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974 Centre Rd Wilmington, DE 19805 USA
It’s a time of incredible progress at DuPont — a time of momentum. It’s the time for change makers, for the doers and pioneers, to create essential innovations the world needs. We aren’t just creating a better future, we’re working together to invent a better now. So bring your best self and join us in uncovering insights that will transform the world.
Wimington, DE www.dupont.com 2024 Nonwovens Sales: $1 billion
Plants Richmond, VA; Luxembourg, Costa Rica
ISO Status All plants are ISO 9002 certified including the Luxembourg facility
Brands DuPont Tyvek, Typar
Major Markets Construction, healthcare, protective apparel, industrial filtration, absorbents, home furnishings, envelopes, geotextiles, graphics, packaging, footwear, automotive
DuPont has shelved plans to split into three companies—first announced in May 2024—but reports it will likely split into two companies through a spin-off of its electronics business. The water solutions business, which was originally going to become a stand-alone company, will remain in the new DuPont along with its diversified Industrial business. Following the split, New DuPont will be a premier diversified industrial company powered by deep materials science and application engineering expertise, industry-leading innovation, top-tier manufacturing capabilities, and iconic brands such as Tyvek, Kevlar and Nomex. New DuPont will have a strong presence in fast-growing healthcare end-markets including applications for biopharma consumables, medical devices and medical packaging. The company will also be a leading provider of key technologies enabling advanced mobility, particularly within electric vehicles. Finally, New DuPont will remain a provider of advanced solutions serving safety, construction, aerospace and other industrial-based end-markets.
Following the sale of its Sontara spunlace business in 2021, the majority of DuPont’s nonwovens efforts center around Tyvek, its flashspun material that largely targets applications like roofing and construction and medical packaging, among others. In early 2024, DuPont announced that its Tyvek production facility at the Spruance manufacturing plant in Richmond, VA, received certification from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS). The Spruance facility is the second DuPont site to achieve ISCC certification, following the Luxembourg manufacturing plant, which also makes Tyvek, in November 2023. This achievement demonstrates DuPont’s commitment to advancing its sustainability goals and building capabilities to offer Tyvek products made with sustainable raw materials globally.
More recently, in June 2025, DuPont announced it had expanded its healthcare manufacturing site in Heredia, Costa Rica, with a 16,000 square foot addition to produce sterile packaging using Tyvek technology. This expansion makes it the first company in Costa Rica and the Caribbean to produce sterile packaging for medical devices using Tyvek. The facility also increases DuPont’s extruded tubing production capacity.
According to DuPont, the expansion includes additional extrusion equipment and production lines for sterile packaging including pouches, header bags and lids using Tyvek. The expanded facility will serve healthcare customers in the Caribbean and across the Americas.
The expansion is linked to DuPont’s acquisition of Spectrum Plastics Group, a recognized leader in specialty medical devices and components markets, in July 2023.
“Tyvek products help protect and improve the lives of millions in the end markets we serve – including healthcare packaging, personal protection, construction, and many other consumer and industrial applications. Our global integration of ISCC Plus certification in the production of Tyvek aligns with our dedication to empower our customers on their journey towards net zero emissions. We continue to increase our innovation handprint while minimizing our environmental footprint for generations to come – this is what we strive for every day,” says David Domnisch, vice president and general manager, DuPont Tyvek and Typar.
Additionally, Tyvek has partnered with Technipag, a leading manufacturer of flexible sterilizable packaging solutions, and Freepoint Eco-Systems to increase the companies’ sustainability and recycling efforts.
In new product news, DuPont has launched Tyvek with Renewable Attribution (RA), an extension of the existing portfolio of Tyvek products for healthcare packaging that offers a significantly reduced carbon footprint, helping to enable more sustainable healthcare packaging. The carbon footprint reduction for Tyvek with Renewable Attribution is enabled by the partial replacement of fossil fuel feedstock with certified bio-circular feedstock during the production of raw materials used in Tyvek manufacturing. This is achieved through the mass balance approach, in accordance with International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS).
Plants: Richmond, VA; Luxembourg ISO Status: All plants are ISO 9002 certified including the Luxembourg facility Brands: DuPont Tyvek, Typar Major Markets: Construction, healthcare, protective apparel, industrial filtration, absorbents, home furnishings, envelopes, geotextiles, graphics, packaging, footwear, automotive
In May 2024, DuPont said it would separate into three publicly traded companies. Under the plan, DuPont will execute the separations of its Electronics and Water businesses in a tax-free manner to its shareholders while the remainder of the company, known as New DuPont, will continue as a premier diversified industrial company. As independent entities, both Electronics and Water will benefit from increased focus and agility in their respective industries. At separation, each of the three companies will have strong balance sheets, attractive financial profiles and compelling growth opportunities.
As leading standalone companies, each business is expected to benefit from an ability to tailor capital allocation strategies to pursue differential strategic growth objectives, enhanced strategic flexibility to pursue portfolio-enhancing M&A, compelling investment profiles appealing to different investor bases and distinct boards of directors and management teams comprised of world-class leaders with track records of driving value creation in each specific industry.
“This is an extraordinary opportunity to deliver long-term, sustainable shareholder value through the creation of three strong, industry-leading companies,” says Ed Breen, DuPont, says chairman and CEO. “The three-way separation will unlock incremental value for shareholders and customers and also create new opportunities for employees. Critically, each company will have greater flexibility to pursue their own focused growth strategies, including portfolio enhancing M&A.”
Following the split, New DuPont will be a premier diversified industrial company powered by deep materials science and application engineering expertise, industry-leading innovation, top-tier manufacturing capabilities, and iconic brands such as Tyvek, Kevlar and Nomex. New DuPont will have a strong presence in fast-growing healthcare end-markets including applications for biopharma consumables, medical devices and medical packaging. The company will also be a leading provider of key technologies enabling advanced mobility, particularly within electric vehicles. Finally, New DuPont will remain a provider of advanced solutions serving safety, construction, aerospace and other industrial-based end-markets.
DuPont continues to innovate and invest in its Tyvek flashspun nonwovens.
Following the sale of its Sontara spunlace business in 2021, the majority of DuPont’s nonwovens efforts center around Tyvek, its flashspun material that largely targets applications like roofing and construction, and medical packaging, among others. In early 2024, DuPont announced that its Tyvek production facility at the Spruance manufacturing plant in Richmond, VA, received certification from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS). The Spruance facility is the second DuPont site to achieve ISCC certification, following the Luxembourg manufacturing plant, which also makes Tyvek, in November 2023. This achievement demonstrates DuPont’s commitment to advancing its sustainability goals and building capabilities to offer Tyvek products made with sustainable raw materials globally.
Since 2022, Tyvek has been converting its Tyvek operation sites to renewable energy. The company is achieving this by purchasing renewable energy credits (RECs) to match the energy consumed in its 2022 operations and is committed to additional purchases annually. “At DuPont, we believe urgent action is needed to address the climate crisis impacting our global communities, and that’s why we’re so proud that the most trusted names that protect people worldwide are now doing even more to protect the planet,” says Leland Weaver, president, DuPont Water & Protection. “Procuring renewable energy credits is a key milestone in our sustainability journey and we remain committed to energy efficiency in our global operations. We understand the importance of delivering sustainable innovations for our customers, value chain partners, employees and society.”
As it focuses on sustainability, DuPont continues to prepare for growth. The company has invested more than $400 million to expand capacity at its site in Luxembourg. The project includes a new building and third line at the site which came onstream sometime last year. Elsewhere, the company responded to heightened demand for Tyvek in protective apparel applications in 2020 with a significant investment in Richmond, VA.
