New plant to meet polyamide demand

DuPont Engineering Polymers will meet increasing demand for DuPont Zytel HTN high performance polyamide resins with a new 14kt per year polymer plant.

DuPont Engineering Polymers will meet increasing demand for DuPont Zytel HTN high performance polyamide resins with a new 14kt per year polymer plant.

The new facility, being built at an existing DuPont site in Richmond, Virginia, USA, 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, multipin 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 moulding 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".

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