MIDLAND – Structural iron started going up on the new “Strategic Services Center” near Dow Chemical Corp.’s headquarters last month. The 240,000 square-foot building will house operations for the alliance between Dow and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

The alliance, said a joint statement by the companies, “is an expansion of an existing relationship between Dow and TCS, combining Dow’s leading chemical industry knowledge and operational discipline with the service delivery expertise of TCS.”

The project is currently employing 60-80 building trades workers. It will basically be a four-story office building, designed to accommodate 1,250 employees. Spence Brothers is acting as construction manager on the project, which started July 10 with site clearance. The project is expected to be complete in July 2011.

“So far, so good,” said Spence Brothers Vice President and General Supt. Ed Spence III. “The project is going well; it’s a great opportunity for us and we’re very happy to be here.”

As of last month, 10,000 man-hours had been worked on the project with no recordable injuries, said Spence Brothers Project Safety Specialist Dick Bluemer. Also on the project management team are Project Director Brian Keeler and Project Supt. Bob Saunders. Pete Shaheen of SSP Associates is acting as owner/developer.

The tree-filled site has been cleared, and the $45 million building will be erected with advanced LEED features. A pond will be built on the site to collect stormwater and irrigate greenery. And the building’s heating and cooling system will use the pond for the building’s geo-thermal system. Eighty percent of the structure’s exterior will be curtain wall. The building will have “pleotint windows,” which will react similar to sunglasses that get darker when exposed to sunlight.

The alliance between Dow and Tata will provide around-the-clock and around-the-globe operational capabilities to the companies in the areas of supply chain scheduling and planning, invoicing and data management. The alliance is expected ultimately to support a global network of service centers, including strategic centers in Midland and Mumbai, India; plus satellite centers in China, The Netherlands and Brazil, and other sites as needed.

At a Sept. 29 gathering marking the construction of the building, Gov. Jennifer Granholm noted that the service center could have been built in India – or anywhere. “Dow’s decision to further invest in Midland demonstrates the state’s ability to partner with world-class corporations and help them expand,” she said. “By forming a global alliance with Tata Consultancy Services, Dow has built an excellent platform for future growth.”

Dow Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris told the Bay City Times, “by combining these world-class service capabilities…we will create a re-skilling, a concentration of skills for the people of the Great Lakes Bay Region, and the governor and I share that commitment. This is going to create a power house, literally, of new skills.”

TCS Chairman Ratan Tata  said “We’re delighted to have an association with a company like Dow in the state of Michigan, which is considered to be the heartland of American industry and it’s a great opportunity to have TCS to be here … spearheading this partnership.”

NOT BAD for a day’s work: this was what the building looked like the first day of iron erection.

SETTING UP some rigging at the Dow Tata building in Midland are Doug Converse and Doug Gilder of Iron Workers Local 25, working for Douglas Steel.