Midland, MI – March 16, 2021 – Dow announced that it has been recognized with five Manufacturing Leadership Awards by the Manufacturing Leadership Council, a division of the National Association of Manufacturers. The awards are given to individuals and projects that have excelled in the advancement of manufacturing capabilities. Recipients are chosen by a panel of expert judges for results that have delivered outstanding examples of technology-driven leadership combined with a commitment to innovation and improvement.
"We are so proud of the many talented people at Dow who continue to make significant contributions towards innovation and continuous improvement every day,” said John Sampson, senior vice president, Operations. "This recognition is a true testament to those efforts as well as Dow’s constant pursuit of delivering greater value to all of our stakeholders.”
The Manufacturing Leadership Council has recognized Dow for three significant project awards.
- Dow’s Manufacturing 4.0 has received the Enterprise Integration and Technology Award. Dow Manufacturing 4.0 is a breakthrough initiative in Dow’s Operations strategy that is designed to improve productivity and competitiveness while driving continued growth and raising enterprise-wide performance. Digital is playing a critical role in helping Dow achieve its ambition to become the world’s most innovative, customer-centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company. Dow is bringing together the best of Dow’s people, processes, technology and data to create a seamless, and well-harmonized and that delivers greater value to our customers, employees, shareholders, communities and the planet.
- The E2E Business Planning Program was awarded the Supply Chain Award. The E2E program was designed to drive simplification and optimization at the enterprise level. This included improvement efforts that span from how Dow engages with its suppliers through to its customers, improving and simplifying Dow’s business processes, systems, and organizations to enhance efficiency, deliver value, drive consistency and make it easy to do business with and within Dow.
- Accelerating Innovation in Instrumentation & Sensors at Dow Texas Operations received the Industrial Internet of Things Award. This project has accelerated the deployment of smart sensor technology across Dow’s largest site at Texas Operations in Freeport, Texas and has utilized smart sensors to monitor key equipment and process parameters as well as deployed mobile tools for Dow’s instrument and electrical personnel to use in the field. The smart sensor network better utilizes and digitalizes process information leading to improvements in reliability, productivity, asset utilization, and safety as well as has become a key component in connecting the digital thread of data flow.
Two members of Dow’s team were recognized with individual awards.
- Billy B. Bardin, global digitalization director, was selected for the Visionary Digital Leader award. Recipients of this award are among manufacturing’s most forward-thinking leaders. They are essential to ushering in manufacturing’s digital era and they serve as a role model for their peers.
Bardin began his career with Dow in 2000 and has been instrumental in implementing Dow’s digital journey. He has served in several research and manufacturing leadership roles, including most recently as global operations technology director and hydrocarbons, energy, and chemicals R&D director. Bardin has received past awards from the National Association of Manufacturers Manufacturing Leadership Council for work in talent development and advanced manufacturing. He was recently named as one of Smart Industry Magazine’s Top 50 Industrial Digital Transformation Leaders and serves as Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for MxD, a U.S. advanced manufacturing institute. - Katherine Duggan, senior process automation engineer, was selected as a Rising Digital Star due to her work in the advancement and deployment of Dow’s mobile worker technology. Recipients of this award are among manufacturing’s brightest future stars and are leading the way for the possibilities of tomorrow.
Duggan joined Dow in 2013 as a Production Engineer at Dow’s Croydon, PA Coatings facility where she led efforts to maintain stable, reliable, and safe operations. Since then she has served in several leadership roles within M&E and has been widely recognized for her leadership and technical contributions across Dow. Duggan has received two Dow Technology Center Awards, the highest award for technical contribution and commercialization of technology at Dow.
About the Manufacturing Leadership Awards
The Manufacturing Leadership Awards honor manufacturing companies and individual manufacturing leaders that are shaping the future of global manufacturing. Winning projects and individual manufacturing leaders have demonstrated achievement in one of a wide range of categories and are chosen by a panel of expert judges for results that have delivered clear and compelling value, return on investment, and other tangible outcomes. There will be several winners in each category, including one High Achiever’s Award in each project category, as well as a 2021 Manufacturer of the Year for both small and large enterprises. Also unveiled at the gala will be the ML Awards Manufacturing Leader of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Award winners.
For more information on the Manufacturing Leadership Awards, please go to https://mlawards.manufacturingleadershipcouncil.com/.
About the National Association of Manufacturers
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 12 million men and women, contributes $2.25 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, has the largest economic impact of any major sector and accounts for more than three-quarters of all private-sector research and development in the nation. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States.
The NAM’s world-class staff of policy experts provide unmatched access and information on the key issues affecting your business and bottom line. We are on the front lines of a wide range of policy battles, from immigration reform and labor relations, to energy and the environment, to trade policy and taxes. At every turn, we are working on behalf of manufacturers in America to advance policies that help manufacturers do what they do best: create economic strength and jobs. www.nam.org
About Dow
Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines global breadth, asset integration and scale, focused innovation and leading business positions to achieve profitable growth. The Company’s ambition is to become the most innovative, customer centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company, with a purpose to deliver a sustainable future for the world through our materials science expertise and collaboration with our partners. Dow’s portfolio of plastics, industrial intermediates, coatings and silicones businesses delivers a broad range of differentiated science-based products and solutions for its customers in high-growth market segments, such as packaging, infrastructure, mobility and consumer care. Dow operates 106 manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employs approximately 35,700 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $39 billion in 2020. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information, please visit www.dow.com or follow @DowNewsroom on Twitter.
For further information, please contact:
Ashley Mendoza
Phone: 225-315-7132
AEMendoza@dow.com