DuPont, the maker of Tyvek flashspun nonwovens, continues to focus on ways to make its products and its processes more sustainable. In April 2022, the company announced that Tyvek would be one of its major brands to be produced using renewable electricity in its operations. DuPont achieved this milestone by purchasing renewable energy credits (RECs) to match the energy consumed in its 2022 operations and is committed to additional purchases annually. This underscores the company’s commitment to achieving its renewable energy goal and acting on climate stewardship as part of its 2030 Sustainability Goals.
“At DuPont, we believe urgent action is needed to address the climate crisis impacting our global communities, and that’s why we’re so proud that the most trusted names that protect people worldwide are now doing even more to protect the planet,” says Leland Weaver, president, DuPont Water & Protection. “Procuring renewable energy credits is a key milestone in our sustainability journey and we remain committed to energy efficiency in our global operations. We understand the importance of delivering sustainable innovations for our customers, value chain partners, employees and society.”
As part of DuPont’s sustainability strategy, the company’s Acting on Climate goal seeks to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30% and source 60% of its electricity from renewable energy sources and credits by 2030, and to deliver carbon neutral operations by 2050.
DuPont is a member of RE100, a global environmental initiative led by the Climate Group in partnership with CDP, which brings together companies committed to shifting the electricity used globally in its operations to renewable energy. In 2021, the company also signed a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC. The VPPA project is scheduled to commence operations in 2023 and is expected to deliver approximately 528,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of wind-generated renewable electricity annually to the local grid. This is equivalent to approximately 25% of the company’s total electricity needs today.
Tyvek is mainly made of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and is certified 100% recyclable, making it compatible with existing and emerging (advanced) recycling techniques. Due to its unique combination of properties, Tyvek allows for the facilitation of packaging solutions—such as mono-material structures—that meet the sustainable design guidelines established by industry leaders such as Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council (HPRC), CEFLEX and RecyClass.
As it focuses on sustainability, DuPont continues to prepare for growth. The company has invested more than $400 million to expand output of the material at its site in Luxembourg. The project includes a new building and third operating line at the site that is set to be complete sometime in 2023, according to reports. Elsewhere, the company responded to heightened demand for Tyvek in protective apparel applications in 2020 with a significant investment in Richmond, VA.
In new product development, DuPont has recently introduced a disposable coverall that combines optimal protection and comfort for workers across gigafactories, automotive and chemical manufacturing. DuPont Tyvek 400 Dual TG provides a head-to-toe frontal barrier against dangerous chemicals in electric vehicle (EV) battery production and other manufacturing environments. The garment also enhances breathability, improving comfort for workers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) over long shifts.
“We know that uncomfortable PPE can lead to fatigue, contributing to workplace injuries,” says Figen Ersezer, EMEA marketing specialist at DuPont. The coverall combines highly protective Tyvek fabric and breathable spunbond meltblown spunbond (SMS) nonwoven material. The more exposed frontal section keeps wearers safe from water-based, aerosol, and solid airborne particles as small as 1 micron, meeting the highest standard for PPE.”
Tyvek is also prominent in the medical packaging segment.
In August, DuPont entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Spectrum Plastics Group from AEA Investors. Spectrum is a recognized leader in advanced manufacturing of specialty medical devices and components, serving 22 of the top 26 medical device OEMs with a strategic focus on key fast-growing therapeutic areas such as structural heart, electrophysiology, surgical robotics and cardiovascular.
Spectrum has more than 2,200 employees and has delivered consistent high single-digit growth rates for many years. With its strong financial performance, advanced manufacturing expertise and customer-centric orientation, Spectrum is fully aligned with DuPont’s strategic objective of delivering innovative specialized materials and solutions into attractive end markets with long-term secular growth trends.
DuPont, the maker of Tyvek flashspun nonwovens, continues to focus on ways to makes its products and its processes more sustainable. In April 2022, the company announced that Tyvek would be one of its major brands to be produced using renewable electricity in its operations. DuPont achieved this milestone by purchasing renewable energy credits (RECs) to match the energy consumed in its 2022 operations and is committed to additional purchases annually. This underscores the company’s commitment to achieving its renewable energy goal and acting on climate stewardship as part of its 2030 Sustainability Goals.
“At DuPont, we believe urgent action is needed to address the climate crisis impacting our global communities, and that’s why we’re so proud that the most trusted names that protect people worldwide are now doing even more to protect the planet,” says Leland Weaver, president, DuPont Water & Protection. “Procuring renewable energy credits is a key milestone in our sustainability journey and we remain committed to energy efficiency in our global operations. We understand the importance of delivering sustainable innovations for our customers, value chain partners, employees and society.»
As part of DuPont’s sustainability strategy, the company’s Acting on Climate goal seeks to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 30% and source 60% of its electricity from renewable energy sources and credits by 2030, and to deliver carbon neutral operations by 2050. DuPont will report progress against its goals when it publishes its 2022 Sustainability Report in early May.
As it focuses on sustainability, DuPont continues to prepare for growth. The company is currently investing more than $400 million to expand output of the material at its site in Luxembourg. The project includes a new building and third operating line at the site is set to be complete sometime in 2023, according to reports. Elsewhere, the company responded to heightened demand for Tyvek in protective apparel applications in 2020 with a significant investment in Richmond, VA.
As it waits for the latest line in Luxembourg to come onstream, DuPont continues to operate at a sold-out status for the material, which means it is in good shape to weather negative economic conditions in its core market, like construction. While sales in protective garments are significantly off their unprecedented highs of 2020 and 2021, the company continues to be bullish about the material and expects the business to normalize sometime in the fourth quarter.
Beyond construction and garments, key markets for Tyvek include medical packaging and graphics. The brand is a part of DuPont’s Water and Protection business division.
More than 18 months after launching its #TyvekTogether program in response to increased demand for personal protective apparel (PPE) in the face of the Coronavirus, DuPont continues to adjust production volumes for its Tyvek flashspun nonwovens. In the company’s second quarter earnings call, executives reported that results were influenced by output shifting from PPE to multiple other applications, which is resulting in an expected increase in changeover and lower production rates and volumes.
However, the market for Tyvek is much broader than just PPE, and DuPont continues to ramp up supply to key markets including construction, medical packaging and graphics. For example, the company’s Shelter Solutions business has reported sales growth of more than 30%, which reflects continued strength in North American residential construction for products like Styrofoam and Tyvek house wrap and in retail channels for do-it-yourself applications. Commercial construction also continues to improve as global demand improves.
Looking back to 2020, in April, in the face of unprecedented demand for PPE, DuPont launched the #TyvekTogether program to increase the overall availability of Tyvek personal protective garments to help combat the spread of Covid-19 and protect health care workers. This initiative included partnerships with converters to make non-surgical isolation gowns as well as a new investment in Richmond, VA.
“There’s a critical need for protective apparel, and we believe that working with other companies to convert their existing cut-and-sew manufacturing capacity to protective garment fabrication is the fastest way to protect more people,” says John Richard, vice president and general manager DuPont Safety Solutions.
Included in this effort is investment in equipment and technology at DuPont’s Richmond, VA, plant to significantly increase its production of Tyvek and Tychem garments globally to meet the ever-increasing demand for PPE. Additionally, the #TyvekTogether Program introduced a new specialized Tyvek fabric to enable an increase in the amount of garment production for the Covid-19 response to 15 million garments a month.
Tyvek style 1222A has similar barrier properties to the core DuPont Tyvek 400 garment offerings with adjusted fabric drape and hand to optimize material usage. It is available in roll-good form to existing and new customers with available cut-and-sew capabilities to increase the total amount of Tyvek garments available as quickly as possible.
In the months since announcing the #TyvekTogether program, DuPont has launched several partnerships. Companies as diverse as Ansell, Home Depot, Under Armour, Thermaxx and Ferrara International have joined in the program to help design, develop and supply PPE materials to fight the spread of Covid-19.
In April 2021, DuPont’s efforts were honored by the American Chemistry Council which led to the supply of more than 100 million Tyvek garments to support frontline responders via garment production in 12 countries. DuPont sites also mobilized to manufacture and donate 44,000 liters of hand sanitizer to local communities as well as contributions of food, personal protective equipment, and many other donations.
