MIDLAND, MI - The Dow Chemical Co., Midland, MI, announced plans for the separation of a significant portion of the company’s chlorine value chain. The assets represent up to $5 billion of total annual revenue and include approximately 40 manufacturing facilities at 11 sites and nearly 2,000 employees.

“These businesses have served us well over decades, but are serving markets that Dow has exited over time, and we are therefore right-sizing our upstream integration to match the downstream focus that we started a decade ago,” said Andrew N. Liveris, Dow’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Assets in the carve-out include Dow’s U.S. Gulf Coast Chlor-Alkali and Chlor-Vinyl facilities in Plaquemine, LA, and Freeport, TX, including Dow’s interest in the Dow Mitsui Chlor-Alkali joint venture in Freeport, TX; Dow’s Global Chlorinated Organics production facilities in Freeport, TX, Plaquemine, LA and Stade, Germany; Dow’s Global Epoxy business, including assets in Freeport, TX, Roberta, GA, Rheinmuenster, Germany, Pisticci, Italy, Baltringen, Germany;,Stade, Germany, Gumi, South Korea, Zhangjiagang, China, and Guaruja, Brazil; Dow’s brine and select assets supporting operations in Freeport, TX and Plaquemine, LA; and energy operations in Plaquemine, LA.

The company also announced that it will shut down approximately 800,000 tons of chlorine and caustic equivalent capacity in Freeport, TX. The capacity being shut down will be replaced with supply from new facilities that will come online with the start-up of the Dow Mitsui joint venture in early 2014.

Dow’s Executive Vice President Jim Fitterling will oversee the separation and transaction activities.