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DuPont Engineering Polymers today announced that production for its high growth DuPont™ Vespel® parts and shapes has begun at its newest facility in Singapore.

“The world is facing important challenges that drive the need for innovative materials. DuPont has a wealth of materials science knowledge to provide solutions to address some of these issues. This new Vespel® site enables us to provide high performance offerings to meet global market needs” said Ms Diane Gulyas, Group Vice President, DuPont Performance Materials Platform at the opening ceremony.

“We are excited that Singapore has been chosen to locate the Vespel® site. Efficient logistics infrastructure, competitive labor force, strong IP protection, multiple Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with key countries are contributing factors that make Singapore an ideal choice for this manufacturing facility,” said Hsing Ho, Managing Director, DuPont Singapore. “With the addition of the high performance Vespel ® parts and shapes to our product offerings, we look forward to serving our regional and global customers better while expanding our customer base.”

“Singapore has enjoyed a long-standing fruitful partnership with DuPont since 1973 and the opening of this plant marks another chapter in our relationship,” said Mr Lim Siong Guan, Chairman, Singapore Economic Development Board. “This Vespel® plant is a significant endorsement of Singapore as a choice location for technology-intensive manufacturing processes and development of high-value advanced materials.”

“DuPont invested in this expanded Vespel ® capacity in order to support our customers’ growth and market needs. It joins four other Vespel® part plants which are strategically located globally so that we can ensure rapid delivery of high-quality products anywhere around the world,” said Alexa Dembek, global business director for Vespel®. “This new state of the art facility underscores the Vespel® business’s ability to meet global market needs by delivering big science, part by part, faster than ever before. It incorporates the latest advances in process technology and lean manufacturing techniques.”

Other production facilities for Vespel® parts and shapes are located in Utsunomiya, Japan; Mechelen, Belgium; and Newark, Del., and Valley View, Ohio, in the United States.

“The measures we have taken to ensure the Singapore plant’s manufacturing excellence will support our customers by ensuring that parts meet or exceed their expectations. The new facility draws on the best practices employed at other Vespel® plants. Its process technicians received intensive training at Vespel® production facilities in the United States and Japan as well as on-site in Singapore for a year prior to the plant opening.” Dembek continued.

“Innovation is another important way in which we support our customers’ growth and success in meeting increasingly demanding market requirements,” said Dembek. A recent example involved a global supplier of testing equipment in Japan. The Vespel® business developed a new material grade and a design improvement in the equipment’s sealing rings. The changes reduced the sensitivity of test results to temperature, reduced oil leakage and improved reliability.

For more than 40 years, Vespel® parts have been meeting needs of automotive, aerospace, semiconductor manufacturing and diverse other industries for exceptional performance. A few of the many kinds of Vespel® parts include thrust washers for car and truck transmissions, tube clamps for jet engines and wafer carriers for semiconductor manufacturing. Key performance attributes include various combinations of high-temperature resistance, low wear, low friction, chemical resistance, high purity, low outgassing, precision, toughness and structural strength.

DuPont is a science-based products and services 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 and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.

7/17/08

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