Talk:Dow Corning

Untitled

Reads like an ad, doesn't it? --Scorpios 04:35, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

I agree. How NIH or anyone else can say that implants did not cause major health effects is beyond me. I guess physical proof was all smoke and mirrors.

Hey, the plastic surgeons like it. Today my rheumatologist said, to my comment that plastic surgeons tell women silicone implants are safe, "some plastic surgeons will operate on a turnip". Maybe they also have stock in Dow. I at least added to this article that no studies on the long term rate or effect of rupture have been conducted - with all the Dow funded studies, and with 40+ years that silicone has been on the market, one would think this would have been possible. But only two MRI studies even purport to study "untreated" rupture at 10 years. The study that the plastic surgeon likes to tout has a statement in the body of the paper that points out the results are likely underestimated. Why? The women who removed their implants because of rupture were excluded from the study. Yikes. I can personally tell you what can happen 20+ years after implantation, and 5 years after rupture. Clearly, the plastic surgeons and Dow do not want to hear about this. And the FDA has decided it is "buyer beware".

Controversy section

I'm removing the following from the controversy section because:

1. It is not relevant to the Dow Corning article.
2. ref [3] (the abstract) doesn't support the sentence it is attached to. --Duk 22:19, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

However, there are no studies that predict rupture beyond ten years, and no studies that analyze the long term effects of rupture at 10, 20, or 30 years. [3] Research indicates that most ruptures are "silent", or not noticed by the patient or her doctors. Because of these issues, the FDA has limited augmentation to women 22 years old and older. In approving the newer silicone implants, the FDA also requires that manufacturers tell women that implants do not last a lifetime, and recommends women receive regular, follow-up MRIs to detect rupture. [4]

Breast implants

Does Dow Corning currently manufacture breast implants? I found some old, possibly outdated, references that say they stopped.

• http://www2.aaos.org/aaos/archives/bulletin/jan97/bio.htm
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/implants/cron.html

--Duk 22:22, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

Silicon / Silicone

The intro paragraph states that Dow manufactures products that use Silicon, a metal. the Wiki page for Silicon even states "Not to be confused with Silicone." Does Dow make anything with silicon, or is this a typo? 131.104.115.99 19:16, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

They make mostly silicones, but also some Silicon products. see[1]--Duk 19:51, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

Inc. or Joint Venture?

I believe Dow Corning is legally an incorporation and not a joint-venture. I wasn't sure enaugh to go fix it.LeoliLeo (talk) 23:31, 12 June 2013 (UTC) Leonie

suggested edits and citations

Hi, I have some suggestions for improving the structure and citations in this article. I'm making the request here rather than editing myself because I have a COI; I work for a communications agency that represents Dow Corning.

• First, I request that speculation about Corning’s withdrawal from the venture be removed or reworded due to the use of WP:WEASEL and a touch of WP:SPECULATION. If it's retained I'm thinking it should be moved into one of the article’s subsections, since WP:LEAD indicates that the lead should not contain significant information not mentioned elsewhere in the article.
• Should the “Breast implant controversy” section be a subsection of the “History” section?
• I have citations for a few items in the article that are currently unsourced:
  • 50/50 joint venture between Corning and Dow Chemical - http://www.chemweek.com/dowcorning2011/
  • Controlling stake in Hemlock Semiconductor - http://www.chemweek.com/dowcorning2011/
  • 12,000 employees - http://www.mlive.com/business/mid-michigan/index.ssf/2014/11/top_5_things_to_know_about_71-.html
• A few other basic facts I believe are worth adding:
  • Dow Corning is the largest silicones producer in the world. (Source: http://www.chemweek.com/dowcorning2011/)
  • The company sells its products under two brands: Dow Corning and Xiameter. The company created the Xiameter brand in 2002 with the goal of making the organization more agile and focused in its deployment of resources. Xiameter is an online-only distributor of low-cost, commodity-oriented silicones. As of 2011, Xiameter offers 2,100 of Dow Corning’s 7,000 products. (Source: http://www.chemweek.com/dowcorning2011/)
  • 45 manufacturing locations (Source: http://www.mlive.com/business/mid-michigan/index.ssf/2014/11/top_5_things_to_know_about_71-.html)
  • 25,000 customers in more than 100 countries (Source: http://www.mlive.com/business/mid-michigan/index.ssf/2014/11/top_5_things_to_know_about_71-.html)

