To further accelerate the development of packaging innovation, The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) announces a global innovation and business development agreement with Nordmeccanica SpA, a worldwide leader in coating, laminating and metallizing machinery.

Both companies see enormous potential to advance solutions for the flexible packaging industry by combining adhesive development with machine pioneering that target new technologies for faster commercialization to market.

Pack Studios Mozzate Driving Adhesives Development

New developments can be expected from the joint collaboration with Dow and Nordmeccanica through Dow’s Pack Studios in Mozzate, Italy. Customized to address the needs of Dow’s adhesives customers, this innovation and technology training center offers a large collaboration space and hosts an industry-scale Nordmeccanica Super Combi 3000 laminator line. This state-of-the-art equipment allows international customers to test, prototype and bring forward innovation in packaging lamination without interrupting their own commercial production. The collaboration agreement between Dow and Nordmeccanica will also enable similar capabilities at additional Pack Studios across the globe.

Pack Studios provide customers an opportunity to leverage Dow’s expertise, broad product portfolio, and product and application testing capabilities to accelerate the development of innovative solutions. Pack Studios also connect customers with Dow’s global network of capabilities, and enable collaboration across the value chain - including resins, lamination, packaging design, converting, and prototyping.

Accelerating Innovation to Market

Aiming at faster commercialization of new adhesive solutions, Dow and Nordmeccanica are working on joint projects in order to bring several new technologies to market in 2016.

“This formal development agreement reflects another milestone in Dow’s strong commitment to the adhesives industry, coupled with the strong participation in the flexible packaging market through our polyethylene and specialty resin offerings,” states Greg Bunker, Dow’s global business director for Adhesives for Packaging, Textiles and Hygiene. “It truly builds on Dow’s tradition of collaboration across the industry to accelerate innovation to market, taking advantage of Dow's back integration in polyurethane, acrylics and polyethylene.”

“Nordmeccanica truly believes in the power of these two companies to drive innovation,” Vincenzo Cerciello, Technical Manager Nordmeccanica Group, adds. “Technology these days is in fact so advanced that innovation is the result of the combined efforts of multiple players. With this strong collaboration we will continue to fuel the growth of the flexible packaging industry that touches almost everyone's life on the planet. This industry is also one of the most significant to drive sustainable packaging development, with the most efficient material usage, as well as reducing food waste along the global food supply chain.”

Visit Dow and Nordmeccanica at DRUPA 2016

To introduce the first significant innovation milestone resulting from this strategic collaboration, Dow and Nordmeccanica will exhibit at DRUPA 2016, the international trade fair for printing solutions in Düsseldorf, Germany, from May 31 to June 10, 2016. Customers and media are welcome to visit Dow, at stand A29, and Nordmeccanica, at stand B42, in Hall 15.

To learn more about DRUPA, please visit: www.drupa.com.To learn more about Pack Studios, please visit: www.dowpackstudios.com

About Dow Adhesives

Dow Adhesives is a comprehensive portfolio of acrylic, epoxy, polyolefin and polyurethane based adhesives, binders, coatings and dispersions for diverse applications in automotive, building and construction, consumer durables, packaging, textiles and hygiene markets. The portfolio is accessed through multiple businesses within Dow to optimize technology depth and market connection, yet leverages expertise across businesses, through our vision of Science that Connects. Dow Adhesives for Packaging, Textiles and Hygiene is part of Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics, based on leading technologies and expertise for lamination, coating and bonding in packaging applications including films, tapes and labels, in binding applications, and in hygiene and medical applications.

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines the power of science and technology to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company is driving innovations that extract value from material, polymer, chemical and biological science to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, clean energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's integrated, market-driven, industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 180 countries and in high-growth sectors such as packaging, electronics, water, coatings and agriculture. In 2015, Dow had annual sales of nearly $49 billion and employed approximately 49,500 people worldwide. The Company's more than 6,000 product families are manufactured at 179 sites in 35 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

About Nordmeccanica Group

Nordmeccanica is a global leader in coating, laminating and metallizing machinery for flexible packaging and industrial applications. Founded in 1978, Nordmeccanica has manufacturing and business operations in Italy, USA, China, India and Argentina, and a network of agents in 87 countries. Nordmeccanica employs 280 people world-wide, with a production area of 30,000 square meters. The company has an installed based of over 2,700 machines globally, and had annual sales of €100 million in 2014. Nordmeccanica laminators and coaters are used to produce multi-layer packaging for the food and pharmaceutical industries. The company also manufactures machinery for the metallization of paper and plastic film. More information about Nordmeccanica can be found at www.nordmeccanica.com.