The Dow Chemical Company announced its plans to construct a new manufacturing facility to be located in Burley, Idaho. The new facility will be operated by Dow Building Solution (DBS), a business unit within Dow, and produce STYROFOAM Brand Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) Insulation – a leading thermal insulation solution facilitating sustainability, innovation and community success in the building and construction industry since its discovery in 1941.

Building upon its 75 years of innovation, the STYROFOAM Brand Insulation facility will come on-line utilizing DOW BLUEDGE Polymeric Flame Retardant Technology – an invention that is transforming the market as the next generation industry standard flame retardant for use in polystyrene foam insulation, as it meets the demands of global energy efficiency regulations and sustainable building design.

The construction of the new XPS facility exemplifies Dow’s commitment to the DBS growth strategy and strengthens its ability to deliver sustainable insulation solutions to customers, especially in Western Canada and the United States. The facility also demonstrates Dow’s pledge to provide world-leading operations performance in natural resource efficiency, environment, health, and safety, as outlined in Dow’s 2025 Sustainability goals.

“The construction of this new facility will allow us to respond to market demand and deliver sustainable building solutions to our customers,” said Tim Lacey, global business director for Dow Building Solutions. “The strong collaboration with the city of Burley has been critical to reach this agreement and we look forward to continuing that exemplary collaboration together into the future.”

“Dow’s decision to build in Burley speaks volumes about the quality of our workforce, the business- friendliness of our State and communities, and the great diversity that we are developing in Idaho’s economy,” Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter said. “It’s always great to welcome a new corporate citizen to Idaho, and I’m especially excited about the opportunities for existing Idaho businesses to help meet the supply chain needs of this new enterprise.”

“We are thrilled to have a company such as Dow locating in Burley” said director of Economic Development, Doug Manning. “They are a world leader in business and innovation, and the immediate and future economic impact on this community will be exceptional. It’s a great ‘win’ for the City of Burley to have a Fortune 50 Company locating here. This has been a complete collaborative effort from the State, the City, Burley Development Authority, Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization, and other local entities.  We are excited to have Dow as a new community partner.  They have been absolutely wonderful in working with all of us to make this project happen,” he said.

Groundbreaking on the 60,000 square-feet project is expected to occur in 2016 with project completion targeted for the latter portion of 2017. Manufacturing of STYROFOAM XPS Insulation is expected to begin in early 2018. Construction of the project will employ approximately 80 workers during peak construction and create 21 full-time manufacturing jobs at the height of operation.