Hey! Want to learn about DuPont? Then heres the place. It won't be indepth but it will give facts and you will learn something new.
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INFO FROM THIS PAGE CAME FROM: duPont
UPDATED 8/20/03
How far back do you think DuPont goes back? It goes as far back as the 1800's, thats right - they have been around for 200 years. But most now know that due to Jeff's car at the Daytona 500. :)
Anway we won't get into ALL of the history and stuff on DuPont, but we will skim enough to let you know what DuPont is and where the company came from.
Let's start with E. I Du Pont. Full name Eleuthère Irénée (1771-1834). On July 19, 1802 he started up a company that now bears his name - DuPont. He studied advanced explosives production techniques with a famous chemist named Antoine Lavoisier. He used this knowledge and his intense interest in scientific exploration which became the idenity of his company. To continually enhance product quality and manufacturing sophistication and efficiency. He had earned the reputation for high quality, fairness and concern for workers’ safety.
Your probably wondering what their 1st product was, well that would be Black Powder. Between 1802 and 1880, black powder was the sole product manufactured at DuPont. Before coming to America in 1800 E. I learned from a French Government's Gunpowder Agency, the superior skills of black powder manufacture. This would be the combination of sulfur, potassium nitrate and charcoal.
Believing that he could in fact produce a powder that to the best available American product - E.I started building the Brandywine Powder Mills in 1802. Now, by 1820 the DuPont powder earned a very good reputation among sportsmen, making the company the leading powder supplier to the US Gov.
Businessman Jacob Broom of Wilmington, DE was paid $6,740 for a site on the Brandywine River by E.I Du Pont so he could build his 1st powder mill. This was the perfect place to build because there was falling water on the lower Brandywine river that could drive the machinery of a large mill. This would ensure a near year round production. Plus the willow trees on the riverbanks would make for great charcoal - A key ingredient in black powder. It was also close to wharves for shipping - but far enough from the city for safety in case of explosion.
DuPont has the reputation for upholding it's main values which includes: safetly, health, ethics, respectful treatment of people and enviroemtnal stewardship.
Not to mention that the DuPont company has upheld a excellent reputation in the safetly management area. DuPont was one of very few companies to hire on a physician as an employee - this happened in 1805. In 1813, they created an employee savings plan. As for 1935, they established one of the world's 1st industrial medicine facilities.
One of DuPonts goals to become a better company for the people is that to drive toward sustainable growth is a decrease in it's enviromental footprint. Around the year of 1859, they built the 1st DuPont factory outside of Delaware's Brandywine River Valley. Since the powder supply increased well so did the costs of transporting it. They needed a factory that was closer to the mines. So they built this factory on Wapwallopen Creek, PA. This fit the bill for them.
Lammont du Pont, nephew of Henry du Pont; failed to convince his uncle to enter the dynamite biz. So therefore Lammont created the Repauno Chemical Company located on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River. Lammont had believed that dynamite would replace traditional for use in major construction such as railroads, highways, etc. Come the 1920's Repauno had become the world's largest producer of dynamite. Sounds like the du Pont family knew what they were doing up to this point and up to today.
In 1890 Mooar Mills was opened near Keokuk, Iowa. This was the first DuPont plant west of the Mississippi, not to mention the world's largest powder plant. The decision to build the plant was made by "General" Henry Du Pont. It was partly of his faith of traditional blasting powder. At the time was being challenged by the new explosive dynamite.
But the plant was also intended to meet the needs of the nation's rapidly growing western market. More so the coal fields of the Midwest.
The Carney's Point plant that is located in Carney's Point, New Jersey was established as a result of DuPont's determination into the smokeless powder business.
Pierre Du Pont and Francis G. spent two years at a small laboratory on the site across the Delaware River from Wilmington - developing an effective product.
Now, this site was of 198 acres of wetlands. This was ideal for a plant since the marshes provided natural firebreaks.
Both Du Pont and Francis G. began operations in the summer of 1892. By year's end - the plant had cranked out 100,000 pounds of smokeless sporting powder and amunitions. Now thats what you call a victory.
Three young Du Pont cousins came to their older relatives and purchased the company. Those being T. Coleman, Pierre S and Alfred I. They began to turn the plan from an explosives manufacturer into a broad, science-based chemical company.
The three lads had modernized company management, built research labs and marketed new products such as paints, plastics and dyes.
