(Bloomberg) -- Dow Chemical Co. is preparing to start an ethylene unit at its Terneuzen chemicals site in the Netherlands following a halt in March for planned maintenance. ⌠We are not yet back online and are in the process of restarting, Sue Breach, a U.K.-based company spokeswoman, said today in an e-mailed statement.
Cracker 1, along with other chemical processing units at the facility, was shut in mid-March for the work and was scheduled to be started at the beginning of May.
The cracker is one of three on site with capacity to produce 580 KT of ethylene a year. Dow's Terneuzen site has a total capacity of 1.81 million tons a year, according to the Association of Petrochemicals Producers in Europe. Ethylene is used to make plastics. The crackers are flexible, able to use naphtha and liquid petroleum gas as feedstock, according to Dow's website.