• END USER INTERVIEW •
Balancing cost and corrosion in
An interview with David Barber, Dow Inc.
At Dow Inc., materials engineering sits at the intersection of reliability, cost, and risk. As Senior Manufacturing & Engineering Fellow, Global Improvement Leader and Materials Engineering Discipline Leader, David Barber oversees global decisions that influence everything from corrosion mitigation strategies to supply chain selection. In this interview, he reflects on the rise of duplex stainless steels, the growing pressure to reduce costs without compromising performance, and the practical realities of sourcing materials in an increasingly complex global market, while also looking ahead to new challenges.
• By Joanne McIntyre, Stainless Steel World
A global materials mandate As the head of Dow Inc’ s materials teams, David Barber sits at the centre of one of the most complex and demanding materials environments in heavy industry. His remit spans not only metals, but the full spectrum of materials of construction across Dow’ s global asset base- ranging from stainless steels and corrosion-resistant alloys( CRAs) to non-metallics, coatings, linings, and specialist polymer systems.
“ In simple terms, yes- I’ m often the one people call when something goes wrong,” he says.“ Either I deal with it directly, or I send someone from my team. Delegation is essential because the scope is far broader than just metals. We have experts in coatings, linings, polymers- every aspect of materials performance.”
That breadth reflects the reality of modern chemical processing: materials engineering is no longer a narrow discipline, but a systems-level function that underpins reliability, safety, and lifecycle cost.
Corrosion: The constant constraint Dow’ s operating environments are, by definition, aggressive. Barber points to a familiar but relentless set of degradation mechanisms.
“ We deal with a lot of corrosion issues, driven by our processes. The most common situations are acidic conditions and high-temperature corrosion.”
These conditions are not unusual in isolation. What makes them challenging is their combination: low
pH, elevated temperatures, complex chemistries, and fluctuating operating regimes. In such environments, material selection becomes less about optimisation and more about risk management.”
Over the past two decades, that has translated into a clear shift in alloy strategy.
Duplex steels: From specialist to standard Barber has been closely involved in Dow’ s transition toward duplex stainless steels, a shift that reflects broader trends across the chemical and petrochemical industries.
“ If you go back 20 or 30 years, duplex wasn’ t nearly as common for us,” he explains.“ We made a conscious move away from copper-nickel alloys to-
Photo for illustration only, by Dreamstime.
24 Stainless Steel World Americas | June 2026 | ssw-americas. com