DuPont’s Tyvek business is a part of its Safety and Construction business. During its second quarter earnings call, the business reported that demand for Tyvek protective garments increased 60% compared to last year, which was enabled by efforts to increase capacity and redirect supply from non-personal protection markets. Despite the strength in Tyvek protective garments, sales in other segments of the business including construction, which has traditionally been Tyvek’s key market, have declined, having been impacted by stay-at-home orders issued across the globe.
Prior to the pandemic, DuPont was already investing in Tyvek production. In June 2018, the company said it would invest more than $400 million to expand Tyvek nonwovens capacity at its facility Luxembourg. The production expansion, which will add a new building and a third operating line at the site, is scheduled to start up in 2021.
In addition to PPE, Tyvek is found in a number of key markets including building envelope solutions, medical packaging and graphics and protective packaging.
In corporate news, DuPont merged with Dow to form DowDuPont in late 2017 creating one of the largest chemical specialty companies in the world. Then, in June 2019, DowDuPont broke into three spin-off companies—agriculture, material science and specialty products—which were each to be independent and publicly traded. The material science business, which contains Tyvek, was renamed DuPont. During the spin off DuPont combined Kevlar, Nomex and Tyvek brands together under a single Safety Business. Merging these brands’ collective scale and dexterity are delivering and uncovering results that make an impact for personal protection, aerospace, automotive, healthcare, defense, electrical infrastructure and other industrial markets.
Answering the call for personal protective equipment (PPE) in the fight against coronavirus, DuPont’s Tyvek material has seen unprecedented global demand in 2020, which has led to increased investment and improvements in the material.
In April 2020, DuPont launched the #TyvekTogether program to increase the overall availability of Tyvek personal protective garments to help combat the spread of Covid-19 and protect health care workers. This initiative is leading to the delivery of up to six million additional non-surgical isolation gowns per month by enabling others to join it in protecting even more frontline responders and includes investment in Richmond, VA.
“There’s a critical need for protective apparel, and we believe that working with other companies to convert their existing cut-and-sew manufacturing capacity to protective garment fabrication is the fastest way to protect more people,” says John Richard, vice president and general manager DuPont Safety Solutions. “Our dedicated employees around the world are working 24/7 to make more Tyvek material and patterns available to more organizations, working together to protect those who are protecting us.” 
Included in this effort is investment in equipment and technology at DuPont’s Richmond, VA, plant to significantly increase its production of Tyvek and Tychem garments globally to meet the ever-increasing demand for PPE. Additionally, the #TyvekTogether Program will introduce a new specialized Tyvek  fabric to enable an increase in the amount of garment production for the Covid-19 response to 15 million garments a month. 
Tyvek style 1222A has similar barrier properties to the core DuPont Tyvek 400 garment offerings with adjusted fabric drape and hand to optimize material usage. It is available in roll-good form to existing and new customers with available cut-and-sew capabilities to increase the total amount of Tyvek garments available as quickly as possible.   
“Global demand for DuPont Tyvek continues to grow worldwide in all of our key end-use markets,” says Rose Lee, president—DuPont Safety & Construction. “This capacity expansion plan is a critical step in growing the Tyvek business, maintaining our leadership in nonwoven materials, and delivering the innovation customers expect from DuPont.”
Tyvek has had a tremendous impact across numerous industries, resulting in the creation of new categories of products, such as house wrap, which helped revolutionize home construction; setting new standards for personal protective apparel; enabling advancements in medical device technology; and playing an important role in many other applications. DuPont, along with its customers, continues to develop new Tyvek products and applications to meet evolving marketplace needs. Designers of consumer products for lighting and fashion accessories and apparel are increasingly demanding Tyvek for their products because of its lightweight durability and texture.
The big news from the maker of Tyvek flashspun nonwovens is DuPont’s announcement in June 2018 that it will invest more than $400 million to expand capacity of its flashspun Tyvek nonwoven material at its facility in Luxembourg. The production expansion, which will add a new building and a third operating line at the site, is scheduled to start up in 2021.
DuPont developed Tyvek in 1967. Made of 100% high-density polyethylene that has enabled new dimensions of protection, security and safety in a wide variety of industries and applications, Tyvek is found in a number of key markets including building envelope solutions, protective garments, medical packaging and graphics and protective packaging.
Known best for its role in the construction market where it remains an industry leader in the building wrap category, DuPont has received the Third Annual Builder Partnerships Partner of the Year award. This award is presented each year to a manufacturer for demonstrating excellence in supporting Builder Partnerships builder members and their overall base of builder customers. The award was presented during Builder Partnerships’ 13th Annual Networking Reception during the International Builders’ Show.
And, DuPont continues to innovate and add to its Tyvek family of products. This year, the company launched Tyvek® 500HV garments for high visibility applications and is also adding new product line extensions in our Tychem glove product launch.
Additionally, The DuPont Performance Building Solutions systems approach provides a comprehensive product portfolio that addresses the interior and exterior building envelope with solutions for managing air, water and thermal needs.
One new product, DuPont Tyvek® Water Resistive Barriers (WRBs) incorporate unique material science that helps keep air and water out, while letting water vapor escape. As a result, they can contribute to improved building durability by helping to protect homes and commercial buildings against damaging wind and rain that can penetrate the exterior cladding. Tyvek WRBs also help reduce energy bills by controlling air flow and water intrusion, which helps insulation work better, allowing the HVAC system to work more efficiently. Tyvek WRBs are engineered to keep buildings cool in the summer, warm in the winter, and dry all year round.
Additionally, DuPont™ Tyvek® Drainvent Rainscreen is a three-dimensional honeycomb-textured drainage mat that provides advanced protection against moisture damage in exterior wall systems. Ideal for stucco and stone exteriors, Tyvek DrainVent Rainscreen is suitable for use with a variety of other materials, including brick, wood siding, fiber cement siding, metal panel systems, cedar shake and shingles.
While construction continues to be the largest market for Tyvek globally, other markets like medical packaging, graphics and cargo covers continue to grow in importance. In July, DuPont announced a partnership with SkyCell, a Swiss-based manufacturer of temperature-controlled containers for food and pharmaceuticals to collaborate on technical and market development.
Tyvek garments are a leading choice by industrial and controlled environments professionals for protective apparel. Tyvek provides the best combination of protection, comfort and durability to protect workers from contamination and also to protect processes from contamination in the case of cleanrooms. Tyvek continues to be one of the leading materials for sterile medical and pharmaceutical packaging applications as it provides excellent microbial barrier properties, combined with great durability and puncture resistance. For graphics applications, Tyvek continues to be the material of choice for a wide range of applications that require durability and excellent printability, including tags and labels, wristbands, signs and banners, maps, and more. Products made from Tyvek can also be mechanically recycled into products such as underground cable protection piping, automotive parts, blown film, packaging cores and trays.
Customers continue to develop innovative solutions for Tyvek everyday based on its design capabilities along with the durability and functional performance. We see growing use for Tyvek in a broad range of consumer applications, including bags, apparel, home goods, and reusable packaging. We have established a new Instagram channel @Tyvekdesign where we feature many new applications our customers are developing with Tyvek.
In corporate news, DuPont merged with Dow to form DowDuPont in late 2017 creating one of the largest chemical specialty companies in the world. Then, in June 2019, DowDuPnt broke into three spin-off companies, which were each be independent and publicly traded. Each business—agriculture, material science and specialty products.
