DuPont chooses South Carolina site for $500 m Kevlar expansion

ERJ staff report (SS) Charleston, South Carolina -- E I du Pont de Nemours has chosen its Cooper River plant in South Carolina for a previously announced $500 million expansion plan to “significantly expand” production of its Kelvar para-aramid brand fiber for industrial and military uses.

The investment which will include construction of a new Kevlar fiber facility that is scheduled to start up in 2010, is expected to create 100 permanent jobs, as well as more than 400 contractor jobs during peak construction.

DuPont announced in September that it will invest $500 million, in a bid to increase its capacity for Kevlar by more than 25 percent. The company is also investing $50 million at its Spruance plant in Richmond, Virginia. The combined expansion will represent 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 Powell, vice president and general manager, DuPont Advanced Fiber Systems, in a 18 Dec statement. “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,” he added.

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Press release from DuPont