DuPont Engineering Polymers will meet increasing demand for DuPont Zytel® HTN high performance polyamide
resins with a new 30 million pound per year polymer plant. The new facility, being built at an existing DuPont site in Richmond, Va., is scheduled for startup by the end of 2004.
"The expansion will more than double our base polymer capacity for DuPont Zytel® HTN," said Clive Robertson, global business manager for the material. "This move supports and enables ongoing development of expanding global markets for Zytel® HTN in components for automotive, electrical/electronic and various other consumer and industrial products." Among its many applications are automotive fuel
valves and coolant system components, multi-pin electronic connectors for surface-mount circuit assembly, parts for consumer electronic devices, oven fans, manifolds for
water heaters and power transformer components.
With double-digit growth rates, high performance
polyamides are among the fastest growing engineering plastics. "Zytel® HTN expands the frontier for replacement of metal and thermosets. It combines outstanding molding productivity with excellent strength, stiffness, toughness and dimensional stability at typical ambient conditions and in demanding environments involving elevated temperatures,
moisture, and aggressive
chemicals," Robertson said. "Most Zytel® HTN resins fall within the narrower family of polyamides known to some as PPA (polyphthalamide) resins, within which they offer perhaps the best combination of highest performance and easiest processing."