Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires. It is typically spun into ropes or fabric sheets that can be used as such, or as an ingredient in composite material components.
Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers with amide backbones, usually linking aliphatic or semi-aromatic groups.
Spandex, Lycra, or elastane is a synthetic fiber known for its exceptional elasticity. It is a polyether-polyurea copolymer that was invented in 1958 by chemist Joseph Shivers at DuPont.
Koch Industries, Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate corporation based in Wichita, Kansas, and is the second-largest privately held company in the United States, after Cargill. Its subsidiaries are involved in the manufacturing, refining, and distribution of petroleum, chemicals, energy, fiber, intermediates and polymers, minerals, fertilizer, pulp and paper, chemical technology equipment, cloud computing, finance, raw materials trading, and investments. Koch owns Flint Hills Resources, Georgia-Pacific, Guardian Industries, Infor, Invista, KBX, Koch Ag & Energy Solutions, Koch Engineered Solutions, Koch Investments Group, Koch Minerals & Trading, and Molex. The firm employs 122,000 people in 60 countries, with about half of its business in the United States.
Twaron is a para-aramid. It is a heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibre developed in the early 1970s by the Dutch company Akzo Nobel's division Enka BV, later Akzo Industrial Fibers. The research name of the para-aramid fibre was originally Fiber X, but it was soon called Arenka. Although the Dutch para-aramid fiber was developed only a little later than DuPont's Kevlar, the introduction of Twaron as a commercial product came much later than Kevlar due to financial problems at the Akzo company in the 1970s.
Owens Corning is an American company that develops and produces insulation, roofing, and fiberglas composites and related materials and products. It is the world's largest manufacturer of fiberglas composites. It was formed in 1935 as a partnership between two major American glassworks, Corning Glass Works and Owens-Illinois. The company employs approximately 19,000 people around the world. Owens Corning has been a Fortune 500 company every year since the list was created in 1955. The Pink Panther acts as the company's mascot and appears in most of their advertisements.
Stephanie Louise Kwolek was a Polish-American chemist who is known for inventing Kevlar. Her career at the DuPont company spanned more than 40 years. She discovered the first of a family of synthetic fibers of exceptional strength and stiffness: poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide.
Danisco A/S is a Danish bio-based company with activities in food production, enzymes and other bioproducts as well as a wide variety of pharmaceutical grade excipients. It was formed in 1989 from the largest Danish industrial merger ever of the two old C.F. Tietgen companies Danish Sugar, and Dansk Handels- og Industri Company.
Tyvek is a brand of synthetic flashspun high-density polyethylene fibers. The name "Tyvek" is a registered trademark of the American multinational chemical company DuPont, which discovered and commercialized Tyvek in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Monofilament fishing line is fishing line made from a single fiber of plastic material, as opposed to multifilament or braided fishing lines constructed from multiple strands of fibers. Most fishing lines are now nylon monofilament because they are cheap to manufacture and can be produced in a range of diameters which have different tensile strengths. Monofilament line is also available in different colors, such as clear, white, green, blue, red, and fluorescent.
Coolmax is the brand name for a series of polyester fabrics developed and marketed by The Lycra Company.
Cordura is a collection of synthetic fiber-based fabric technologies used in a wide array of products including luggage, backpacks, trousers, military wear and performance apparel.
Joseph Clois Shivers Jr. was an American textile chemist who was based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, best known for his role in the structural development of Spandex, a thermoplastic elastomer, in the 1950s, while employed at DuPont.
Toray Industries, Inc. is a multinational corporation headquartered in Japan that specializes in industrial products centered on technologies in organic synthetic chemistry, polymer chemistry, and biochemistry.
The DuPont Experimental Station is the largest research and development facility of DuPont, located on the banks of the Brandywine Creek in Wilmington, Delaware
Artificial silk or art silk is any synthetic fiber which resembles silk, but typically costs less to produce. Frequently, "artificial silk" is just a synonym for rayon. When made out of bamboo viscose it is also sometimes called bamboo silk.
Alfa S.A.B. de C.V., also known as Alfa or Alfa Group, is a Mexican multinational conglomerate headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico. It is a diversified group of businesses, mainly industrial, that produces petrochemicals, aluminum auto components, and refrigerated foods. It also participates in the extraction of oil and natural gas, and offers IT & telecom services. It is the global leader in the production of engine blocks and cylinder heads for American and European automakers; it is one of the largest PET and PTA producers in North America; and it is also a leader in the distribution of refrigerated foods in Mexico. In 2013, it was the seventh largest company of Mexico according to CNN Expansión.
DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in the development of Delaware and first arose as a major supplier of gunpowder. DuPont developed many polymers such as Vespel, neoprene, nylon, Corian, Teflon, Mylar, Kapton, Kevlar, Zemdrain, M5 fiber, Nomex, Tyvek, Sorona, Corfam and Lycra in the 20th century, and its scientists developed many chemicals, most notably Freon (chlorofluorocarbons), for the refrigerant industry. It also developed synthetic pigments and paints including ChromaFlair.
Shandong Ruyi Technology Group Co., Ltd is a Chinese textiles and clothing company. Founded in 1972 in Jining, China, it is a subsidiary of Jining Ruyi Investment Co., Ltd. As of 2017, Ruyi Group was the largest textile manufacturer in China. It owns or part-owns brands including Aquascutum, and Renown Inc. and has expressed ambitions to become the Chinese equivalent of LVMH.