It is an exciting time at DuPont as we are focused on serving our customers with innovative solutions to their problems NOW. We continue to look for opportunities to collaborate with customers and meet their changing needs. In June, DuPont took a major step toward creating three strong, independent growth companies focused on driving innovation and delivering long-term value as Dow spun off DowDuPont. In doing this, we have combined Kevlar ®, Nomex ® and Tyvek ® brands together under a single Safety Business. Merging these brands’ collective scale and dexterity to deliver and uncover results that make an impact for Personal Protection, Aerospace, Automotive, Healthcare, Defense, Electrical Infrastructure, and the other industrial markets. Our collective global strategic leadership and focus at the regional level will also help us recognize opportunities faster, develop customer-oriented solutions quicker, and hone our competitive edge. Today, we are focused on the future of the DuPont Safety business as we aim on being the preeminent multi-industrial safety company in the world.
“In 2017, DuPont Tyvek has been innovative in its approach to placing technical resources in the field to ensure its products are supported where they need to be supported — on the job site,” vice president operations, Stepehn Crouch noted. “This type of support has been invaluable to our builder members as they work to increase efficiency and improve performance in the building process.”
And, DuPont continues to innovate and add to its Tyvek family of products. This year, the company launched DuPont Tyvek Fluid Applied WB+ System, the next generation of fluid applied air/water barriers in the portfolio of DuPont Building Envelope products. DuPont has taken the industry-leading performance of traditional DuPont Tyvek Fluid Applied products and developed a DuPont Tyvek Fluid Applied WB+ System, combining superior air and water barrier and industry-leading vapor permeability, into a reformulated fluid-applied membrane for ease of use on most commercial substrates.
“This innovation is exciting for our customers who need longer open times in the field as well as a product that is much easier to spray on the wall,” states Tim Wilson, DuPont North America commercial marketing manager. “Our system approach allows installers to have a fluid applied membrane, a fluid applied flashing and joint compound, along with sealants that are all compatible and install seamlessly together in the field.”
DuPont Tyvek Fluid Applied WB+ System offers features not available elsewhere in the industry. Providing an ideal combination of air and water holdout, the reformulated innovation boasts some of the highest vapor permeability among the competition at 22Perms.
Another new product is DuPont Tyvek Protec roofing underlayments, which was launched in March. Tyvek Protec 120, Tyvek Protec 160 and Tyvek Protec 200 each offer increasing quality, durability, strength, warranty protection and UV resistance. The portfolio of products is suitable for use by professional roofing and exterior contractors in new construction or re-roofing projects as a secondary water barrier on steep-sloped roofs (2:12 or higher) under asphalt shingle, tile, metal, cedar or slate.
In addition to the 10-square synthetic rolls, the underlayments are available in a two-square roll size. The smaller rolls are now available as a solution to limit waste on new or re-roofing projects, and aid economical project estimations.
Jim Ash, global roofing market segment leader, DuPont Protection Solutions elaborates, “Tyvek Protec underlayments are lightweight and durable, making them an excellent secondary moisture layer that are easy to install. More importantly, their unique embossed top sheet helps with walkability and protects builders when encountering hazards like dirt and water on the roof. DuPont Tyvek Building Envelope Solutions provide for the greater good by not only helping to secure the home and what’s inside it, but by also helping to secure the safety of its installers.”
Both companies are global leaders in their respective fields and the partnership is expected to lead to transformational innovations in temperature monitoring, shipment tracking, asset management and ‘smart’ data-driven services. The combined effort is aimed at maintaining the physical and clinical integrity of pharmaceuticals in transit.
“DuPont is a firm believer in the potential of strategic alliances like this one where each party can leverage its respective strength for powerful solutions,” says Christian Marx, vice president and general manager of Tyvek and Typar. “There is a strong strategic fit between DuPont and SkyCell and we see this as an important step in complementing our Tyvek Cargo Covers offering and expanding our market capability with high-performance solutions for an increasingly sophisticated pharmaceutical supply chain.”
The alliance will harness the strengths of two of the strongest names in the field of pharmaceutical cold chain to better define and meet the needs of customers around the world. Under the terms of the agreement DuPont will gain access to SkyCell’s remote temperature-management solutions and expertise and acquire marketing rights to the SkyCell portfolio of insulated shipping containers. The SkyCell containers will be marketed by DuPont alongside its Tyvek products enabling the market-leader in cargo covers to provide an unrivalled breadth of high-tech temperature-management solutions to discerning customers. SkyCell, on the other hand, will be in a position to tap into the renowned technical resource of DuPont and will benefit from the DuPont global network especially in emerging markets and the Asia-Pacific region.
“We are excited to be entering into the next stage of our journey by collaborating with DuPont Tyvek, a trusted provider of protection in pharmaceutical logistics,” says Richard Ettl, CEO of SkyCell. “With a shared vision of better leveraging data in the supply chain of sensitive pharmaceuticals, this partnership will help us play our part in ensuring that medicines, vaccines and other health-related treatments get to the final patients in a safe, sustainable and timely manner.”
For Greater Good is the promise of the DuPont Tyvek brand. DuPont Tyvek can provide the trusted protective barrier people need so they can worry less and focus on accomplishing bigger things – making the greater good possible.
Meanwhile in medical packaging, Tyvek completed a $30 million investment last year. Known as the company’s Medical Packaging Transition Project, the efforts not only modernized the technology for Tyvek used in medical packaging, it also allowed the company to create a strong foundation for growth within the medical packaging market. The project involved new line investments for its two main grades of Tyvek used in medical packaging to ensure greater continuity and flexibility of future products and the latest advancements in flash spinning technology.
As part of the project, DuPont developed a systematic method for generating data to prove that the Tyvek produced on the new line is functionally equivalent to previous versions of Tyvek. This helps mitigate regulator requalification and minimize costs to individual companies in the market.
The newly designed materials hit a major milestone at the beginning of commercialization in October 2015 when the Centers for Devices and Radiological Health at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration agreed that the new grade of nonwovens was functionally equivalent.
In corporate news, DuPont merged with Dow to form DowDuPont in late 2017 creating one of the largest chemical specialty companies in the world. The next step for the newly merged company will be the formation of three spin-off companies, which will be independent and publicly traded. Each business—agriculture, material science and specialty products. DuPont’s nonwovens business, which is a part of the Safety & Protection division, is contained under the Specialty Products Company. This company, headquartered in Wilmington, DE, will become the new DuPont, reflecting the strength of its technology-driven specialty businesses with highly differentiated products and solutions that transform industries and everyday life.
“For more than 200 years, customers have looked to DuPont to help them turn their best ideas into real-world products,” says CEO Marc Doyle. “We are creating a premier innovation-driven specialty leader, drawing on expertise and assets from both heritage Dow and DuPont, which deliver the essential advances that our customers—and the world—need to thrive. We are deeply proud to have this company carry the DuPont name into the future.”
The division is expected to separate into its own stand-alone company by June 1, 2019.
Plants: Richmond, VA (Tyvek, Hybrid Membrane Technology, HMT); Luxembourg (Tyvek, Typar) ISO Status: All plants are ISO 9002 certified; Luxembourg facility is also ISO9001 certified Processes Flashspun (Tyvek), spunbond (Typar) Brands: DuPont Tyvek, Tychem, Energain, Typar Major Major Markets: Construction, healthcare, protective apparel, industrial filtration, absorbents, home furnishings, envelopes, geotextiles, graphics, packaging, footwear, automotive
As this report went to press, DuPont, the maker of Tyvek and Typar nonwovens, was days away from its previously announced merger with the Dow Chemical Company. In early August, the boards of the two companies announced they would merge “as equals” after the close of business August 31. Both companies will then cease trading on the New York Stock exchange and begin trading as DowDuPont September 1.
The two companies first announced in December 2015 that they would merge, following the unanimous approval of both companies’ boards of directors. Shareholder approval followed in July and regulatory approval was won throughout 2017.
