01.03.11
DuPont has sold its ACT (advanced composite technology) assets in Old Hickory, TN in an undisclosed deal, a company spokesperson has confirmed. DuPont announced in late June that it would discontinue the technology at the site and operations were ceased in late September, resulting in a reduction of about 48 full-time and 20 contractor positions
DuPont launched ACT technology, which combines the softness of polypropylene and the barrier protection of polyester in a single filament process, in 2002. Since then, the company has been targeting the technology at the healthcare market under the brand name Suprel but has recently faced difficulties competing with lower-priced technologies, according to the company.
“Suprel has struggled as customers have moved to lower price points to keep what share they could,” Thomas Powell, vice president of DuPont Protection Technologies said last summer. “We are going to focus our efforts where we have a competitive technology and where we have areas of differentiation like the green story.”
Other DuPont assets, including its Sontara spunlace business, have not been affected by the ACT sale.