DuPont Nomex fibre expansion – to build facility in Spain
20 Sep '06
2 min read
DuPont announced a continuation of its investment strategy for high-performance fibers with a multi-product, multi-region expansion plan for its high-performance Nomex brand fiber that will deliver a step change increase in worldwide capacity of DuPont Nomex.
The company expects to invest more than $100 million in the three-part expansion that is scheduled to begin rolling out in phases later this year.
"Spurred by demand from market segments that include protective apparel, high-performance materials and electrical insulation, DuPont Nomex has experienced significant growth over the past three years," said William J. Harvey, vice president and general manager - DuPont Advanced Fiber Systems.
"Strong customer value for the Nomex brand and the quality it represents, in addition to trends toward increasing worker safety and smaller, more energy-efficient electronics, are driving market needs for Nomex across a wide range of applications. This expansion program represents an important step in growing the Nomex business and delivering the innovation and service that customers expect from DuPont."
The multi-faceted expansion is comprised of the following projects spanning Nomex ingredients, fiber and paper:
DuPont Chemical Solutions is planning to construct a significant new isophthaloyl chloride (ICL) facility in Asturias, Spain. ICL is one of the principal ingredients used to manufacture Nomex. This new ICL facility will also liberate additional existing capacity to be used for the production of ingredients for Kevlar.
The existing Nomex site at Asturias plans to add new equipment to increase Nomex fiber manufacturing capacity there by more than 30 percent.
DuPont Teijin Advanced Papers, a joint venture, will double Nomex paper production capacity in Japan. DuPont Nomex paper is used in electrical insulation and as a lightweight structural support throughout the body of most commercial aircraft.
NOMEX, developed by DuPont for applications requiring dimensional stability and excellent heat resistance, is available in fibre form (continuous filament and staple) and sheet form (paper and pressboard)
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