The next step for the newly formed company will be the formation of three independent, publicly traded companies through tax-free spin-offs within the next 18-24 months. The companies will include a leading global pure-play Agriculture company; a leading global pure-play Material Science company; and a leading technology and innovation-driven Specialty Products company. DuPont’s Safety & Protection business, which includes its nonwovens assets, will be contained within the Specialty Products business. Each of the businesses will have clear focus, an appropriate capital structure, a distinct and compelling investment thesis, scale advantages, and focused investments in innovation to better deliver superior solutions and choices for customers.
“This transaction is a game-changer for our industry and reflects the culmination of a vision we have had for more than a decade to bring together these two powerful innovation and material science leaders,” says Andrew N. Liveris, Dow’s chairman and CEO. “Over the last decade our entire industry has experienced tectonic shifts as an evolving world presented complex challenges and opportunities – requiring each company to exercise foresight, agility and focus on execution. This transaction is a major accelerator in Dow’s ongoing transformation, and through this we are creating significant value and three powerful new companies. This merger of equals significantly enhances the growth profile for both companies, while driving value for all of our shareholders and our customers.”
“This is an extraordinary opportunity to deliver long-term, sustainable shareholder value through the combination of two highly complementary global leaders and the creation of three strong, focused, industry-leading businesses. Each of these businesses will be able to allocate capital more effectively, apply its powerful innovation more productively, and extend its value-added products and solutions to more customers worldwide,” says Edward Breen, chairman and CEO of DuPont. “For DuPont, this is a definitive leap forward on our path to higher growth and higher value. This merger of equals will create significant near-term value through substantial cost synergies and additional upside from growth synergies. Longer term, the three-way split we intend to pursue is expected to unlock even greater value for shareholders and customers and more opportunity for employees as each business will be a leader in attractive segments where global challenges are driving demand for these businesses’ distinctive offerings.”
The transaction is expected to deliver approximately $3 billion in cost synergies, with 100% of the run-rate cost synergies achieved within the first 24 months following the closing of the transaction.
The three businesses that the boards intend to separate are:
Turning towards its nonwovens business, DuPont’s main technology is Tyvek, which it has been making using a proprietary flashspun technology for five decades. This technology continues to enjoy a leadership position in areas like construction, medical packaging and graphics and continues to expand into new areas like air cargo and lighting applications. In 2016, Tyvek was cited as a major contributor to 2% volume growth within DuPont’s Protection Solutions business.
This year, the technology is celebrating 50 years. “We are proud of the role Tyvek has played during the past 50 years in making a world of greater good possible,” says Christian Marx, global business director.
DuPont will be marking the milestone with celebratory events throughout the year. These are not only paying tribute to the past but also a focus on the future.
“From helping to protect medical personnel during the West Africa Ebola crisis, to serving as a weather barrier for the pavilion housing the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia along with countless homes and commercial buildings around the globe, to helping protect the health of millions of patients around the world by maintaining the sterility of medical devices and supplies, Tyvek provides the trusted protection people need to accomplish bigger things,” explains Marx. “We are pleased to celebrate the past but remain focused on the future, collaborating worldwide to innovate with Tyvek and help solve the challenges of the next half century and beyond.”
Tyvek has been recognized as the No. 1 brand for the house wrap category in the 2017 Builder Brand Use Study conducted by the Farnsworth Group. This is the 20th consecutive year Tyvek has been rated No. 1 for brand familiarity, quality and brand used in the U.S. building market. Meanwhile, Tyvek Protec roofing underlayment, introduced in July 2016, was a finalist for the “Most Innovative Building Product” at the 2017 International Builders Show in January.
Another new product is DuPont Tyvek Protec roofing underlayments, which was launched in March. Tyvek Protec 120; Tyvek Protec 160 and Tyvek Protec 200 each offers increasing quality, durability, strength, warranty protection and UV resistance. The portfolio of products is suitable for use by professional roofing and exterior contractors in new construction or re-roofing projects as a secondary water barrier on steep-sloped roofs (2:12 or higher) under asphalt shingle, tile, metal, cedar or slate.
In addition to construction, Tyvek has a significant role in the medical packaging segment, where the company completed a $30 million investment last year. Known as the company’s Medical packaging Transition Project, the efforts not only modernized the technology for Tyvek used in medical packaging, it also allowed the company to create a strong foundation for growth within the medical packaging market. The project involved new line investments for its two main grades of Tyvek used in medical packaging to ensure greater continuity and flexibility of future products and the latest advancements in flash spinning technology.
The newly designed materials hit a major milestone at the beginning of commercialization in October 2015 when the Centers for Devices and Radiological Health at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration agreed that the new grade of the nonwovens was functionally equivalent.
Other uses of Tyvek include cargo covers, shopping bags, graphics and envelopes and protective apparel.
The other main technology in DuPont’s nonwovens business was Energain, which was once known as Hybrid Membrane Technology. This technology, which uses a proprietary spinning process to create a membrane-like sheet product composed of continuous submicron fibers with resultant sub-micron to low-micron pores and a high surface area, was sold to Solvay in February, enlarging the company’s capabilities in innovative high-voltage solutions for Li-ion batteries. DuPont purchased the Energain technology from a Korean company in 2010.
Plants: Richmond, VA (Tyvek, Hybrid Membrane Technology, HMT); Luxembourg (Tyvek, Typar); Shenzhen, China (Tyvek) ISO Status: All plants are ISO 9002 certified; Luxembourg facility is also ISO9001 certified Processes: Flashspun (Tyvek), spunbond (Typar), spunlace (HMT) Brands: DuPont Tyvek, Tychem, Energain, Typar Major Markets: Construction, healthcare, protective apparel, industrial filtration, absorbents, home furnishings, envelopes, geotextiles, graphics, packaging, footwear, automotive
Big changes are ahead for DuPont, the maker of Tyvek and Typar nonwovens. In December 2015, the company announced it would merge with The Dow Chemical Company following the unanimous approval of both companies’ boards of directors. Shareholders approved the merger in July and the deal, which is currently under Phase II review by the European Union, is expected to be complete by the end of this year.
The combined company will be named DowDuPont and will eventually be split into three independent, publicly traded companies through tax-free spin-offs within 18-24 months following the closing of the merger.
The companies will include a leading global pure-play Agriculture company; a leading global pure-play Material Science company; and a leading technology and innovation-driven Specialty Products company. DuPont’s Safety & Protection business, which includes its nonwovens assets, will be contained within the Specialty Products business. Each of the businesses will have clear focus, an appropriate capital structure, a distinct and compelling investment thesis, scale advantages, and focused investments in innovation to better deliver superior solutions and choices for customers, according to executives.
“This transaction is a game-changer for our industry and reflects the culmination of a vision we have had for more than a decade to bring together these two powerful innovation and material science leaders,” says Andrew Liveris, Dow’s chairman and CEO. “Over the last decade our entire industry has experienced tectonic shifts as an evolving world presented complex challenges and opportunities – requiring each company to exercise foresight, agility and focus on execution. This transaction is a major accelerator in Dow’s ongoing transformation, and through this we are creating significant value and three powerful new companies. This merger of equals significantly enhances the growth profile for both companies, while driving value for all of our shareholders and our customers.”
Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company would be named DowDuPont and have a combined market capitalization of approximately $130 billion. Dow and DuPont shareholders will each own approximately 50% of the combined company, on a fully diluted basis, excluding preferred shares.
Agriculture Company: Leading global pure-play agriculture company that unites DuPont’s and Dow’s seed and crop protection businesses. The combined entity will have the most comprehensive and diverse portfolio and a robust pipeline with exceptional growth opportunities in the near-, mid- and long-term. The complementary offerings of the two companies will provide growers across geographies with a broad portfolio of solutions and greater choice. Combined pro forma 2014 revenue for Agriculture is approximately $19 billion.
