Midland, MI - August 17, 2005

Creating Connections Today…
As part of an on-going series of listening sessions and an effort to continue building a People Centric Performance Culture at Dow, Andrew Liveris, president and CEO, recently visited with Bound Brook, N.J., site employees and National Student Program co-ops and interns across the country.

Two sessions were held in Bound Brook and nearby Weston Canal, where Andrew discussed the focus and direction of the company and the critical importance of the workforce to Dow’s stability and success.

Andrew also met with customers at a town hall meeting to strengthen relationships, share ideas and explore how Dow can better align with customers’ interests.

Reaching into the Future…
For the National Student Program presentation in Midland, Andrew answered questions from co-ops and interns attending in person and via iRooms. The students were intrigued with his nearly 30-year history with Dow and interested in learning about many strategic issues and elements of Dow’s culture.

Some of the key points Andrew highlighted were:

• Reversing the "inside-out" company focus
   
• Passage of the recent energy bill in Washington, D.C.
   
• Specializing in certain geographic areas while maintaining a strong, global presence in the industry
   
• Dow’s approach to strengthened site security

Andrew shared his advice on hiring, and reinforced Dow’s commitment to attracting and retaining top talent in local geographies. He also addressed the emergence of uncertainty as a constant in the world. His outlook was positive for the upcoming years and he suggested the best way to deal with uncertainty is three-fold:

• Figure out who you are
   
• Learn to responsibly and successfully master calculated risk management
   
• Continue to learn every day; develop key skills and find people who have been where you want to be
   

"I was extremely impressed that Mr. Liveris took time to meet with participants of the National Student Program. It’s one thing to read about how Dow has a ‘People-Centric Performance Culture,’ and how our competitive advantage is our people, but it is quite another thing to see it demonstrated from the very top," said Bartley Terrill, an MBA student at the University of Texas at Austin serving as a Commercial Assignments intern in Midland, Mich. "For someone as busy as he is to take the time and effort to reach out to interns is admirable. It was a memorable element to the summer internship, and one that I have not experienced at other companies."