Live oak trees fade out, and seemingly overnight, they display the spring green of a new season.
A new season began Tuesday as DuPont seamlessly turned into Dow. Live oak trees were used to commemorate the event. The Sabine River Works is the Sabine River Operation.
DuPont Sabine River Works is a historical landmark in Orange. It was the first of the petrochemical plants to be built here. Construction started before World War II ended, and the plant opened in 1946. Small live oak trees were planted in front.
In 2019, those trees show decades of growth, along with scars. They’ve seen the storms, Harvey, Ike, Rita, Carla, Audrey, and all the minor ones in between.
Dow Site Director Jean Algate has been at the plant since this past June. She led it through the “DowDuPont.” Tuesday she welcomed visitors and the 700 employees and 700 contractors.
She oversaw the unveiling of a new sign in the shade of an old live oak tree to honor the legacy of DuPont.
Dow also used another live oak tree to show the new era. A live oak with more than a decade of growth was trucked in and planted to send its roots into the same soil as the old ones. It weighed 19,000 pounds, representing the 19,000 people of Orange.
Diego Donoso, Dow Business President for Packaging and Specialty Packages, told the employees “We’ve always admired you from far away. Your customers love the products you make here.”
The Dow executives talked about making employees feel like family. They talked about safety and sustainability. And most of all, they talked about community. They’ve been visiting the sights and places around Orange County for the past weeks, meeting lots of people.
Dow not only showed off a new sign, the company also showed it has roots.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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