Material Science Company: A pure-play industrial leader, consisting of DuPont’s Performance Materials segment, as well as Dow’s Performance Plastics, Performance Materials and Chemicals, Infrastructure Solutions, and Consumer Solutions (excluding the Dow Electronic Materials business) operating segments. The combination of complementary capabilities will create a low-cost, innovation-driven leader that can provide customers in high-growth, high-value industry segments in packaging, transportation, and infrastructure solutions, among others with a broad and deep portfolio of cost-effective offerings. Combined pro forma 2014 revenue for Material Science is approximately $51 billion.
Specialty Products Company: A technology driven innovative leader, focused on unique businesses that share similar investment characteristics and specialty market focus. The businesses will include DuPont’s Nutrition & Health, Industrial Biosciences, Safety & Protection and Electronics & Communications, as well as the Dow Electronic Materials business. Together, their complementary offerings create a new global leader in Electronics Products, and each business will benefit from more targeted investment in their productive technology development and innovation capabilities. Combined pro forma 2014 revenue for Specialty Products is approximately $13 billion.
Turning towards its nonwovens business, DuPont’s main technology is Tyvek, which it has been making using a proprietary flashspun technology for more than 40 years. This technology continues to enjoy a leadership position in areas like construction, medical packaging and graphics and continues to expand into new areas like air cargo and lighting applications.
Within the construction market, DuPont has recently launched a line of roofing underlayments, DuPont Tyvek Protec, as part of the Tyvek family of building envelope products. Tyvek Protec is suitable for use by professional roofing and exteriors contractors in new construction or re-roofing projects as a secondary water barrier on steep-sloped roofs (2:12 or higher) under asphalt shingle, tile, metal, cedar or slate. Tyvek Protec is offered in a variety of product grades—Tyvek Protec 120, Tyvek Protec 160 and Tyvek Protec 200; each with increasing quality, durability, strength, warranty protection and UV resistance. “The walkability of Tyvek Protec is best-in-class,” says Jim Ash, global roofing market segment leader, DuPont Protection Solutions. “From the grip under foot to the grip to the roof deck, contractors will see, feel and experience the differences from other roofing underlayments the moment they install the first roll. We are excited and look forward to bringing the same high level of quality, durability, building science, support and service to those that serve the roofing industry as we have been providing to the construction industry for over 35 years.”With its industry-leading walkability, Tyvek Protec enables effective installation regardless of weather conditions—dry, wet, hot, cold or dirty. In addition, Tyvek Protec lays flat and is wrinkle-free—for ease of installation. It is easy to chalk and is available in the U.S. and in Canada from local lumber and roofing dealers.
This product is latest in DuPont’s suite of Tyvek envelope solutions which help make buildings more durable, comfortable and energy efficient. In fact, Tyvek created the building wrap category more than 30 years ago.
Meanwhile in the medical packaging segment DuPont completed a $30 million investment in improving the technology offered in this segment. Known as the company’s Medical packaging Transition Project, these efforts not only modernized the technology for Tyvek used in medical packaging but also allowed the company to create a strong foundation for growth within the medical packaging market. The project involves new line investments for its two main grades of Tyvek used in medical packaging to ensure greater continuity and flexibility of future products and the latest advancements in flash spinning technology.
As part of the project, DuPont has developed a systematic method for generating data to prove that the Tyvek produced on the new line is functionally equivalent to previous versions of Tyvek. This will help mitigate regulatory requalification and minimize costs to individual companies serving this market. Throughout this process, which began in 2011, DuPont has kept its customers constantly informed. In March 2014, DuPont issued a formal change notification letter for two grades of Tyvek giving customers at least one year before beginning the full commercialization of the new Tyvek grades.
In August 2015, DuPont’s medical packaging management team published an open letter to the industry, notifying them that DuPont completed the submissions for all regulatory reports for the project and is in the process of conducting face-to-face meetings with these regulatory bodies to review all results to date and respond to their questions.
The project hit a major milestone in October 2015 when the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agreed that the new grade of the flashspun nonwovens was functionally equivalent to the existing grade. The U.S. FDA affirmation allows Medical Device Manufacturers to avoid filing amended 510(k)s or PMAs when substituting transition Tyvek for current Tyvek during the manufacture of approved medical devices in most cases.
This decision signaled the beginning of commercial stage of the advanced materials.
“Receiving FDA affirmation of functional equivalence and Health Canada guidance is the culmination of years of preparation, collaboration and execution of a meticulous process,” says Michael Scholla, Ph.D., global director, Regulatory and Standards, DuPont Protection Technologies. “We would like to thank the FDA, Health Canada and all those who have participated in this process; it is a great demonstration of the power of an effective supplier-industry-government collaboration.”
In addition to Tyvek, DuPont’s other main nonwovens technology, Hybrid Membrane Technology, a version of which was purchased from a Korean partner about five years ago, goes beyond the limits of today’s semi-porous or nonwoven membranes.
Made by a proprietary new spinning process, DuPont HMT is a “membrane-like” sheet product composed of continuous sub-micron fibers with resultant sub-micron to low-micron pores and high surface area.
According to the company, HMT provides a long-awaited option to fill the performance gaps between microporous membranes and traditional nonwovens. HMT is not an electrostatically treated material and depends completely on the mechanical structure of the media, thus concerns over filtration performance over the life of the filter are alleviated.
DuPont continues to make HMT nonwovens, also known as Energain, in the energy storage market, on a pilot line in Chesterfield, VA. To date, the technology has mainly targeted the energy storage battery separator and biopharma filtration markets. However, another potential market is in apparel, where HMT is a dyeable, water resistant membrane with better breathability and textile properties than films, providing greater comfort for sports enthusiasts. As an allergen barrier, DuPont HMT provides the comfort of finely woven fabrics with the barrier performance of non-breathable films.
In June, DuPont showcased a bridal gown made from discarded Tyvek for medical packaging at the Medical Design & Manufacturing East Expo conference in New York City. Known as Bella the Bride, this sculpture was commissioned by Beacon Converters to bring attention to the recyclability of medical packaging waste.
Tyvek was selected for this project because of its widespread use throughout the healthcare industry and its ability to be recycled or recovered for repurposing. Tyvek often gains a second life in products such as plastic decking and lawn furniture. In addition to medical and pharmaceutical packaging, Tyvek is widely used for personal protective equipment, weatherization systems and envelopes.
Plants: Richmond, VA (Tyvek, Hybrid Membrane Technology, HMT); Old Hickory, TN (Sontara); Luxembourg (Tyvek, Typar); Shenzhen, China (Tyvek and Sontara converting facility) ISO Status: All plants are ISO 9002 certified; Luxembourg facility is also ISO9001 certified Processes: Flashspun (Tyvek), spunbond (Typar), spunlace (Sontara, HMT) Brands: DuPont Tyvek, Tychem, Energain, Sontara, Typar Major Markets: Construction, healthcare, protective apparel, industrial filtration, absorbents, home furnishings, envelopes, geotextiles, graphics, packaging, footwear, automotive
The big change at Wilmington, DE-based DuPont is the sale of the company’s Sontara spunlaced business to Jacob Holm in September 2014. The sale not only includes the company spunlace assets serving the medical garment and critical wipes businesses but also manufacturing assets in Old Hickory, TN and Asturias, Spain. Sontara’s annual sales prior to the divestment were approximately $190 million.
“This transaction represents another step in the execution of our growth strategy in DuPont Protection Technologies and further enhances our focus on delivering innovative advanced materials that drive profitable growth both today and over the long term,” said Marc Doyle, president, DuPont Protection Technologies. “We wish those in the Sontara business every success under Jacob Holm.”
Sontara sales comprised only about 5% of DuPont’s Protection Technologies, significantly less than DuPont’s Tyvek flashspun nonwovens business, which continues to enjoy a leadership position in areas like construction, protective apparel and medical packaging while focusing on new market areas.
The most successful new market segment is air cargo, where DuPont’s Tyvek air cargo covers help transport companies meet global mandates for controlled temperatures, between 15-25°C, when shipping pharmaceutical and food products.
