industry manufacturing founded 1943 headquarters midland michigan key people robert hansen ceo & president products speciality chemicals silicon derived polymers revenue 6.12 billion 2012 1 number of employees 12 000 2 parent dow chemical company website www.dowcorning.com dow corning is an american multinational corporation headquartered in midland michigan united states . originally established as a joint venture between the dow chemical company and corning incorporated it specializes in silicone and silicon based technology and is the largest silicone product producer in the world . 3 contents 1 history 2 products 3 breast implants 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history edit dow corning was formally established in 1943 as a joint venture between the american conglomerates dow chemical and corning glass to explore the potential of silicone and 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 . dr. e. c. sullivan was named president and dr. william r. collings was named general manager in 1943 . dr. collings later became president from 1954 until 1962 . 4 it expanded into canada and europe in 1948 and into south america and japan in 1961 . 4 a large majority owned subsidiary of dow corning corporation is the hemlock semiconductor corporation . 3 it is one of the world s largest producers of high purity polycrystalline silicon which is sold in varying purity grades for use in both semiconductor silicon wafer manufacture and photovoltaics applications as solar cells . 4 in 2002 the company created the xiameter brand as an online only distributor . as of 2011 xiameter offers 2 100 of dow corning s 7 000 products on november 13 2014 dow chemical s ceo andrew n. liveris revealed in a presentation to investors that corning incorporated intended to exit the joint venture of 71 years citing other priorities . 5 following the december 11 2015 announcement that it would merge with dupont dow also announced that it had reached a deal to acquire corning s stake in dow corning in exchange for 4.8 billion in cash and corning gaining a roughly 40 % stake in hemlock semiconductor corporation . dow chemical assumed full ownership of dow corning on june 1 2016 . 6 7 products edit dow corning markets over 7000 products include various sealants adhesives rubbers lubricants silicon oils and solvents . around 2 100 of these are available through the online only distributor xiameter including fluids gels resins . the range of industries targeted by dow corning products spans from electronics and automotive to construction healthcare and others . in recent years the company has expanded production of solar cells particularly through its majority stake in hemlock which accounts for a polysilicon franchise worth over 1 billion . 8 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 . 9 breast implants edit throughout the 1980s and 1990s class action lawsuits 10 claimed that dow corning s silicone breast implants caused systemic health problems . the claims first centered on breast cancer and then migrated to a range of autoimmune diseases including lupus rheumatoid arthritis and various neurological problems . this led to numerous lawsuits beginning in 1984 and culminating in a 1998 multibillion dollar class action settlement . 11 as a result dow corning was in bankruptcy protection for nine years ending in june 2004 12 during which time it largely withdrew from clinical markets . 13 a number of large independent reviews of the scientific literature including the institute of medicine in the united states have subsequently found that silicone breast implants do not cause breast cancers or any identifiable systemic disease . 14 15 see also edit breast implant controversy greenearth cleaning silicone references edit dow corning fast facts june 13 2013 five things to know about michigan based dow corning corp. . a b robert westervelt june 24 2011 . dow corning . chemical week . retrieved 2015 02 10 . dow corning a 50 50 jv between dow chemical and corning is the world s largest silicones producer and has a controlling 62.5 % stake in hemlock semiconductor hemlock mi the world s leading producer of polysilicon used in semiconductor and solar wafer production . ... a b c michigan based dow corning timeline of a global success story . retrieved 17 march 2015 . kaskey jack 13 november 2014 . dow says corning wants to exit 71 year old venture . bloomberg news . bloomberg . retrieved 16 november 2014 . corning to swap stake in dow corning for 4.8 billion semiconductor stake . wsj.com . wsj.com . 11 december 2015 . retrieved 11 december 2015 . dow chemical to take full control of dow corning venture . bloomberg news . bloomberg . retrieved 16 december 2015 . dow corning solar sustainability drive turnaround . ihs chemical week magazine . retrieved 14 may 2015 . innovation in chemicals an interview with dow corning s ceo and cto . mckinsey s & company . retrieved 14 may 2015 . independent.co.uk 2.4 bn breast implant offer 1997 08 26 chronology of silicone breast implants . frontline reisch m. 2004 . out of the woods . chemical & engineering news . 82 15 5 . doi 10.1021 cen v082n015.p005 . reisch m. s. 1993 . dow corning moving back on track following breast implant controversy . chemical & engineering news . 71 2 13 . doi 10.1021 cen v071n002.p013 . gina kolata june 21 1999 . panel confirms no major illness tied to implants . new york times . retrieved 2015 02 10 . an independent panel of 13 scientists convened by the institute of medicine at the request of congress has concluded that silicone breast implants do not cause any major diseases . colas andr ; curtis jim 2004 . biomaterials science second edition an introduction to materials in medicine pdf . elsevier academic press . isbn 978 0 12 582463 7 . external 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