The groundbreaking ceremony for Dow's silicone expansion project in Zhangjiagang is held. [Photo/zjgonline.com.cn]

The groundbreaking ceremony for a silicone expansion project by US multinational Dow Chemical Company took place on June 21 in the Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

The project is a part of a memorandum of cooperation signed by Dow and the FTZ in 2020 which states that the company will invest $300 million in the zone over the following five years. It will produce silicon products that are environmentally-friendly, and feature high quality and high added value. The products will be used in various fields such as electronics, power, automotives, new energy, packaging, and construction.

During her speech, Teresa Keating, the global operations director of Dow's performance materials and coatings business, said that the expansion project marks an important milestone in Dow's development and will help meet the needs of a wide range of customers. It will also lay the foundation for the continuous expansion of Dow's Zhangjiagang production base in the future, she added.

Cherry Zhu, president of Dow Greater China, echoed that the expansion project will further strengthen Dow's ability to provide innovative material science solutions to customers in China and the Asia-Pacific region. She noted that the project demonstrates Dow's firm confidence in the Chinese market and the investment environment in Zhangjiagang.

Dow, a Fortune Global 500 company, is a global leader in organic silicon, silicon-based technology, and innovation. Dow's Zhangjiagang production base has been in operation since 2002 and has continuously introduced environmentally-friendly new material projects. The base has invested $3 billion, becoming a world-class integrated base for high-performance materials.