I'd really appreciate it if someone could take a look at these recommendations and let me know what you think. Thanks so much! Mary Gaulke (talk) 14:20, 30 January 2015 (UTC), request edit template added Mary Gaulke (talk) 15:21, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Just a quick note that I'll review this later tonight. Kingofaces43 (talk) 20:07, 10 February 2015 (UTC)

1. I'm not seeing anything weasely, and it doesn't seem like overt speculation. The source seems reliable to state that the company is planning to do something. I would be more concerned if the text was worded to say it will happen since things like this can fall through so often, but this piece seems reasonable considering the company itself plans to do something concrete and in the near future. WP:FUTURE would seem to allow something to this extent.
2. Generally controversy sections can/should be integrating into the article if the topic fits within another subset and controversy should be apparent from the text, not so much the section title. I moved it into the products section instead of history because of that.
3. Seem to already have citations for the first two that are fine. Added the third.
4. Largest producer is already in the article.
5. Added mention of Xiameter. Probably don't need additional info.
6. The rest seem like vague indiscriminate stats, so I left those out.

Let me know if clarifications are needed. Kingofaces43 (talk) 18:09, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for addressing each request individually - super helpful! FYI, we're hoping to make this article more detailed - cf. Dow Chemical - so I'll be sharing a few more suggestions for additions soon. Mary Gaulke (talk) 16:05, 12 February 2015 (UTC)

Additions to "History" section

Hi, I have a few suggestions for fleshing out/updating the "History" section of the article a bit. As discussed above, I'm making the request here rather than editing myself because I have a COI: I work for a communications agency that represents Dow Corning. I'd really appreciate it if someone could take a look at the below and provide feedback:

At its inception, Dow Corning was a manufacturer of products for use by the U.S. military in World War II. The company began operating its first plant, in Midland, MI, in 1945. It expanded into Canada and Europe in 1948, and into South America and Japan in 1961. (Source: http://www.mlive.com/business/mid-michigan/index.ssf/2014/11/dow_corning_timeline.html) In 2009, Dow Corning acquired Globe Metais Industria e Comercio, a silicon metal producer based in Pará, Brazil, and in 2010, the company spent $40.3 million to acquire 49% of the equity of Quebec Silicon, another silicon metal manufacturer. (Source: http://www.chemweek.com/dowcorning2011/)

The current CEO of Dow Corning is Robert D. Hansen, who became President in 2010 and CEO in 2011, following the retirement of then-CEO Stephanie Burns. (Source: http://www.mlive.com/business/mid-michigan/index.ssf/2011/05/dow_corning_ceo_stephanie_burn.html)

Thank you! Mary Gaulke (talk) 14:23, 23 February 2015 (UTC), request edit template added Mary Gaulke (talk) 18:56, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

I incorporated the information before the Globe Metais sentence in this edit [2]. The CEO is already mentioned in the infobox, but I don't think we need to mention much more. That and the remaining content you proposed seems somewhat like WP:INDISCRIMINATE information for a general reader. We don't need to list every president, CEO, or acquisition, so we need sources that point out that the events are particularly noteworthy for inclusion here. Something like the first president would seem to be inherently notable though, so is it the case for Sullivan that he was the first? I'm going to be doing a bit more trimming after this edit in a similar vein dealing with things that really aren't too focused on Dow Corning itself. Kingofaces43 (talk) 00:14, 18 March 2015 (UTC)

Thanks a bunch, and I see your point re: WP:INDISCRIMINATE. I find it challenging to gauge what the right level of detail is, so I'll keep this in mind for any future suggestions. Let me confirm about Sullivan being the first president and see if I can help dig up an appropriate source. I really appreciate your time and attention to detail on this - thanks again. Mary Gaulke (talk) 21:02, 19 March 2015 (UTC)

Kingofaces43, the two citations needed in the "History" section can be found in the article cited at the beginning of the section: http://www.mlive.com/business/mid-michigan/index.ssf/2014/11/dow_corning_timeline.html

• For Sullivan being the first president: "1943 - Dow Corning is incorporated. Sullivan is president and William Collings is vice president and general manager." The article previously gives Sullivan's full name as Eugene Sullivan.
• Overview of Hemlock's product offerings: "[Dow Corning] also is the majority owner of Saginaw County-based Hemlock Semiconducter [sic] Group, which makes high-purity polycrystalline silicon used in the manufacture of semiconductors, computer chips, memory products, solar cells and other technologies used in renewable energy."

