In Depth
The origins of the Maydown project grew out of a dispute with the British chemical giant ICI. In the early 1950s, ICI opened a U.S. dye facility. In response DuPont’s Organic Chemical Department laid plans to enter the British rubber market by building a neoprene plant. Although production of neoprene and Hypalon® high performance polyethylene was recently curtailed, Maydown remains a key production center for Kevlar® and particularly Lycra® due to DuPont’s investment of $125 million to build a state-of-the-art automated plant. Despite a disturbing incident in February 1972 when a company executive was murdered by the IRA, DuPont has maintained its commitment to Maydown, investing more than $760 million since 1960. Maydown also continues to benefit from low labor costs, excellent communications, and tariff-free, easy access to the U.K. mainland and European continent.
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