Come 1903, DuPont established the Experimental Station near Wilmington, Delaware. There they would conduct and promote scientific research as a major platform for industrial growth.
Not only was it DuPont's first general scientific laboratory, but it was also the site of many of the company's most spectacular research victories. That being of Neoprene, Nylon and Lycra.
One of DuPont's first non-explosive products was Fabrikoid. What is this you ask? Well it is produced by coating fabric with Nitrocellulose and marketed as artificial leather.
Fabrikoid was widely used in upholstery, luggage and bookbindings during the early 20th century. Come the 1920s, Fabrikoid became mostly used for automobile convertible tops and seat covers.
Despite the huge success for the DuPont company, it wasn't all a bed of roses! A antitrust suit was filed against the company for restraint of trade in the explosives industry on July 31, 1907.
Come June 21, 1911 - the Federal court ruled against DuPont. There after on June 12, 1912 - they (DuPont) agreed to divide itself of assets sufficient to develope two new powder companies - Hercules and Atlas.
Also, they agreed to turn over enough resources to ensure that they could produce 50% of the country's black powder, and 42% of it's dynamite. As well did DuPont agree to share it's research and engineering facilities with the two companies for five years.
Things got real interesting short after.
Another event to happen in 1912 was the construction of the Hopewell, Virginia plant. It was located near City Point on Virginia's James River.
Now the facilities for dynamite production was almost done when war had broken out in Europe. This sparked huge demands for powder and guncotton.
Quickly DuPont converted the plant to guncotton production. The Hopewell plant was completed in early 1915, at the time being the largest such factory in the world. It was at it's peak of cranking out 1.5 million pounds of Nitrocellulose per day.
That helped to supply DuPont's Carney's Point, Parlin, and Haskell smokeless powder plants.
In 1902, one of the three cousins whom purchased the family firm and rebuilt it from an explosives biz, to a modern corporation that had production of synthetic textile fibers, paints, plastics, varnishes and heavy chemicals. That one cousin was Pierre S. Du Pont.
Come the future, in 1920, when GM (General Motors) faced bankruptcy –
Pierre left DuPont to create a better management structure to cope effectively with GM’s widely varying products and markets.
After going into retirement, Pierre opened to the public – his carefully cultivated estate, Longwood Gardens.
After the war had broke out in 1917, a shortage of dye became a national emergency. Now, DuPont being the nation’s leading chemical manufacturing and chemical research company – studied the dye business for yearser the dye shortage rose, DuPont committed it’s resources to meet the needs and built it’s Jackson Laboratory at Deepwater, New Jersey to conduct dye research.
During World War 1, DuPont was asked to take on five major construction projects for Allied Forces by the U.S Government.
However, the most challenging was the world’s largest smokeless powder plant and a town to go with it at Old Hickory, TN.
DuPont’s newly organized Engineering Co. had completed construction in just five months. After ground breaking, production for sulfuric acid began 67 days after, nitric acid just nine days later, and guncotton – the raw material of smokeless powder just 2 weeks later.
Let’s focus on Pierre S Du Pont and GM. The link from DuPont to General Motors began when Pierre S. Du Pont bought GM stock in 1914.
Come 1915, Pierre was elected a GM director, then on to board chairman, then to help strengthen GM’s management. After World War 1, GM Exec. And former DuPont Treasurer John J. Raskob persuaded DuPont’s directores to invest $25 million in GM.
So Pierre became GM’s President in 1920. By then, DuPont’s GM holdings provided half of DuPont’s total earnings. In 1961, DuPont disposed of all it’s GM stock in 1961.
DuPont invented a durable, quick-drying finish called Duco. This helped make the 1920’s revolution in consumer goods mass production possible.
GM introduced Duco finish on it’s Oakland models in 1923, and it more than fulfilled it’s expectations – reducing the finish time from two weeks down to just two days. It also drastically cut rejection rates.
It has become the standard finish on automobiles, hardware, appliances and let’s not forget toys.
DuPont formed their Nitrate Company in 1910 after purchasing a Chilean mine. This supplied nitric acid for the production of smokeless powder.
Because of the expansion of the nitrate mining industry, there became a need for more and better explosives.
So in the early 1920’s, the DuPont Co. joined up with several other firms to form the Compania Sud-Americana de Explosivos at Rio Loa. That’s a mouth full!
They had maintained a 42% stake and built the company’s dynamite plant. Come 1923, DuPont built South America’s very first dynamite plate and Rio Loa Chile.
