DuPont: The World's Largest Automotive Coatings Company
On March 1, 1999, DuPont became the world's largest supplier of automotive coatings by completing the purchase of Herberts GmbH, the coatings subsidiary of Hoechst AG, headquartered in Germany. The new business, DuPont Performance Coatings, comprises the DuPont, Standox, Spies Hecker and Nason brands.

DuPont is the leader in automotive coatings in both North and South America. Herberts is the leading supplier of automotive coatings in Europe. The combining of the two companies' resources will lead to faster development of new technologies and markets in the developing regions, according to Louis F. Savelli, president of DuPont Performance Coatings.

Each company has developed new technology in environmentally acceptable products such as low-emission waterborne and powder coatings as well as products that contain no hazardous air pollutants. Concurrently, research continues to develop more durable coatings that resist scratches and acid-etch environmental damage.

DuPont has nine manufacturing facilities, six of which are in North America, three in Europe, and joint ventures in South America and the Asia/Pacific region. Herberts operates 37 manufacturing facilities, 30 of which are located in Europe, three in North America, one in South America and three in Asia with a number of minority interest joint ventures in the Asia/Pacific region.

DuPont: Your OEM Connection
DuPont has maintained a strong connection to automobile manufacturers (OEMs) for many years.

• DuPont is the largest OEM finishes supplier to General Motors and Ford.
• DuPont is the sole OEM finishes supplier to Cadillac.
• In 1986, DuPont purchased Ford's Mt. Clemens, Mich. paint manufacturing facility, which now produces finishes for all North American vehicle manufacturers.
• DuPont supplies the finishes for all 10 of the top-selling vehicles.
• DuPont is a major OEM finishes supplier to offshore European and Japanese manufacturers.

The 1924 Oakland - the first automobile to be spray finished with DuPont's revolutionary DUCO nitrocellulose lacquer. Before DuPont introduced DUCO, it used to take weeks to paint a car by brush.

History DuPont is one of the largest U.S. industrial corporations, ranked fifteenth on the Fortune 500 list in 1997. With operations in nearly 70 countries, including 165 manufacturing and processing facilities, and more than 75 R&D and customer service laboratories, the DuPont "oval" is a worldwide symbol of innovative leadership. In the Automotive Industry, DuPont has been a major player since 1910, when the company supplied coated fabrics for the "ragtops" of the era. In 1924, DuPont revolutionized the painting process by introducing the first sprayable topcoat, Duco® nitrocellulose lacquer. DuPont innovations such as Kevlar® and Nomex® aramid fibers, Butacite® sheeting and Cromax waterborne finishes have further advanced OEM technology. Today, we offer more than 110 automotive product lines, ranging from finishes, plastics and advanced composites to fibers, electronics, chemicals and lubricants. We are a worldwide supplier to these OEMs: Audi BMW Chrysler Citroen Fiat Ford General Motors Honda Isuzu Jaguar Nissan Opel Peugeot Renault Rover Saturn Skoda Suzuki Toyota Vauxhall Volkswagen Volvo Freightliner, Kenworth, Peterbilt and Foden heavy-duty trucks. Car and truck manufacturers (OEMs) select more new car colors from DuPont than any other paint manufacturer. That's one reason why DuPont is able to match virtually any color from its vast palette of more than 200,000 formulas. Research & Development DuPont spends over $1 billion annually in fundamental research and hundreds of millions of dollars on commercial development of new materials, finishes and technologies company-wide. A majority of this research activity has potential automotive industry application. Color is the focal point of much of our R&D, which is conducted in laboratories in Europe, Japan, South America, Mexico, Canada and the U. S. Using state-of-the-art instrumentation and mathematical modeling, DuPont researchers have developed methods for the exact duplication of new and old finishes. This research has led to advanced technologies such as waterborne and high-solids finishes. A substantial portion of our research dollar goes to continual improvement of our product offerings to better meet our customers' needs. At the same time, we are maintaining our commitment to discovery research, which is essential to our future and our customers' future. Meanwhile, we continue to commit resources to manufacturing capabilities. As an example, our modernized finishes plant at Front Royal, Va., produces our environmentally-friendly waterborne paint. Environmental Commitment DuPont has traditionally aspired to and achieved high standards of environmental responsibility. At our manufacturing facilities, we continue to reduce air toxics and air-emitted carcinogens. In the automotive finishes market, we have taken the initiative in reducing volatile organic compounds (VOC) by developing new products to meet the environmental challenge. A decade of worldwide R&D work in DuPont laboratories produced . . . the first low-VOC waterborne finishing system to be used by an automaker in the U. S., and a subsequent leadership position among suppliers of waterborne OEM basecoats. the first demonstration in the United States of a viable waterborne repair system. the first high-solids, single component, etch-resistant clearcoat for the OEM market. the only all-vehicle, zero-VOC powder primer-surfacer, on line at two automotive assembly plants. through ColorNet®, a computerized VOC tracking system for shops and jobbers. a choice of low-VOC products to meet the stringent demands of California air quality regulations, as well as proposed National standards for the U. S. and other countries. Among those products: the Cromax WBC® waterborne finishing system.