusive right to sell its resulting slurry
PE products.
INSITE Technology, when used in the
slurry autoclave process, makes possible the production
of PE products with a unique molecular architecture;
specifically, it enables increasing comonomer content
with increasing molecular weight. The result is slurry
PE products with improved stiffness and greater impact
strength versus that observed from Ziegler-Natta, chromium
or conventional metallocene technologies. The development
of INSITE Technology for use in the slurry PE process
emerged from the joint work of Dow and Asahi.
As the exclusive licensor of INSITE
Technology and supplier of the catalyst, Dow will make
INSITE Technology available to prospective slurry operators
outside of Japan. Asahi plans to incorporate the technology
into its existing slurry process PE plant in Mizushima,
Japan, which is thus slated to become the world's first
commercial plant for manufacture of slurry PE products
via INSITE Technology. Asahi is currently scheduled
to begin market introduction of products manufactured
through this technology in the second half of 1998,
and to enter full commercial production in 1999.
Noted Ed Gambrell, Dow vice president,
INSITE Technology, "Through this license agreement,
Asahi will play a leadership role in providing superior
slurry PE products to its markets. Likewise, INSITE
Technology continues to establish itself as the enabling
technology of choice for PE. Both companies brought
several key strengths to this endeavor. Asahi's outstanding
technologies and experience in slurry PE processes,
combined with INSITE Technology from Dow, have greatly
contributed to this effort, and ultimately will contribute
to the success of our respective customers as well."
Isao Akutagawa, Asahi Board Director
and General Manager of its Polyethylene Division, observed
that "The agreement represents an extremely important
strategic advance for both companies. For Dow, the collaboration
opens up new, highly promising possibilities for the
licensing of INSITE Technology. For Asahi, INSITE Technology
will further strengthen the position of its PE operations
and open up new opportunities for business growth and
development in this field. Asahi is now working vigorously
to create and develop new market advances through the
PE products made possible by INSITE Technology."
INSITE Technology, introduced by Dow
in 1992, is Dow's proprietary, single-site constrained
geometry catalyst technology. Dow owns patents on various
aspects of INSITE Technology, including patents on INSITE
catalysts. INSITE catalysts have been instrumental in
the development of several new families of polymers
within Dow. Unlike traditional Ziegler-Natta or chromium
catalysts, the INSITE catalyst family has only one active
site, creating polymer chains with greater uniformity
in length and comonomer incorporation. This uniformity
results in polymers with exceptional physical and mechanical
polymer properties.
The Dow Chemical Company is the fifth
largest chemical company in the world, with sales of
more than $20 billion. Dow manufactures and supplies
chemicals, plastics and agricultural products for customers
in over 150 countries around the world, and employs
over 40,000 people worldwide.
Asahi Chemical Ind. Co., Ltd. is one
of Japan's leading chemical companies, with sales of
more than $10 billion in operations ranging from chemicals
and fibers to LSIs, housing, and pharmaceuticals. In
addition to polyethylene, its petrochemical products
include a comprehensive range of polyolefin, polystyrene,
engineering plastic, and other resins, as well as acrylonitrile,
styrene, and other essential monomers.
*Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company
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