Cellophane inaugurated a consumer revolution. It’s sanitary wrapping enabled producers and retailers to attractively display their products and of course allowed consumers to see what they were buying.
William Hale Charch, a DuPont scientist – developed a moisture-proofing system for cellophane in 1927.
Afterward, a series of price cuts and an aggressive marketing campaign portraying cellophane as an essential to a more cleaner, healthier lifestyle made the film one of the company’s top products. By 1938, it’s sales accounted for 25% of DuPont’s annual profit.
Involvement from DuPont with films and photographic products began in the 1910’s when researchers tried to develop a film base as an outlet for excess nitrocellulose. Now DuPont formed a joint venture in 1924 called the DuPont-Pathe Film Manufacturing Corporation in which started making 35 mm movie film in Parlin, NJ in 1925, and in 1927 there was color film.
DuPont focused on a non-cellulosic film and developed Mylar Polyester film in 1927. An investigation of solid photopolymer compositions let to Riston photoresists and Dycril photopolymer printing plates.
Another plant was established in the West Virginia coal country as part of the post World War 1 effort to produce ammonia. The plant is “The Belle”
DuPont spent a total of $27 million on a highly complex production facility with huge atmospheric compressors that could produce 25 tons of ammonia per day. This came to happen in 1926.
However, extremes of heat and pressure took a high toll on the equipment, and the operating costs mounted. Come 1929, and Belle was producing 220 tons per day, it wouldn’t be for another ten years that it would show a profit.
Soon there would be a change in agriculture. In 1910, before earning his college degree, Henry A. Wallace began inbreeding and cross-breeding corn to improve yield years.
By the age of 15, he had disproved the conventional agrarian wisdom that ear appearance – row uniformity, kernel shape and length – could predict yield.
Now in 1923, Henry Wallace developed the first commercial hybrid corn. Come 1926, he founded the first hybrid seed corn company – in which became, Pioneer Hi-Bred International.
DuPont’s commitment to it’s intensive, long-range research and it’s product diversification placed them in direct competition with powerful European combines like Britain’s recently formed Imperial Chemical Industries. Both DuPont and ICI agreed in October of 1929 to share information about patents and research developments. Both firms as well agreed not to compete in certain geographical territories and established successful joint ventures in Canada. However, in 1952 was a different story. The companies’ alliance was dissolved, along with their shared operations in Canada and South America. No one said it would end a happy ending.
One of DuPont’s employees had become well known. William Hale Charch (1898-1958) made one of DuPont’s up most critical cellulose chemistry innovations, and helped guide the company’s development to synthetic fibers.
Now Charch earned a Ph.D in Chemistry from Ohio State University before joining up with DuPont in 1925. One of his first assignments was to develop a means of moistureproofing cellophane so that the attractive wrap could be used for food packaging.
The moistureproof cellophane, marketed by DuPont quickly transformed food packaging and marketing worldwide.
After Charch’s early success, he was promoted rapidly. He became Associate Director of the Rayon Chemical Division in 1929, then Director of the Rayon Pioneering Research Section in 1935. Come 1947, Charch went to Wilmington, Delaware; where he established the Textile Fibers Department’s Pioneering Research Lab at the Experimental Station. Now Charch spent the rest of his career directing the developments of Teflon, Orlon, Dacron, and Lycra and of course garnered numerous awards for his work.
Another name to add to list that helped DuPont be so successful is Dr. Wallace Hume Carothers (1896-1937). He spearheaded DuPont’s first decade of basic organic chemistry research. In 1927, Dr. Carothers was lured from Harvard to DuPont with a promise that he could pursue basic research, specifically looking at polymers - molecules with long, repeating chain structures. In one outstanding month, of April 1930, Carothers’ team discovered Neoprene Synthetic rubber and synthesized the first polyester superpolymer, the forerunner of Nylon. Now during his nine years at DuPont, Dr. Carothers filed for more than 50 patents. That’s remarkable.
Would you believe it if I told you that DuPont moved it’s way to Mexico? Well, they did. DuPont Mexico began service of the Mexican mining industry. Come 1925, DuPont collaborated with the Hercules Powder Company to form the Compania Mexicana de Explosivos and acquired the Compania Nacional Mexicana de Dinamita y Explosivos with a plant at Dinamita in northern Mexico. Even though DuPont established a wholly owned subsidiary, DuPont S.A. de C.V, that sold and distributed U.S - made products 3 years later - it was not until after World War II that Mexican operations expanded beyond explosives.