Thanks! Mary Gaulke (talk) 12:59, 20 March 2015 (UTC)

Awesome, I guess I didn't read the article too carefully. Kingofaces43 (talk) 21:30, 20 March 2015 (UTC)

Thanks again, Kingofaces43. I have another suggested addition drafted up below. If you or anyone else gets a chance to take a look, I'd really appreciate it.

In 2010 and 2011, Dow Corning sponsored trips to India for small teams of its employees as part of its “Citizen Service Corps” program. (source) The travelers provided pro bono consulting services to nonprofits and other organizations, (source) including the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. (source) The company also used these trips as an opportunity to scout out new business opportunities in emerging markets. (source) Dow Corning subsequently pledged $5 million to the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. (source)

Thanks much. Mary Gaulke (talk) 21:14, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

Not too sure on this one. At most, I would only include a sentence saying the donated $5 million to the alliance. Companies make donations pretty regularly, though this is a large amount. Is Dow Corning known for philanthropy? If sources establish it is a notable action of the company in general, I could see making a section about it. I'd consider just a single mention of this case though not notable unless it was getting coverage in other sources beyond region news sources. I'd generally avoid Mlive for things aside from company history, what they work with, etc. Outside of those sections, I'd look for sources a bit broader in scope that will likely only mention the really notable things about the company. Basically, the Mlive source is reliable enough to say they did make the donation, but not a strong enough source to say it's notable enough to put in an encyclopedia. Kingofaces43 (talk) 23:42, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

I totally see your perspective. My thinking was that the aspect of sending employees to travel to the affected area and the WSJ coverage would set this apart. The company does have a history of philanthropy through the Dow Corning Foundation, established in 1981. Most of the grants are more local/regional in nature (examples: 1, 2), with perhaps the most notable recent example being a $254,000 grant to a nearby university to provide STEM workshops to middle and high school teachers. Is that context helpful? Mary Gaulke (talk) 14:01, 3 April 2015 (UTC)

I missed the WSJ source, but since it's behind a paywall, I can't see what specifically is mentioned. I would avoid Mlive to indicate actions are notable for an encyclopedia, but the WSJ would seem fine for that. Regional grants probably wouldn't be notable either. What I'd be looking to do in this example is say something like, "Dow Corning has been involved in cause X, and gave Y amount of money." followed by a ref people can go to for reading the details. We shouldn't need much more than something similar to that paraphrasing. Are there other sources that have covered this? My vibe is that this does seem notable enough to include here, but getting the right source could be tricky. If there is one good summary paragraph that would summarize my example sentence in the WSJ, feel free to post that here with quotes and the ref. Unfortunately we go beyond fair use if we paste the whole article here, so if you can pick out a narrow piece of specific text or two, I think we'll be fine. Kingofaces43 (talk) 20:03, 4 April 2015 (UTC)

Apologies, I forgot about the WSJ paywall. An excerpt: "Last fall, Laura Benetti spent four weeks in rural India, helping women examine stitchery and figure out prices for garments to be sold in local markets. ... Ms. Benetti, a 27-year-old customs and international trade coordinator for Dow Corning Corp., considered it a plum assignment. Dow Corning is among a growing number of large corporations ... that are sending small teams of employees to developing countries such as India, Ghana, Brazil and Nigeria to provide free consulting services to nonprofits and other organizations. A major goal: to scope out business opportunities in hot emerging markets... Silicone supplier Dow Corning plans to evaluate 15 new business-related ideas generated by the 20 employees it has sent to India since September 2010, says Laura Asiala, director of corporate citizenship." Tergesen, Anne (9 January 2012). "Doing Good to Do Well". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 April 2015.