These large hoods, available in regular Tyvek or metallized Tyvek varieties are placed over pallets of pharmaceutical or food products when they are most vulnerable, such as during temporary air transit control chain breaks when pallets spend time sitting on tarmacs, exposing them to solar radiation or temperature extremes.
These covers feature a unique combination of properties including reflectivity to shield the product from solar radiation, low thermal conductivity to decrease the effects of temperature extremes and breathable barrier which prevents gases from being trapped and damaging products, according to DuPont.
Consumer bags have also emerged as a new market area for Tyvek, where DuPont has been test marketing the totes in North America under the brand name Verdiva. Verdiva bags are strong, foldable and machine washable and available in a number of designs. According to experts, the market for reusable shopping bags is expected to grow as more major cities are banning the use of free disposable shopping bags.
Another new application area for Tyvek is in display and lighting applications where its reflective qualities lessen energy costs. Meanwhile in construction, one of Tyvek’s largest markets, Tyvek Fluid Applied weather barrier systems provide water and fluid-applied air barrier protection designed for the unique demands of heavy commercial construction projects.
This system has quickly become an integral part of thousands of sustainable buildings around the world offering the convenience of a fast, pressure-rolled or sprayed application and providing seamless protection for the building envelope and meeting stringent codes and standard requirements for energy efficiency.
Other products in Tyvek’s construction business include Tyvek Silver, ThermaWrap and Firecure, which all offer membrane solutions for construction applications dealing with radiant heat loss, reducing active flame spread and air and water management.
Meanwhile, in medical packaging, another important business, DuPont is proving its commitment to the market through a $30 million investment known as the company’s Medical Packaging Transition Project.
These efforts have not only modernized the technology for Tyvek used in medical packaging, they have also allowed the company to create a strong foundation for growth within the medical packaging market.
The project involves new line investments for its two main grades of Tyvek used in medical packaging to ensure greater continuity and flexibility of future products and the latest advancements in flash spinning technology.
As part of the project, DuPont has developed a systematic method for generating data to prove that the Tyvek produced on the new line is functionally equivalent to previous versions of Tyvek. This will help mitigate regulatory requalification and minimize costs to individual companies serving this market.
Throughout this process, which began in 2011, DuPont has kept its customers constantly informed. In March 2014, DuPont issued a formal change notification letter for two grades of Tyvek giving customers at least one year before beginning the full commercialization of the new Tyvek grades.
Prior to issuing the formal change notification, a significant amount of material testing had been completed and all results to date indicate that the Transition Protocol materials are functionally equivalent to current Tyvek, and extensive package testing is now in progress.
More recently, in August, DuPont’s medical packaging management team published an open letter to the industry, notifying them that DuPont completed the submissions for all regulatory reports for the project and is in the process of conducting face-to-face meetings with these regulatory bodies to review all results to date and respond to their questions. The letter also indicated that the company expects to begin commercial sales of the new grades in October after receiving FDA affirmation this month.
DuPont’s other main nonwovens technology, Hybrid Membrane Technology, a version of which was purchased from a Korean partner about five years ago, goes beyond the limits of today’s semi-porous or nonwoven membranes.
Plants: Richmond, VA (Tyvek, Hybrid Membrane Technology, HMT); Old Hickory, TN (Sontara); Luxembourg (Tyvek, Typar); Asturias, Spain (Sontara); Shenzhen, China (Tyvek and Sontara converting facility); Brazil joint venture (Sontara) ISO Status: All plants are ISO 9002 certified; Luxembourg facility is also ISO9001 certified Processes: Flashspun (Tyvek), spunbond (Typar), spunlace (Sontara, HMT) Brands: DuPont Tyvek, Tychem, Energain, Sontara, Typar. Major Markets: Construction, healthcare, protective apparel, industrial filtration, absorbents, home furnishings, envelopes, geotextiles, graphics, packaging, footwear, automotive
The big news from DuPont, the world’s second largest nonwovens producer, was the sale of its Sontara brand of spunlace fabrics to Jacob Holm, a Swiss nonwovens producer with plants in North Carolina, France and Germany. Sontara, a global nonwovens business that makes spunlace fabrics for use in variety of medical and wipes business, is made by DuPont at sites in Old Hickory, TN and Asturias, Spain, which will be transferred to Jacob Holm when the sale becomes final later this year. DuPont developed the technology about 40 years ago.
“We are grateful to the current and past employees of Sontara for their contribution to DuPont during the last 40 years and we are pleased to see the business well-positioned for success in the future as part of Jacob Holm, a world-class organization dedicated to the nonwovens industry,” says Marc Doyle, president, DuPont Protection Technologies.
According to DuPont’s annual report, Sontara represented about 5% of the company’s $3.8 billion Protection Technologies business. Following the sale, DuPont’s nonwovens business will include the significantly larger Tyvek business, which comprises its flashspun technology, and Hybrid Membrane Technology, a technology purchased about five years ago from a Korean firm that is targeted toward energy storage and filtration applications.
Representing about 11% of overall corporate sales, DuPont Protection Technologies was formed five years ago by combining the company’s nonwovens businesses with its sister units on the aramid fiber side. The business unit essentially contains most of DuPont’s technologies that combine the company’s technologies that protect people, the environment and critical processes worldwide.
According to the company, the division has followed through on its strategy of growing in developing markets, differentiating itself powerful brands and unique value propositions through market facing models, driving unique technologies and new application development and improving its competitive position by reducing costs.
Representing the bulk of its nonwovens sales, DuPont’s Tyvek flashspun technology continues to go into new end-use areas while growing in existing markets including construction, personal protection and medical packaging.
The most successful new market segment is air cargo, where DuPont’s Tyvek air cargo covers help transport companies meet global mandates for controlled temperatures, between 15-25°C, when shipping pharmaceutical and food products. These large hoods, available in regular Tyvek or metallized Tyvek varieties are placed over pallets of pharmaceutical or food products when they are most vulnerable, such as during temporary air transit control chain breaks, when pallets spend time sitting on tarmacs, exposing them to solar radiation or temperature extremes.
These covers feature a unique combination of properties including reflectivity to shield the product from solar radiation, low thermal conductivity to decrease the effects of temperature extremes and breathable barrier which prevents gases from being trapped and damaging products, according to DuPont
Consumer bags have also emerged as a new market are for Tyvek, where DuPont has been test marketing the totes in North America under the brand name Verdiva. Verdiva bags are strong, foldable and machine washable and available in a number of designs. According to experts, the market for reusable shopping bags is expected to grow as more major cities are banning the use of free disposable shopping bags.
Another new application area for Tyvek is in display and lighting applications where its reflective qualities lessen energy costs.
Meanwhile in construction, one of Tyvek’s largest markets, Tyvek Fluid Applied weather barrier systems provide water and fluid applied air barrier protection designed for the unique demands of heavy commercial construction projects. This system has fast become an integral part of thousands of sustainable buildings around the world offering the convenience of a fast, pressure-rolled or sprayed applications and providing seamless protection for the building envelope and meeting stringent codes and standard requirements for energy efficiency.
Meanwhile, in medical packaging, another important business, DuPont is proving its commitment to the market through a $30 million investment known as the company’s Medical Packaging Tansition Project. These efforts will not only modernize the technology for Tyvek used in medical packaging, it will also allow the company to create a strong foundation for growth within the medical packaging market.
The project involves new line investments for its two main grades of Tyvek used in medical packaging. This will ensure greater continuity and flexibility of future products and the latest advancements in flash spinning technology.
In March, DuPont issued a formal change notification letter for two grades of Tyvek for customers, giving them at least one year before beginning the full commercialization of the new Tyvek grades.
Prior to issuing the formal Change Notification, a significant amount of material testing had been completed and all results to date indicate that the Transition Protocol materials are functionally equivalent to current Tyvek, and extensive package testing is now in progress.
