Outstanding Customer Service Innovation Underpins Dow Corning's Receipt of Frost & Sullivan Award


LONDON - December 13, 2006 - The 2006 Frost & Sullivan Customer Service Innovation of the Year Award in the performance materials industry is presented to Dow Corning in recognition of its exceptional range of customer solutions that have effectively supported its broad portfolio of innovative, superior quality and high-performance silicone products.

"This award was not the result of one year's work by our company in 2006," says Tom Cook, Dow Corning vice president and general manager of the Service Enterprise Unit. "After 50 years as a successful technology innovator, Dow Corning has been on a conscious journey over the last ten years to become a more customer-driven company. This journey has included a relentless focus on our customers' business needs beyond just our products. We will do our best to bring honor to the award in the years to come."

To maximize the value of its products and services for its customers, Dow Corning has segmented its customers into four different categories - customers who want a low total cost of purchase, those who need to drive their costs down, customers needing to grow reliably, and customers looking to innovate. This strategy has helped the company to better understand customer needs and develop highly-customized solutions.

"Most chemical companies segment their customers based on the market in which they participate; Dow Corning is among the few exceptions which has segmented its customers based on their needs as well as on other factors such as loyalty," observes Frost & Sullivan Research Program Manager Brian Balmer. "Such segmentation processes, based on multiple metrics, have helped the company form a more holistic picture of customer needs and concerns."

Offering a novel channel of communication, Xiameter®- an online business model- allows customers to purchase and track their product orders online. Moreover, the system prices products based on purchase volumes, helping value seeking customers procure materials at a competitive price.

At the same time, online customer satisfaction surveys track client feedback about the company's products, services, and solutions. This, coupled with steady feedback from customer-facing professionals, marketers and executive managers support rapid problem resolution.

"The company has reorganised itself around two main brands and has undertaken organisational restructuring to drive the dual brand strategy and more efficiently meet customer needs," says Dr. Balmer. "In addition, significant investments in SAP have helped the company translate market information into business intelligence and accelerate decision-making processes."

The company's solutions-based approach leverages its more than six decade long expertise in the field. Clients have been assisted in successfully entering and launching products in new regions, determining effective distribution channels in new markets, understanding regulatory processes and minimizing investment risks through contracting tasks such as R&D, production, and storage.

"Dow Corning provides total customer support; through knowledge transfer and comprehensive personnel training, it helps clients rapidly enter new markets," elaborates Dr. Balmer. "The company also helps its clients with environment, health, and safety (EH&S) testing, imparts extensive training in EH&S regulations and best practices, assists customers to understand EH&S regulations and best practices and provides support in installing and implementing SAP's EH&S module," adds Dr. Balmer.

The company has implemented a Technical Information Centre to provide technical support in nine languages to customers around the world who have technical, regulatory, and environmental, health and safety inquiries. The company's Live Help facility provides virtual support through real time web chats.

Frost & Sullivan's Customer Service Innovation of the Year Award is presented each year to the company that has demonstrated excellence in customer service innovation within the industry. The recipient company has developed and implemented new customer care systems that set unprecedented standards for customer interaction, timely response, and/or attention to customer needs and that effectively and efficiently respond to the perceived needs of end-users.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

About Dow Corning

Dow Corning (www.dowcorning.com) provides performance-enhancing solutions to serve the diverse needs of more than 25,000 customers worldwide. A global leader in silicon-based technology and innovation, offering more than 7,000 products and services, Dow Corning is equally owned by The Dow Chemical Company and Corning Incorporated. More than half of Dow Corning's sales are outside the United States.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan(www.frost.com), a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community, by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit www.frost.com.

For further information, please contact:
Sylvia Hollander
Dow Corning
Corporate Communications
T: +32 (0)64 889 092
Email: sylvia.hollander@dowcorning.com

Sandra Holze
Frost & Sullivan
Promotions Coordinator, Best Practices
T: +44 (0)20 7915 7866
Email: sandra.holze@frost.com

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