Increasing demand in the automotive sector has led chemical maker DuPont to boost production of its Zytel nylon resins by 20 per cent at its manufacturing Uentrop facility in Hamm, Germany.
The company has ramped up production of PA 66 and PA 6 resins at the plant.
Zytel nylon is a light-weight material that replaces metal in automotive components, and plays a key role in efforts to improve fuel efficiency, lower CO2 emissions, and facilitate sustainable mobility.
DuPont is one of the major nylon manufacturers focused on engineering polymers. Uentrop is the company’s largest nylon production plant in Europe.
“Nylon continues to be the starting point for many product designers because it’s versatile, easy to mould, and offers exceptional long-term performance in the most challenging environments,” said Richard Mayo, DuPont Performance Polymers nylon businesses global business director. “In many ways, nylon defined the category of engineering polymers and continues to redefine where plastics can go in the future.”
In 1935, DuPont invented Nylon 66 after the first sales of the material as a fibre, and benchmarked foundation for the polymer range, which is used to produce air ducts, engine covers, charged air coolers, transmission components and radiator end tanks.
Aside from automotive applications, Zytel nylon is also used in electrical and electronic systems to manufacture enclosures, sockets, terminal blocks, circuit breakers, switches and relays.
DuPont owns and operates continuous-polymerisation assets for nylon worldwide, and compounding facilities in 13 countries.