“All cells for the U.S. FDA Transition Protocol and the Phantom Protocol have been received at Nelson Laboratories and package testing is well under way,” says Bruce Yost, technical director, DuPont Medical and Pharmaceutical Protection.
DuPont shared more information with its industry partners through a webinar in early May.
DuPont’s other main nonwovens technology, Hybrid Membrane Technology, a version of which was purchased from a Korean partner about five years ago, goes beyond the limits of today’s semi-porous or nonwoven membranes. Made by a proprietary new spinning process, DuPont HMT is a “membrane-like” sheet product composed of continuous sub-micron fibers with resultant sub-micron to low-micron pores and high surface area.
According to the company, HMT provides a long-awaited option to fill the performance gaps between microporous membranes and traditional nonwovens.
HMT is not an electrostatically treated material and depends completely on the mechanical structure of the media, thus concerns over filtration performance over the life of the filter are alleviated.
DuPont continues to make HMT nonwovens, also known as Energain, in the energy storage market, on a pilot line in Chesterfield, VA, and so far the technology has mainly targeted the energy storage battery separator and biopharma filtration markets. However, another potential market is in apparel, where HMT is a dyeable, water resistant membrane with better breathability and textile properties than films, providing greater comfort for sports enthusiasts. As an allergen barrier, DuPont HMT provides the comfort of finely woven fabrics with the barrier performance of non-breathable films.
Plants: Richmond, VA (Tyvek, Hybrid Membrane Technology, HMT); Old Hickory, TN (Sontara); Luxembourg (Tyvek, Typar); Asturias, Spain (Sontara); Shenzhen, China (Tyvek and Sontara converting facility); Brazil joint venture (Sontara)
ISO Status: All plants are ISO 9002 certified; Luxembourg facility is also ISO 9001 certified
Processes: Flash-spun (Tyvek), spunbond (Typar), spunlace (Sontara, HMT)
Brands: DuPont Tyvek, Tychem, Energain, Sontara, Typar.
Major Markets: Construction, healthcare, protective apparel, industrial filtration, absorbents, home furnishings, envelopes, geotextiles, graphics, packaging, footwear, automotive.
DuPont, the maker of Tyvek and Sontara nonwovens remains bullish about its nonwovens business and the contribution it can have to the global industry. “Our focus is growing our core markets, finding new markets for our existing technology and also looking at new technologies that can expand our business,” says Tyvek and Sontara global business director, Diego Boeri.
The majority of DuPont’s nonwovens business falls within the business unit DuPont Protection Technologies, which was formed four years ago by combining the company’s nonwovens business with its sister units on the aramid fiber side. This business unit essentially contains most of DuPont’s technologies that protect people, the environment and critical processes worldwide. Within nonwovens, only construction falls outside of DuPont Protection Technologies and is managed by the Building Innovations business of DuPont. Within the protective market, key markets for Tyvek include protective apparel and medical packaging. New markets for the technology include optics, air cargo and consumer bags.
Within Tyvek, DuPont Protection Technologies is seeing two axes of growth. One is a strong focus on core markets including protective apparel and medical packaging; the other is the development of new business areas. In recent years, new business areas have included air cargo application, optics and, most recently, consumer bags.
The most successful of these three, air cargo, is the result of global mandates for controlled temperatures, between 15-25°C when shipping pharmaceutical products. To meet these mandates, DuPont has developed a new brand, Tyvek Air Cargo Covers, large hoods, available in regular Tyvek or metallized Tyvek varieties, which are placed over pallets of pharmaceutical products when they are most vulnerable, such as during temporary air transit control chain breaks like sitting on the tarmac, where they are subject to solar radiation or temperature extremes.
“The cover really guarantees that temperature remains controlled,” Boeri says, adding that the unique combination of properties offer high reflectance to shield the product from solar radiation, lower thermal conductivity which decreases the effects of temperature extremes and breathable barrier, which prevent trapped gas from damaging products. DuPont has already secured contracts for the covers with a few global pharmaceutical companies and is in the process of signing more deals both in pharmaceutical and in the food transport market.
Another of DuPont’s developing market areas is consumer bags, such as reusable shopping totes, and the company is currently conducting several customer trials in North America under the brand name Verdiva. With several cities across the U.S. already banning retailers from dispensing free plastic bags, the market for nonwoven shopping bags is expected to grow.
To help it succeed in new markets, DuPont is continuously investing in and improving upon Tyvek technology. The addition of metallization in some grades of Tyvek is one interesting development that has allowed the company to make inroads in existing areas like construction as well as new ones, air cargo. “This is not standard metallization,” Diego says. “The process allows us to apply an extremely thin coating of metal without destroying the properties of Tyvek. The big thing is it allows the breathability of Tyvek to remain mostly intact.”
Beyond metallization, improving the breathability and the flexibility of Tyvek are among DuPont’s main focus areas in offering news grades of the fl ashspun technology. These growth efforts toward new product development fueled DuPont’s decision last year to reinstate an idled production line in Luxembourg. This adds to our global capacity and gives the technology a more balanced footprint across the oceans, Boeri says.
Meanwhile, in medical packaging, another core Tyvek market, DuPont is proving its commitment to the medical packaging market through a $30 million investment known as the company’s Medical Packaging Transition Project. These efforts will not only modernize the technology for Tyvek fl ash spun nonwovens used for medical packaging, it will also allow DuPont to create a strong foundation for growth within the medical packaging market.
Through industry collaboration, DuPont is targeting the entire value chain within medical packaging, working with independent test labs, the U.S. FDA and other regulatory agencies internationally. DuPont is also working with several sterile packaging and medical device manufacturers around the globe in advance of the commercialization, which is scheduled for early 2015.
Earlier this summer, DuPont announced that transition protocol amendments have been made and accepted by the Center for Devices and Radiological Health at the FDA in the U.S. Additionally; Europe’s four largest regulatory bodies have received a copy of the amendments. In Japan, regulatory bodies are reviewing the data and in China testing criteria have been established.
From a technical standpoint, DuPont has completed developmental material assessments, has successfully produced and tested transition protocol materials, shipped materials to participating sterile packaging manufacturers for conversion and conducted a formal DuPont Product Stewardship review.
According to Boeri, a key milestone was making the transition protocol material available for purchase this summer, well in advance of full commercialization, which is estimated for early 2015. This will support MDM efforts to complete internal risk assessments prior to commercialization and enable them to qualify material for new device packaging, he says.
“We are really optimistic about the project. It’s not just an internal operation. It’s a massive activity where we are working with regulatory agencies and the whole value chain to minimize the impact for our customers,” he says.
DuPont’s other major nonwovens technology, Sontara, which is based on spunlace technology, continues to be used in wipes and medical fabrics for gowns and drapes where it offers low cost, sophisticated products. Describing this business as “stable,” Boeri says that the product plays in a more competitive arena than other DuPont technologies.
“There our focus is two things. The fi rst is maintaining a customer- centric product development program, the second is to continue to fi nd productivity improvements and focus on lean operation. We are always looking at ways to be more productive,” he says.
Beyond medical, Sontara’s other applications include high performance wipes for markets like car detailing, printing and aerospace, as well as other areas where innovation is valued. Energain, DuPont’s latest nonwovens-based technology, continues production on a pilot line in Chesterfi eld, VA. Marketed as a hybrid membrane technology (HMT), this technology primarily targets the energy storage battery separator and biopharma filtration markets.
“We have been working with customers to qualify products and I would say we are still in the middle of development,” says Boeri. “We have trials in energy storage and some sales in biopharma filtration. Timeline is something you always have to keep in mind when you are dealing with new technologies and markets.”
Still the introduction of new technologies as well as expanding in core markets continues to be a key part of DuPont’s growth strategy for these products. “We continue to invest in our nonwovens technology and applications to benefi t our customers,” says Boeri.
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