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DuPont Performance Coatings has launched a new $30 million research and development facility dedicated to automotive, protective and marine coatings.
The new Coatings Technology Center (CTC) will focus on DuPont Industrial Coating Solutions, which markets a wide range of liquid and powder industrial finishes, and on DuPont Refinish Systems products for the automotive collision industry.
“This facility will operate unlike any previous DuPont coatings laboratory, with a strong focus on inclusive innovation,” said Lewis E. Manring, vice president of Global Technology for DuPont Performance Coatings.
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DuPont |
| DuPont’s new center is “unlike any previous DuPont coatings laboratory,” said Lewis E. Manring, of DuPont Performance Coatings. |
Protective, Marine Coatings Development
On the industrial side, center scientists will be working on “everything from pipe coatings to structural and chemically resistant coatings on vessels and tanks, right down to truck coatings, coatings for buses and trains, and marine coatings,” said DuPont spokesman Richard A. Straitman.
The new center is located on the grounds of DuPont’s global R&D facility, Experimental Station, in Wilmington, DE.
“Locating this new facility at the Experimental Station allows us to leverage its unique and powerful base of scientific expertise and advanced research and development facilities,” said Manring.
“The result will be a collaborative and efficient team focused on providing our customers with the finest coatings in the world and the technical support they need to use those products productively and profitably.”
Focus on Performance, Sustainability
The center formally opened Friday (Dec. 10), but activity has been ramping up for several months, said Straitman. The facility occupies about 100,000 square feet of laboratory, applications development and office space.
The primary focus will be on strategic research and development aimed at developing new high-performance, sustainable coatings, DuPont says.
DuPont scientists are already exploring new coatings formulations and performing studies aimed at improving paint durability under a variety of punishing conditions, including high humidity and exposure to abrasive and corrosive environments, the company says.
Water-based coatings also are a subject of intense activity. “They’re doing a lot of work on waterborne across the board,” said Straitman.
‘Innovation is Essential’
John G. McCool, president of DuPont Performance Coatings, said the investment in the center showed the company’s commitment to expanding its global coatings business.
“Innovation is essential to the continued growth of our coatings businesses,” he said.
DuPont (www.dupont.com) is a science-based products and services company. The company was founded in 1802 and operates in more than 90 countries today.
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