JEDDAH: Dow Chemical plans to build plants to make MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate) at its complexes in Saudi Arabia and China, Dow president, chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris said in a Feb. 3 conference call on the company's results. Discussing Dow's polyurethane strategy in relation to both Saudi Arabia and China, Liveris, acknowledged that supply of MDI is tight at present. He said Dow will not build anything new in MDI rapidly, as "they take a long time to build and they're tricky facilities". The Saudi complex is Dow's next big effort, he indicated, saying that "between now and then on MDI, in particular, we're working with others in the industry. We're not losing any ability to grow because of our arrangements that we have out in the industry." "We know we'll have to put an MDI tranche in the Saudi facility in particular and ultimately, the China facility," he added. Liveris also noted that in propylene oxide, Dow is "in decent shape ... because of our facility in Thailand".
