Hemlock Semiconductor Group Marks the Beginning of Site Construction and Unveils What the Future Looks Like at New Site in Clarksville, Tennessee

Hemlock Semiconductor Group Marks the Beginning of Site Construction and
Unveils What the Future Looks Like at New Site in Clarksville, Tennessee

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Hemlock
Semiconductor Group celebrated the beginning of construction at its recently
developed site in Clarksville, Tennessee today, and gave guests a glimpse of
what the new facility will look like when completed in 2012.

With an investment of up to $1.2 billion, 500 full-time jobs, and more than
800 construction jobs, Hemlock Semiconductor's new facility will increase
polycrystalline silicon production to meet the needs of the growing solar
industry.

"The State of Tennessee has enthusiastically embraced our company and the
alternative energy industry," said Rick Doornbos, president and CEO of Hemlock
Semiconductor. "Governor Bredesen's forward thinking initiatives around solar
in combination with Tennessee's attractive business climate, access to lower
cost energy and a talented workforce reaffirm Hemlock Semiconductor's decision
to locate here."

Doornbos along with Governor Phil Bredesen and Dr. Stephanie Burns, chairman,
president and CEO of Dow Corning, Hemlock Semiconductor's majority
shareholder, delivered formal remarks at the Commerce Park location in
Clarksville-Montgomery County. Doornbos, the Governor, and Burns also
unveiled an architectural drawing of the site and the new street name "Solar
Way" which will lead to Hemlock Semiconductor's new polysilicon manufacturing
facility.

Total construction time for the entire project is estimated to be nearly three
years. The site will contain over 150,000 cubic yards of concrete, 20,000
tons of structural steel, and more than one million feet of piping, which
equates to 1.3 miles of piping installed per week.

"The size and scope of a $1 billion project is awe-inspiring," said Doornbos.
"But it is more than just the steel, concrete and piping that will create a
strong business foundation. It is the contributions of the Hemlock
Semiconductor employees in Clarksville that will continue to advance our
position as a market leader in polysilicon production."

Prior to this event the state of Tennessee and the Montgomery County
Industrial Development Board were managing site preparations. The site was
formally handed over to Hemlock Semiconductor in late October.

The celebration event comes on the heels of a July groundbreaking at Austin
Peay State University for a new state-of-the-art chemical engineering
technology building, of which, Hemlock Semiconductor contributed $2 million
for laboratory equipment. A new associate's degree program, recently approved
by the Tennessee Board of Regents, will train future chemical process
operators for the new site and other industries in the region.

Hemlock Semiconductor is continuing the process of qualifying suppliers of
material and labor and will continue to expand its contractor base over the
coming months. Interested parties should visit www.hscpoly.com and complete
the Vendor/Supplier inquiry form.

When completed, this new site will employ approximately 500 people. Job
postings will be listed at hscpoly.com. The types of positions that will be
available are as follows:
-- degreed and experienced chemical, electrical, and mechanical
engineers,
-- experienced and certified journeypersons in various skilled trades
disciplines, including: electrical, instrumentation, power pack/power
distribution, process information control systems,
pipefitters/welders,
millwrights, and machinist trades,

-- specially-trained chemical process operators.

Initially, the new site will have the capacity to manufacture greater than
10,000 metric tons of polysilicon, with the ability to expand production up to
21,000 metric tons. Most of the polysilicon produced at this facility will be
consumed by firms in the solar industry.

About Hemlock Semiconductor Group
The Hemlock Semiconductor Group (hscpoly.com) - Hemlock Semiconductor - is
comprised of two joint ventures: Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation and Hemlock
Semiconductor, L.L.C. The companies are joint ventures of Dow Corning
Corporation, Shin-Etsu Handotai and Mitsubishi Materials Corporation. Hemlock
Semiconductor is a leading provider of polycrystalline silicon and other
silicon-based products used in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices and
solar cells and modules. Hemlock Semiconductor began its Michigan operations
in 1961 and broke ground at its Tennessee location in 2009.

HSC and HEMLOCK SEMICONDUCTOR are trademarks of Dow Corning Corporation.

About Dow Corning
Dow Corning (dowcorning.com) provides performance-enhancing solutions to serve
the diverse needs of more than 25,000 customers worldwide. A global leader in
silicones, silicon-based technology and innovation, Dow Corning offers more
than 7,000 products and services via the company's Dow Corning® and XIAMETER®
brands. Dow Corning is equally owned by The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW)
and Corning, Incorporated (NYSE: GLW). More than half of Dow Corning's annual
sales are outside the United States.

Dow Corning is a registered trademark of Dow Corning Corporation.

We help you invent the future is a trademark of Dow Corning Corporation.

XIAMETER is a registered trademark of Dow Corning Corporation.

SOURCE Hemlock Semiconductor Group

Leslie Orozco of Dow Corning, +1-989-600-6370, Leslie.orozco@dowcorning.com;
or Liana Wallace of Hemlock Semiconductor, +1-931-980-1661,
Liana.wallace@hscpoly.com