Sorona apparel biz grows 300% in last two years, Dupont

12 May '10

3 min read

DuPont is executing a rapid commercialization strategy in its Applied BioSciences business for a diverse portfolio of high-performance, renewable products that address the needs of large markets, DuPont leaders told security analysts and investors. As a result, the company has set goals for the Applied BioSciences business of $1 billion in revenue and $250 million in pretax earnings by 2015.

"DuPont is uniquely positioned to lead in industrial biotechnology. We are connecting our core technology capabilities to markets that can be transformed by our science and this strategy is beginning to pay off," said Thomas M. Connelly, DuPont executive vice president and chief innovation officer. "The Applied BioSciences portfolio is developing solutions to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and continues to be one of the most significant growth opportunities in the company's history."

"We are seeing rapid growth and expansion from our first suite of biomaterials products while our biofuels programs have met technical and economic hurdles and advanced to the demonstration phase," said Craig Binetti, president – DuPont Applied BioSciences. "As a result, we are confident in our goal to deliver substantial revenue and earnings growth for DuPont."

Investors were invited to Tennessee to see the business' first commercial biomaterials facility and its first demonstration biofuels facility, each of which is bringing DuPont Applied BioSciences technology to market. The DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products facility in Loudon, Tenn., produces 100 million pounds annually of Bio-PDO. The DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol demonstration facility in Vonore, Tenn., is preparing this second-generation biofuel technology for market.

Updates provided on the business portfolio included:

BioMaterials

• Customer demand and adoption rates are growing rapidly for Bio-PDO and its Sorona polymer products across a wide range of markets. To meet this demand, DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products LLC announced last week a 35 percent capacity expansion for its Bio-PDO product.
• Sorona polymer operations have doubled since the last investors update in 2007 and now include four polymer facilities: two in North Carolina and two in China to supply the rapid growth momentum of the market.
• The Sorona apparel business has grown more than 300 percent in the last two years while Mohawk's SmartStrand with DuPont™ Sorona renewably sourced polymer residential carpet line has doubled during the same period.
• DuPont launched its Sorona commercial carpet product offering last year.
• DuPont introduced its New Harvest omega-3 nutritional supplement into more than 600 GNC retail stores. New Harvest does not contain fish oil and is a vegetarian source of EPA – the long chain fatty acid shown to support heart health.
• DuPont continues technology development for its BioSurfaces portfolio.
• DuPont continues to develop strategies to bring its BioMedical technologies to market.

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