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Dow Corning makes changes to business plan

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

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Terry Camp
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MIDLAND (WJRT) -- (06/09/09)--A major Mid-Michigan employer has announced big changes in the way it's doing business.

It is expanding its online business presence, and will focus more on the major environmental issues facing the world.

"This is really unique. It's very innovative," said Laura Asiala with Dow Corning Communications.

Dow Corning's Xiameter has been around since 2002, but the corporation is now expanding the the e-business venture into what it calls the world's largest online portal in the chemical industry.

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"We are more than doubling the different standard products," Asiala said.

So its business customers can go online to make purchases of the many silicone-based products Dow Corning makes. Who requested the change? In part, the customers.

"We would often have sellers or technical people answering questions that were repetitive questions, calling on accounts to give them information that is the same information over and over," said Dow Corning Vice President Marie Eckstein.

"And our customers tell us, 'We don't need someone coming to talk to us. Give us information quickly, easily, 24/7, make it easier to buy your products.'"

Eckstein says the expanded Web site now frees up part of its workforce.

"Now the people that used to do that, instead of the Web, we are shifting the resource over to innovation and inventing for the future," she said.

Innovative products like the one that reduces the water needed to make blue jeans. Nearly two billion pairs are manufactured in the world every year.

"It's something close to 8 billion gallons of water that doesn't need to be used in the manufacturing of blue jeans," Eckstein said.

More clean water, clean energy and climate changes are all global issues Dow Corning will tackle, originating in Mid-Michigan.

"We keep more people employed, the innovation, much of what we innovate happens right here in Midland, Michigan," Eckstein said.

The hope is that this will keep a financially sound company that way for years to come.

"Those twin approaches really position us extremely well for future growth and future success," Asiala said.

Dow Corning has 10,000 employees across the world, including 3,000 in Mid-Michigan.