Dow Corning’s performance in the past decade is one of the more overlooked success stories of the global chemical industry. Privately held by Dow Chemical and Corning, Dow Corning is the world’s top silicones producer and, through its majority stake in Hemlock Semiconductor Group, the leading maker of polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon), the raw material for computer chips and solar cells. Dow Corning has historically seen steady growth, but in the past six years, its performance has accelerated dramatically, and innovation has played a key role in this.

Dow Corning has always grown by combining a capability in low-cost bulk silicones with leadership in silicon-based specialty chemicals. It continues to follow this approach, with a new large-scale plant in Zhangjiagang, China (a joint venture with Wacker Chemie), which will complement its large-scale plants in the United States and the United Kingdom. Similarly, in polysilicon, Hemlock Semiconductor is building a new plant in Clarksville, Tennessee, to maintain its capacity and cost lead.