Dow Corning has increased its production of silanes by a total of more than 40%/year at its plants at Midland, MI and Chiba, Japan. The company has invested $6 million at those sites to upgrade and expand production. The additional silane capacity will be used mainly to treat precipitated silica used in 'green' tires. It will also be used to treat other mineral fillers that function as reinforcements in plastics and rubber.