Oct 12 2006
Yesterday DuPont announced a partnership with Zhangjiagang Glory Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. (Glory) to produce and distribute bio-based DuPont™ Sorona® polymer, the company's latest polymer innovation, throughout Asia. The partnership marks the first commercial manufacturing of Sorona® in Asia. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Located in the Jiangsu Province in China, Glory was formed earlier this year exclusively to produce Sorona® polymer. The company broke ground in May on its new continuous polymerization (CP) facility, which will manufacture Sorona® using the technology know-how licensed from DuPont. The Glory facility is slated to start up in the fourth quarter with plans to offer the first commercial product in the second quarter of 2007. Glory will receive Bio-PDO™ from the DuPont Tate & Lyle BioProducts facility in Loudon, Tenn., and will manufacture renewably sourced Sorona® polymer. Once operational, the Glory facility will be capable of producing 66 million pounds or 30 kilotonnes of Sorona® per year.
"We take a great honor in being able to work with DuPont, especially for such a visionary product that could bring value not only to customers but also to the environment in the long run," said Han Bin, president, Glory. "Our organization has nearly 20 years of experience in polymer production and a strong team that has full confidence in making it a great success with DuPont's support."
"After screening over a dozen firms, we found that Mr. Han and his team were best positioned to be a strategic partner with DuPont, based on their impressive operating experience, attention to quality and desire to be involved in every step of product commercialization," said Peter Hemken, vice president and general manager, DuPont Bio-Based Materials, Sorona® and Bio-PDO™.
"We believe our partnership with Glory will help us expand our business on a global level and incorporate new thinking and experience into the Sorona® brand. There currently is a very strong supply chain in Asia and this partnership will help us shorten the time to market by having polymer, fiber, fabric and garments all created in one region."
Sorona® offers a unique combination of attributes and benefits in one fiber, allowing designers and apparel manufacturers to overcome the limitations of existing fibers and take their designs to new levels. The exceptional softness, comfort stretch and recovery, vibrant color, resistance to wrinkles and fading, and easy care of Sorona® are appealing to designers who place a high value in quality and the ability to respond quickly to changing market needs.