Dow Europe recently announced the start up of a new Solution Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SSBR) plant in Schkopau, Germany. The new facility includes a capacity rights agreement with JSR Corp., based in Japan. Dow owns and operates the new asset. This new plant is a world-scale facility with a production capacity of 60 KT (132 MM lbs). SSBR is a key component used in the manufacture of high performance tires, as well as technical rubber goods. The new plant produces the latest generation of synthetic rubber – a key component in the manufacturing of tread profiles in high performance tires. "With Dow's long history and industry leadership position in Rubber Polymer solutions, this is the next step strengthening Dow's position in the most advanced Rubber Polymer solution," says Ralf Irmert, global business director Synthetic Rubber. "Our new products enable our tire producing partners to implement significant advantages in areas like rolling resistance (fuel efficiencies and CO2 emissions) and grip performance, while increasing their supply security," he adds. Dow is a manufacturer of synthetic rubber including SSBR, Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) and Poly-Butadiene Rubber (PBR), with facilities in Germany. Dow is back integrated into butadiene and styrene, the major raw material used in the production of SSBR, which enables the company to maintain a reliable supply with cost-advantaged economics. The Dow Chemical Co. is aCP 50company. To view the Dow profile, visit: http://www.chemicalprocessing.com/cp50/2008/dow_chemical.html. To view the entireCP 50list, visit: http://www.chemicalprocessing.com/cp50.