DuPont Opens $130 Million Facility to Produce Innovative Nonwoven Fabrics; Advanced Composite Technology to Enhance Protection, Comfort for Healthcare Professionals

OLD HICKORY, Tenn. -- DuPont today opened a new $130 million facility here to produce innovative nonwoven fabrics created from a revolutionary composite technology that provides users with advanced levels of both comfort and protection.

DuPont's proprietary Advanced Composite Technology (ACT) blends the ideal

properties of two different raw materials to create nonwoven fabrics that meet

specific needs.  More than 20 new patents were developed for this technology.

The ACT's initial product is DuPont Suprel, a highly protective

and comfortable fabric used for hospital operating gowns and patient drapes.

Suprel is the only medical fabric available that is made of polyester -

for strength - and polyethylene - for silk-like softness.  Traditional

single-use medical fabrics can be uncomfortable, especially when they are worn

for an extended time, and can lack the necessary fluid barrier for protecting

today's healthcare professionals.  Suprel is designed to have less surface friction than

other medical fabric products, allowing for greater comfort and freedom of

movement.  It also transfers heat away from the body quickly, adding to

comfort in the operating environment.  Suprel is made from continuous

filament fibers and is very low linting.

Using a market-focused approach as part of its research and development,

DuPont researchers developed Suprel by working closely with operating room

nurses who participated in comfort studies conducted at North Carolina State

University.

"The composite fabric technology will allow us to create an array of

fabrics in direct response to the evolving needs of the medical industry,"

said DuPont Nonwovens Global Business Director David Flitman. "Suprel is

the first in a line of innovative products from DuPont that will raise the bar

for standards of protection and comfort in medical fabrics."

DuPont is a leading global supplier of nonwoven fabrics for the

healthcare industry, and has set new standards of protection, convenience, and

comfort for medical professionals for more than 25 years.

Source: DuPont