DuPont Automotive Unveils New Corporate Safety Initiative

DETROIT, March 5 -- At SAE World Congress today, DuPont unveiled a new corporate safety initiative to leverage more than 60 existing DuPont product lines and over $600 million of current revenue in auto safety systems to help vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers improve vehicle safety. The DuPont Automotive Safety Systems initiative incorporates air bag nylon, electronic materials, engineering plastics, elastomers, advanced composite materials, coatings, chemicals and other DuPont technologies.

"The application of current and new materials technology shows promise in lowering the toll of motor vehicle accident-related deaths and injuries that are recorded, worldwide, each year," said Craig G. Naylor, group vice president, DuPont Performance Materials. Through this Automotive Safety Systems initiative, we're reaching more deeply across DuPont to meet consumer demand and new industry and regulatory requirements for passive and active safety systems in cars and trucks."

At SAE 2003, DuPont is introducing advances in air bag nylon and laminated glass as well as advanced composites for side impact and rollover accident protection, engineering plastics for new impact absorbing components, electronic materials and processing technologies for collision avoidance systems, among other technologies.

The DuPont Automotive Safety Systems initiative reinforces the importance for DuPont to be involved at the "Concept 0" stage of initiating or extending safety systems, according to Naylor. Working in conjunction with OEMs, first- tier safety system integrators and others in the supply chain from inception, DuPont is better able to develop materials, engineering services and market assistance for better final value, he said.

"According to the 2003 DuPont/SAE Survey, the automotive industry believes safety is the number one concern for consumers purchasing a vehicle," said Mike Sanders, recently appointed director of the DuPont Automotive Safety Systems group. "The survey indicates that smart air bag development will take the lead, followed by vehicle dynamics/stability control technologies, active seatbelts, advanced occupant sensors and drive-by-wire systems that will improve vehicle handling."

"A 200-year-old core value of DuPont, safety has always been a priority for our organization. Now we've added a framework to help support our customers' safety initiatives," said Sanders.

Drawing from business strengths and involvement in other market arenas such as aerospace, military and law enforcement, electronics, health and medical, and a host of other industries, DuPont is able to provide the materials and technology to help today's automotive engineers focus on advanced safety systems, according to Sanders. From collision avoidance to x- by-wire systems that use electronics to control braking, steering, suspension and vehicle control systems, many technologies are being developed to keep vehicle occupants safe. Other examples from DuPont include:

* Advanced composite structures using DuPont(TM) Kevlar(R) para-aramid fiber and DuPont(TM) Nomex(R) aramid fiber can give door and bumper beams added structural reinforcement

* DuPont is the leading global supplier of high tenacity, low denier per filament nylon for air bags that must fit in small spaces, such as for side curtains, inflatable floor mats, knee bolsters, seats and external airbags. DuPont(TM) SentryGlas(R) Plus interlayer for laminated side windows, currently available on the BMW 7 Series, enhances vehicle content security and occupant side impact protection when combined with side air curtains.

* DuPont engineering plastics for crush areas in newly designed impact- absorbing bumpers, interior panels and interior pillars can be made to absorb more energy longer, and can be resilient enough to recover after impact.

* DuPont microcircuit materials, including ceramics and precious metal compounds, can miniaturize, withstand vibration and temperature extremes for new collision avoidance electronics.

* The Wedge(TM) polyvinyl butyral interlayer, for head-up displays in windshields can provide less distortion for visual collision avoidance.

* DuPont(TM) LuxPrint(TM) electro-luminescent lighting polymers used for overhead lighting in the Mercedes Maybach, can be employed in door interiors to curtail nighttime accidents.

* DuPont biochemical sensor materials may have potential in non-invasive methods for testing driver physical condition.

DuPont is a science company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by solving problems and creating solutions that make people's lives better, safer and easier. Operating in more than 70 countries, the company offers a wide range of products and services to markets including agriculture, nutrition, electronics, communications, safety and protection, home and construction, transportation and apparel.

DuPont(TM), LuxPrint(TM), The Wedge(TM), Kevlar(R), Nomex(R) and SentryGlas(R) are trademarks and registered trademarks of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company.

For general inquiries on DuPont Automotive Safety Systems, telephone 1-800-533-1313.