Grasselli Chemical Company was one of the oldest diversified chemical manufacturers in the nation with sixteen factories throughout the south and Midwest. That was up until the time that DuPont purchased the company in 1928. Grasselli was the forerunner of DuPont’s Grasselli Chemical Department. After purchase, DuPont looked to Grasselli to expand it’s product line in acids and heavy chemicals and to reach new regional markets. One of the most important products of Grasselli’s was Lithopone - a zinc based white pigment. About 1930, all of DuPont’s Lithopone production was centeralized at Grasselli and DuPont built upon research conducted there as it entered the Titanium Dioxide market in the next 2 decades.
Just like so many miracles of science as it is said, the profession of chemical engineering emerged from DuPont laboratories. Chemical engineers would study processes like distillation, heat transfer and fluid flow common to most chemical reactions; and design the structures in which these reactions occur. The DuPont chemical engineering research group developed the chloride process for making titanium dioxide pigment and the production processes for neoprene, nylon, Dacron and Orlon, and the systems for plastics recycling. The group’s expertise also was instrumental in the design and construction of the very first nuclear reactors.
The first major product to come from DuPont’s Fundamental Research Program was Neoprene. In the mid-1920’s, high natural rubber prices set off a search for an effective synthetic. Come April of 1930, a chemist in Wallace Carother’s fundamental research group produced a rubber-like substance during a polymerization experiment. DuPont went on to market it’s discovery in late 1931 under the trade name of Duprene.
Freon made possible a widespread use of refrigerators and air conditioners and served as propellant in aerosol sprays of all types. Up to the 1920’s, most commonly used refrigerants were exceedingly hazardous substances. Freon (chlorofluorocarbon or CFC) was developed by two General Motors scientists and
Was manufactured by DuPont in Deepwater, NJ in 1930. CFC also proved effective as a degreasing agent. Non-CFC substitutes for Freon- Suva refriderants and Dymel propellants; were commercialized in 1990. DuPont went on to produce it’s last CFC’s in the developed coutires in 1995.
Another weird chemical name to mention would be Lucite methyl methacrylate polymer. It was among the first plastics derived from petrochemicals. DuPont chemists discovered Lucite in 1931 while exploring the high-pressure technology developed for ammonia production.
The polymer’s crystal-clear appearance and it’s strength were far more superior to nitrocellulose-based plastics. Lucite was in heavy demand during World War II for use in windshields, nose cones, and gunner turrets for bombers and fighter planes. After the war, DuPont marketed it for use in a variety of decorative and for functional uses, including; lamps, hairbrushes and jewelry.
Come May of 1933, DuPont bought a majority interest in Remington Arms Company Inc to secure a market for it’s smokeless sporting powder. Remington is the oldest and largest sporting arms and ammunition manufacturer in the U.S. Remington’s principal products were shotgun shells, metallic cartridges and cutlery. DuPont had furnished a major part of the powder used in Remington’s ammunition since the mid 19th century.
DuPont went on to establish the Haskell Laboratory of Industrial Toxicology in 1935. Named after DuPont’s executive Harry G. Haskell, it was one of the first of it’s kind. Scientists at Haskell Lab test each new DuPont product for safety; they also study particular chemicals and production processes. In 1953, the Haskell Lab moved from the Experimental Station to new quarters near Newark, DE and it’s five divisions - Toxicology, Biochemistry, Pathology, Physiology and Physics - Expanded their research into workplace and product safety hazards.
Nylon was the world’s first true synthetic textile fiber. It now is found in hundreds of applications like carpets, clothing, luggage and automobile parts. Brand names include, Antron, Tactel, Cordura and Zytel. Nylon emerged from Research on polymers, very large molecules with repeating chemical structures that Dr. Carothers and his colleagues conducted in the early 1930’s at DuPont’s Experimental Station.
After must additional research and development, DuPont went on to build a full scale Nylon plant in Seaford, DE and began commercial production in late 1939. In 1938, DuPont had introduced Butacite, a petrochemical based, polyvinyl butyral (PVB) plastic for use as an interlayer in safety glass. Now Butacite sales went on to grow rapidly due to automobile manufacturers were delighted to have a windshield that would retain it’s strength even in extreme cold, a quality that earlier products had lacked. By the late 50’s safety glass manufacturers also were exploring non-automotive uses for Butacite, like building windows.
