New DuPont Car Finishes Will Be Tougher Due to Polymers Made With Renewable Resources

WILMINGTON, Del., June 19, 2006 - A new generation of tough, chip-resistant DuPont automotive refinish products, reinforced with newly invented bio-based polymers, could be available for use in auto collision repair centers by 2008. The new coatings will be made using renewably sourced intermediate ingredients that are biodegradable and virtually non-toxic.


“This is truly revolutionary science,” said John McCool, vice president and general manager of DuPont Automotive Refinish Systems. “The inherent performance and environmental benefits of these new sealers, primers and clear coats make them incomparable to anything on the market today.”


DuPont is the world’s leading supplier of finishing products for the automobile manufacturing industry as well as aftermarket products used in collision repair centers. The renewably sourced polymer content of the new finishes will enable them to last longer and better resist stone impact.


The bio-based polymers to be used in the new finishes are based, in part, on the science used by DuPont to create 1,3 propanediol (PDO), the key ingredient in DuPont™ Sorona®, a new polymer now used to make fibers for clothing and carpets. PDO will be produced in a plant now being built in Tennessee by DuPont and its joint venture partner, Tate & Lyle. The plant will use a fermentation process to make Bio-PDOTM from corn sugar.


DuPont received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Presidential Green Chemistry Award in 2003 for this ground-breaking technology. The Bio-PDOTM process consumes 40 percent less energy than its petrochemical (fossil-fuel based) counterpart.


“These proprietary new finishes from DuPont Performance Coatings have multiple benefits because they will be made from renewable resources and have reduced emissions,” said McCool. “At the same time, they will deliver superior performance at a competitive price.”


DuPont is a science company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture, nutrition, electronics, communications, safety and protection, home and construction, transportation and apparel.

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Anthony Farina

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