History
In 1942, moisture in aircraft engines and the formation of corona discharge from aircraft electrical systems at high altitudes made high-altitude flight all but impossible. Dr. Shailer Bass developed Dow Corning's first product, a simple silicone grease (Dow Corning #4 Compound) that solved the problem. Dow Corning was formally established in 1943 specifically to explore the potential of silicones. Dr. E.C. Sullivan was named president and Dr. William R. Collings was named general manager in 1943. Dr. Collings later became president from 1954 until 1962.
A large, majority-owned subsidiary of Dow Corning Corporation is the Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation. Founded in the 1960s before the computer revolution, it is still one of the world's leading manufacturers of high-purity polycrystalline silicon which is sold in varying purity grades for use in both semiconductor silicon wafer manufacture and photovoltaics applications as solar cells.
Read more about this topic: Dow Corning
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