DuPont plans $500M plant expansion in South Carolina

DuPont has selected its Cooper River plant to receive the planned $500 million investment it recently announced to significantly expand production of high-performance DuPont Kevlar para-aramid brand fiber for industrial and military uses.

The investment at the Cooper River site, which is located about 30 miles north of Charleston, S.C., in Berkeley County, will include construction of a new Kevlar fiber facility. It is expected to require 100 permanent DuPont jobs, as well as more than 400 contractor jobs during peak construction, which is scheduled to begin in January 2008. The plant's startup is scheduled for 2010.

The new Cooper River facility is the centerpiece of a multi-phase, multi-year Kevlar production expansion announced in September that will ultimately increase global Kevlar production capacity by more than 25 percent. The company is investing an additional $50 million at its Spruance plant in Richmond, Va., to increase Kevlar polymer production. The combined expansion represents the largest single investment in Kevlar and the largest capacity increase since the fiber was introduced in 1965.

"The new plant at Cooper River, together with our other global assets, will help DuPont meet strong and growing global demand for Kevlar," said Thomas G. Powell, vice president and general manager, DuPont Advanced Fiber Systems. "It also will allow us to put our innovative science to work to develop new, differentiated Kevlar products using the latest new fiber technologies that protect people and processes.

DuPont's Cooper River plant opened in 1973. The site currently has 60 employees and produces DuPont Hytrel thermoplastic polyester elastomer, which is used primarily in the automotive industry.

Best known for its proven performance in ballistic and stab-resistant body armor, Kevlar has helped save the lives of thousands of law enforcement officers and military personnel around the world. Between 2000 and 2006, DuPont successfully completed four Kevlar fiber expansion projects at its Richmond, Va., and Maydown, Northern Ireland, facilities. Several of these expansions incorporated a proprietary New Fiber Technology (NFT) developed and patented by DuPont. This new technology provides a higher performance fiber for use in critical applications serving the military and law enforcement sectors, as well as the automotive, aerospace and oil and gas industries, among others.

Key growth applications for Kevlar include:

  -- Improved ballistic performance, providing lighter weight protective

     apparel for law enforcement and military personnel;

  -- Higher dexterity for gloves, providing more freedom of movement while

     protecting hands from cuts;

  -- Tailored solutions for automotive tires, providing for a smoother,

     quieter ride;

  -- Reinforcements for pipes in oil and gas, enabling exploration in deeper

     water;

  -- Enhanced honeycomb structures, providing strength for next generation

     aircraft;

  -- Superior fragment protection for the next generation of armored

     vehicles;

  -- Flame resistance and strength to help bedding manufacturers meet fire

     resistant standards for mattresses;

  -- Significant improvements in both tensile strength and compressive

     strength for more durable foam used on space vehicles, and;

  -- Reinforced construction for buildings and in-home storm rooms that

     provide hurricane and tornado protection to protect homes and

     businesses.

DuPont Advanced Fiber Systems serves the global marketplace from offices in all major regions of the world and from five manufacturing facilities in Northern Ireland, Japan, Spain and the United States.

Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.