The DuPont™ Kevlar® facility near Charleston, South Carolina, represents a $500 million investment in significantly expanding production of high-performance DuPont™ Kevlar® para-aramid brand fiber for industrial and military uses.
The facility, located north of Charleston, South Carolina, US, is the centrepiece of a multi-phase, multi-year Kevlar® production expansion that initially increased global Kevlar® production capacity by more than 25 percent. DuPont invested an additional $50 million at its Spruance plant in Richmond, Virginia, to increase Kevlar® polymer production. The combined expansion represented the largest single investment in Kevlar® and the largest capacity increase since the fibre was introduced in 1965.
The new plant, together with our other global assets, helps DuPont meet strong and growing global demand for Kevlar®. It also allows us to put our innovative science to work to develop new, differentiated Kevlar® products, using the latest new fibre technologies that protect people, the environment, and processes.
Best known for its proven performance in ballistic and stab-resistant body armor, Kevlar® fibre has helped save the lives of thousands of law enforcement officers and military personnel around the world.
Key Kevlar® growth applications that help:
- Improve ballistic performance, providing lighter-weight protective apparel for law enforcement and military personnel
- Provide higher dexterity for gloves, allowing more freedom of movement while protecting hands from cuts
- Tailor solutions for automotive tyres, providing for a smoother, quieter ride
- Reinforce pipes in oil and gas, enabling exploration in deeper water
- Enhance honeycomb structures, providing strength for next-generation aircraft
- Offer superior fragment protection for the next generation of armored vehicles
- Provide significant improvements in both tensile strength and compressive strength for more durable foam used on space vehicles
- Reinforce construction for buildings and in-home storm rooms that provide hurricane and tornado protection to protect homes and businesses
