Apr 30 2004
DuPont today announced plans to add a $15 million glass interlayer manufacturing line at its site in Fayetteville, N.C. The new line will manufacture DuPont™ SentryGlas® Plus interlayers, high-strength polymer sheets used by glass laminators and window companies to make advanced safety glass for automobiles and buildings.
"SentryGlas® Plus interlayers are the building block for a new generation of structural laminated glass," said Craig F. Binetti, DuPont vice president and general manager of Packaging and Industrial Polymers. "Customer demand for SentryGlas® Plus is growing in excess of 50 percent per year, and we expect it to accelerate even faster as architects, engineers and laminators gain experience with the new material.
"The selection of Fayetteville Works speaks well for our employees' capability and flexibility to meet the needs of a growing business," said Barry Hudson, Fayetteville Works manager. "The new manufacturing facility will add approximately 40 DuPont and contractor jobs at full capacity." The new SentryGlas® Plus line will start up in early 2005.
The Fayetteville site is one of five DuPont safety glass interlayer manufacturing sites serving the global safety glass market. The site currently makes DuPont™ Butacite® polyvinyl butyral (PVB) interlayers. Siting at Fayetteville helps DuPont take advantage of in-place testing and logistics support, and an experienced world-class manufacturing team familiar with the needs of the glass industry.
"DuPont's expansion in Fayetteville confirms that we are reaping the benefits from our investments in education and infrastructure," said Mike Easley, governor of North Carolina. "Support of our existing industries is one of the reasons North Carolina's business climate has been ranked number one in the nation for three years running by Site Selection magazine."
New SentryGlas® Plus interlayers will be shipped to laminators and window manufacturers worldwide.
The new interlayer, originally developed by DuPont to help make hurricane-resistant safety glass, has quickly found other uses. Recent high-profile projects have included glass stairs at Apple Computer flagship stores in New York, Chicago and San Francisco; a courtroom ceiling for the Sandra Day O'Connor Federal Building in Phoenix; an atrium roof at the headquarters of Spain's energy giant, Endesa; and glazing for the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center in China. Glass made with SentryGlas® Plus interlayers also is available as an anti-intrusion, ejection resistant side window option for Series 5 and Series 7 BMWs.
For more information on laminated glass, click here.