Royal DSM, a global science-based company active in health, nutrition, materials, today announced to increase its production capacity for Dyneema®, the world’s strongest fiber™. Strong demand for both Dyneema® UD (Uni-Directional laminate) and Dyneema® fiber is prompting this increase. Financial details will not be disclosed.
The company is investing to install additional new UD technology at its plant in Heerlen, the Netherlands, and its plant in Greenville, NC, U.S. and will also make improvements to existing production lines to expand Dyneema® UD and Dyneema® fiber capacity, incorporating the latest technologies. The global production capacity of Dyneema® UD will be increased by more than 20%. This capacity increase will further strengthen DSM’s product leadership under the Dyneema® brand.
The capacity expansion will enable DSM to serve the growing global customer demand. The growing domestic U.S. market will be served better from DSM’s Greenville, N.C. facility. Globally-recognized law enforcement organizations such as: the New York Police Department (NYPD), U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Los Angeles Police Department, and many others are protected daily by Dyneema® technology. The additional Dyneema® UD and Dyneema® fiber capacity will become available in the course of 2018 and is due be fully on stream by Q1 2019.
Applications made with Dyneema® already deliver the lowest carbon footprint for the performance specified from cradle-to-grave compared to other materials and DSM is committed to further improve this. As an example, DSM’s plant in Greenville, North Carolina, already uses 100% renewable electricity.
Dyneema® UD is a composite unidirectional laminate that offers excellent energy absorption and enhanced protection. It is available as a hard and soft ballistic material.
“Dyneema® products are finding use in a broad and ever-increasing range of markets and applications in which lightweight strength is of the essence, for instance best-in-class protective ballistic vests, inserts and helmets,” notes DSM Dyneema President Wilfrid Gambade. “DSM Dyneema is the world’s largest UHMwPE fiber and UD manufacturer with a backward integration into UHMwPE polymer production. These investments will enable us to better accommodate growing customer demand and needs while further extending our global leadership position.”