DuPont, Wilmington, Del., has partnered with China-based Zhangjiagang Glory Chemical Industry Co.
Ltd. to establish the first production and distribution operation in Asia for bio-based DuPont™
Sorona® polymer.
Glory, formed earlier this year, is building a continuous polymerization facility expressly
to manufacture Sorona polymer using technology licensed from DuPont and Bio-PDO™ – 1,3 propanediol
derived from corn sugar – from Loudon, Tenn.-based DuPont Tate & Lyle BioProducts. The Jiangsu
province-based, 66 million-pound-capacity facility is expected to begin production before the end
of this year, with the first commercial product available in the second quarter of 2007.
“After screening over a dozen firms, we found that [Han Bin, president, Glory] 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 garmets all created in one region.”
November/December 2006