MIDLAND, Mich. - Dow has announced that its polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (PMDI) facility at Freeport, Texas, has completed its startup phase and is now fully operational. Production at the new 500-million-lb facility will replace PMDI production at the Dow LaPorte, Texas, plant, which has been permanently shut down. This action represents the final step in the planned closure of the 500-million-lb LaPorte facility announced by Dow last year. Dow will continue to operate the MDI distillation facility at LaPorte.