Dow puts caustic soda on order control. (News).

Chemical Market Reporter, November, 2002

DOW CHEMICAL Company last week instituted a 100 percent order control program for all grades of caustic soda until further notice. The market has tightened because a "substantial amount" of chloralkali capacity has been taken out of production for turnarounds during the fourth quarter, says Rob Broomham, ECU Management at Dow.

Dow plans to have idled at least 2 million tons of chloralkali capacity during the quarter. The company's 370,000 ton-per-year plant at Plaquemine, La, was idled on November 1; a 30-day turnaround during October was taken on about half of the capacity at its 4 million ton-per-year plant in Freeport, Tex.; and one small unit at Fort Saskatchewan, Canada, will be idled at the end of this year. "With that amount of capacity idled, we...

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