By the early 30’s, DuPont’s Foreign Relations Department had identified the Argentinean market as “particularly opportune.” Come by 1933, the company acquired a Buenos Aires Firm that exported chemicals and imported DuPont products. A year later in 1934, DuPont and ICI entered the joint venture Industrias Quimicas “Duperial” S.A Industrial y Comerical and started planning for a rayon plant at Berazatequi, which opened in 1937. It was operated by Ducilo S.A Productora de Rayon, a Duperial subsidiary, the plant was built a mere 18 miles from Buenos Aires and served the Latin America textile market.
Come 1938, Roy Plunkett was doing an investigation upon refrigerants which he stored in a cylinder. Upon reopening the container, he found that the gas was gone. It had polymerized, forming polytetrafluoroethylene, a resin that was extrememly slippery and highly resistant to chemicals and heat. During the 2nd World War, the material was very useful in the Manhattan Project. In the 50’s, the material - now trademarked Teflon; became common in the electronic, chemical and automotive industries. The market for Teflon boomed in the early 60’s when it became available for non-stick cookware.
DuPont hired Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BBD&O) to change DuPont’s image from “the powder people” to “peace time manufacturer” in 1935. A corporate advertising campaign was launched promoting DuPont’s role in improving daily life with the slogan, “Better Things for Better Living….Through Chemistry.” Now the tag line, “Through chemistry” was removed from advertising in the 1980’s. The slogan was replaced in 1999 with the now famous slogan, “The miracles of science”, capitalizing on DuPont’s heritage and strength as a science company.
During World War II, the Federal Government has requested that DuPont build the word’s first plutonium production plant. They had built this plant in Hanford, Washington. Of course, DuPont was initially hesitant to take on the task that even the government themselves admitted seemed “beyond human capability.” But General Leslie Groves, who ran the Manhattan Project, had been amply impressed by DuPont’s ordnance work and concluded that only DuPont was capable of designing, building and operating such a plant.
From DuPont’s work on rayon came the development of Orlon acrylic fiber. In 1941 a DuPont scientist seeking to improve rayon discovered a means of spinning acrylic polymer - which unlike nylon, decomposes rather than melts - through a solution. So DuPont began developing the substance dubbed, “Fiber A.” Initially the material was targeted as a replacement for wool, but the difficulties in spinning and dyeing soon popped up. The May Plant, located in Camden, SC, went into production of the material renamed Orlon in 1950.
DuPont’s facility in Kingston, Ontario was the world’s second nylon plant. Built in 1942 by CIL, the joint venture between DuPont and ICI. CIL was broken up in 1954, but DuPont retained the Kingston plant, which remains the heart of DuPont Canada’s business and maintains a workforce of 1,500 employees.
The plant mainly manufactured nylon yarn and staple, and Zytel nylon resin production was added in the 1960’s.
Now Crawford H. Greenewalkt (1902-1993) was a brilliant chemical engineer, an expert manager and DuPont’s 10th president. During the 1930’s, he was a key contributor to Charles Stine’s program of pure research and helped supervise the development of nylon. Come 1941, he was assigned to Manhattan Project to act as a liaison between University of Chicago physicists and DuPont engineering and construction crews.
During the Hanford Engineer Works construction, he impressed his counterparts by quickly developing a keen understanding of the physics of nuclear reactors. Engineering polymers suited for use in high-area applications originated in the revolutionary polymer research, which came to lead to the discovery of nylon. Experiments done in the early 1940’s revealed that molded nylon exhibited the strength nevessary to replace metal parts in industrial machinery.
Come 1950, DuPont had trademarked Zytel for it’s nylon molding resins which began to replace metals in the textile, automotive and appliance fields. Delrin acetal resin often known as “synthetic stone” was developed in the 1950’s. DuPont now offers eight families of engineering polymers.
The polymer that became polyester has roots in the 1929 writings of Dr. Wallace Carothers. However, DuPont chose to concentrate on the more promising nylon research. When they resumed their polymer research, ICI had patented Terylene polyester, to which DuPont purchased the U.S rights in 1945 for further developments. In 1950, a pilot plant at the Seaford, DE facility produced Dacron fiber with modified nylon technology. In 1953, DuPont opened it’s huge Kinston, NC plant to produce Dacron.
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