DuPont commits $200M to expand polymers business

DuPont Engineering Polymers (DEP) recently revealed a broad range of development projects for the near future at the K 2007 fair in Prague. Overall, the company intends to maintain the investment rate it has pursued since 2004, with a commitment of a further $200 million over the next three years, said sales and marketing Tin McCann. He said that the bulk of the investment would be committed to polymer capacity increases, flowing from the company’s new technical centers in Shanghai (China) and Japan.

The company has a new Zytel HTN product line planned for Singapore to complement the U.S. operation and Europe would be the likely location for a third line in due course. In 2006, DEP’s overall volumes were up 8 percent, with Eastern Europe attaining a 21 percent volume increase against Western Europe’s 6 percent. DEP will continue to invest in Europe, including the new $1 million extrusion line for engineering polymers which has just opened at the Meyrin technical center in Geneva, Switzerland. This unit has the capacity to extrude both corrugated and multi-layer types of product.

Technology director Nandan Rao said that metal replacement for energy saving and sustainable products from renewable sources feature strongly in the company’s current development plans. He said that a process is being developed to use post-crop cellulosic waste as a biofuel. In 2008, there are plans to cooperate with the U.S. government and other partners to build a cellulosic waste bio refinery, he said.

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