DuPont plans return to upholstery
By Carole Sloan -- Furniture Today, February 18, 2002
WILMINGTON, Del. — WILMINGTON, Del. — DuPont Textiles & Interiors, a wholly owned DuPont subsidiary formed last week, plans an aggressive return to the upholstery fabric arena.
That means the re-entry of Teflon as a fabric ingredient, the extension of Stainmaster, the company's floor coverings brand, into furniture fabrics, and the development of new products, said Steve McCracken, president of the Apparel, Home, Industrial and Flooring segments of the new business unit, which has annual sales of $6.5 billion.
To support its furniture activities, DuPont will open a showroom in High Point's Market Square Tower for the April market and will show its Lycra-enhanced leather on furniture. The process, in development for a year, uses bovine-size hides with a stretch/recovery feature.
McCracken said Stainmaster may be extended into moderate to upper-end furniture and other fabrics. Further opportunities include mattresses with Comforel fiberfill, and high-tech fabrics using different polyester fiber developments, he said.
In flocked nylon, Meg Burich, brand manager for home and industrial textiles, said, "Our Tactel brand, now used in nylon filament, is part of our 'looks you have to touch' approach, and nylon flock is being expanded to different lusters and fabrics."
To support the subsidiary, $170 million is earmarked for product and process innovation in 2002.
"We will be investing over $300 million to increase ours and our partners' businesses via differentiation and penetration, and by delivering new product to our largest customers," McCracken said.
In the new business unit, Dave Tretorola is president of home and industrial textiles, Alan Wolk is president of flooring, Bill Ghitis is president of apparel and Carol Gee is vice president, global brands. All report to McCracken.
Richard Goodmanson, chairman of DuPont Textiles & Interiors, said it would be a low-cost producer, from its own plants, from co-manufacturing in Asia or with contract production.
