Dow To Create Sales Center in Chicago

Mayor Rahm Emanuel will announce Tuesday that Dow Chemical Co. is bringing 400 jobs to Chicago.

The diversified manufacturer based in Midland, Mich., will establish a sales center downtown and will move jobs here from elsewhere in the Midwest, the mayor’s office said. The transfers are expected to occur over the next three years.

A source said the company is scouting several office locations and will settle on one soon. Unlike some of the 13 prior announcements about new private-sector jobs that Emanuel has made since taking office in May, officials said the Dow Chemical move calls for no tax incentives.

It was an announcement the mayor was to highlight Tuesday in a speech, titled “The Future of Economic Development in Chicago,” before the Executives’ Club of Chicago.

In the speech the mayor is expected to emphasize policy changes such as phasing out the city’s “head tax” on company payrolls.

A spokesman for the mayor said Emanuel has had longstanding ties to Dow Chemical executives and that discussions about the company move began last summer.

Emanuel said in a press release, “Dow’s commitment to Chicago is a reflection of the great work ethic and business environment in the city.”

In the same release, Heinz Haller, Dow executive vice president, called the new Dow center “part of an office optimization program” that will improve coordination and training for the sales force.