Word: du
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...scientists at Du Pont's Experimental Station first found a way to duplicate leather's "breathability" by impregnating plastic material with threadlike fibers-and then dissolving the fibers. Then, as is its habit, Du Pont generated an internal competition by pitting two of its departments against each other in a battle that raged for two years amid warlike secrecy. In 1955 the fabrics and finishes department devised a mixture of tough polyurethane and resilient polyester fibers that most suitably duplicated leather's qualities. Du Pont's top-strategy Executive Committee gave the go-ahead for what...
...Du Pont showed as much savvy in testing and introducing Corfam as it did in developing it. First it piqued the curiosity of shoe manufacturers by sending them sample batches to make into test shoes. Du Pont inspectors went along and swept up the scraps to prevent them from falling into the hands of industrial spies. Then, to catch and correct such bugs as cracking and stiffness, the firm gave away thousands of shoes to people who would give them a hard-wearing test, notably orphans in institutions, mailmen and its own salesmen and executives-including Copeland, who still wears...
...scarce and as costly as top-quality leather; prices for most of the shoes now range from $20 up, but Corfam may also appear in less expensive shoes in the spring. The public's response, despite the high prices and limited styles so far, has surprised even Du Pont. Corfam shoes are being turned out by 45 major shoemakers, and stores are heavily reordering. Already 700,000 customers have bought the shoes; Du Pont hopes that Corfam in 20 years will win 25% of the U.S. shoe market, which now amounts to 610 million pairs a year...
Mass production began this month at a new plant in Old Hickory, Tenn., and Du Pont is also building a factory in Belgium to produce Corfam for the European market. Barbed-wire fences and 24-hour guards at Old Hickory testify to Du Pont's unwillingness to share its hard-won secrets with a dozen competitors that are trying to crack the synthetic-leather market. Not even the shoemakers have been allowed inside the production area, and a sign at Old Hickory announces: "Our competitor is a nice fellow-smart too-so let him figure...
Packaging Revolution. This continuous search for products-and the tendency of one link in the chain of discovery to lead inexorably to another -runs through Du Pont's entire history and legend. Founded in 1802 by Eleuthere Irenee Du Pont, a French immigrant who had studied gunpowder-making under Lavoisier, the father of modern chemistry, the company got its start by selling explosives to a young U.S. that needed them to clear the West and defend itself. It grew huge a century later by supplying 40% of the powder used by the Allies in World...