You should also be able to search the article title and view the first result to see the context, if that's permissible. Thanks for your patience and for walking me through your thinking on this. Mary Gaulke (talk) 21:03, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

No problem. I'm coming off my busy streak in real-life, so I'll be back to editing articles at my leisure this weekend. I'll work it on this then. Kingofaces43 (talk) 17:08, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

Now that I had a chance to look at the content you provided, I don't think there's anything we can add based on that. Looking for business opportunities and providing free consulting isn't really anything specific we can add here. For the paraphrased content I'm proposing "Dow Corning has been involved in cause X, and gave Y amount of money." a source needs to show some direct involvement in a particular cause rather than a general statement like above. It's looking like this particular topic might not be noteworthy enough for inclusion here, so I think it might be best to let it be unless we get a more specific source. Kingofaces43 (talk) 14:40, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

I understand. I'll regroup and revisit my research to see if we have anything else helpful to add. Thanks again. Mary Gaulke (talk) 19:45, 13 April 2015 (UTC)

suggested article expansions

Hi, I'd like to suggest some additions that will hopefully fill in more of the context of this article and convey a fuller sense of Dow Corning's business. I'm not editing the page directly because I have a COI: I work for a communications firm that represents Dow Corning.

1. Add Xiameter spinoff to "History" section: In 2002, the company created the Xiameter brand as an online-only low-cost distributor. As of 2011, Xiameter offers 2,100 of Dow Corning’s 7,000 products. (source)
2. In "History" section, add date of Hemlock acquisition: Acquired complete ownership in November 2013. (source) (Dow Corning owned the majority of Hemlock Semiconductor prior to then, but this marks full acquisition.)
3. Revise/expand "Products" section: Dow Corning’s 7,000 products, distributed through Dow Corning and the online-only Xiameter brand, take various forms, including fluids, gels, resins and more. (source) (Could lead into current “Products” section, with removal of current final sentence.)
4. Add "Markets" section: The range of industries targeted by Dow Corning products spans from electronics and automotive to construction, healthcare and others. (source) In recent years, the company has expanded production of solar cells, which account for a polysilicon franchise worth over $1 billion. (source) In 2011, then-CTO Gregg Zank explained that the company tries to focus its product development on societal “megatrends” (e.g. energy scarcity and urbanization) where innovation is particularly in demand. (source)

This is not my first time proposing changes to this article (see above), and I've done my best to incorporate the feedback I've received re: establishing notability and providing relevant information. I'd really appreciate if someone could consider these edits and let me know what you think. Many thanks. Mary Gaulke (talk) 16:21, 20 April 2015 (UTC); request edit template added Mary Gaulke (talk) 20:18, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

Regarding Hemlock, their own site says they're comprised of several joint venture companies (source) although they do acknowledge Dow Corning as the majority shareholder - so I'm afraid you can't add that bit. The rest has been added with some minor changes. I've changed the Products section as it was mostly just a list (14 things is too many, people will stop reading) --Project Osprey (talk) 22:24, 14 May 2015 (UTC)

This is a huge help - thanks so much! Mary Gaulke (talk) 15:11, 15 May 2015 (UTC)

Dubious

Currently the page claims that breast implants are "proven" to have "caused" nine deaths from the cancer known as ALCL.

This is what is said on the Breast implant controversy page on the matter:

As of February 1, 2017, the FDA has received a total of 359 medical device reports of breast-implant-associated ALCL (BIALCL), including 9 deaths.

Where does it say that all nine of those deaths have been "proven" to be caused by the implants? It doesn't. I do not think that anyone will come up with a reputable source which actually supports such a strong claim.

-- 209.6.12.79 (talk) 23:31, 14 August 2018 (UTC)

Change the entry to Dow Silicones Corp?

Dow Corning Corporation, after it has been made 100% subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, is now called Dow Silicones Corporation. https://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-profiles.dow_silicones_corporation.0728891a5e975125ddd23fd62e047fd5.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.116.182.84 (talk) 03:27, 3 August 2020 (UTC)