DuPont Celebrates 50^th Anniversary of DuPont™ Tyvek® Marking 50 Years of Scientific Innovation Across Industries with a Focus on the Future

DuPont Protection Solutions today announced the 50^th anniversary of DuPont™ Tyvek®, a unique nonwoven material that has enabled new dimensions of protection, security and safety in a wide variety of industries and applications.  To mark this major milestone, celebratory events will be held throughout the year to not only pay tribute to the past, but to focus on the future.  In addition, a series of communications and special activities are planned to inform, inspire and involve customers, end-users and others around the world during this celebration year and beyond.

“We are proud of the role Tyvek® has played during the past 50 years in making a world of greater good possible,” said Christian Marx, global business director for DuPont™ Tyvek®.  “From helping to protect medical personnel during the West Africa Ebola crisis, to serving as a weather barrier for the pavilion housing the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia along with countless homes and commercial buildings around the globe, to helping protect the health of millions of patients around the world by maintaining the sterility of medical devices and supplies, Tyvek® provides the trusted protection people need to accomplish bigger things,” explained Marx.  “We are pleased to celebrate the past but remain focused on the future, collaborating worldwide to innovate with Tyvek® and help solve the challenges of the next half century and beyond.”

Lightweight and durable, Tyvek® is breathable, yet resistant to water, abrasion, bacterial penetration and aging, making it ideal for a wide variety of applications across diverse industries.  One of the most commonly known applications is in construction where products in the family of building envelope solutions, such as Tyvek® HomeWrap®, Tyvek® CommercialWrap®, DuPont™ Flashing Systems and Tyvek® Protec™, are used to create more comfortable, energy-efficient buildings with fewer chances for moisture damage caused by water buildup.

DuPont is a global leader with Tyvek® protective garments providing superior protection for workers in industrial and cleanroom applications and for first responders.  Companies around the world use more than 200 million Tyvek® garments per year.  Tyvek® garments have been used to support emergency response efforts across the globe, including the U.S. Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup; the Japan 2011 tsunami cleanup and Fukushima nuclear plant remediation; and for protection of workers in West Africa in addressing the Ebola crisis. 

“We are committed to innovation in the development of protective apparel garments and accessories and we are launching several new products in our Tyvek® and Tychem® product range in 2017 to meet market needs,” said David Domnisch, global marketing manager for Tyvek® Protective Apparel.

Beyond protecting homes and workers, Tyvek® is widely used to help protect patients in healthcare settings. Since its introduction to the medical device industry more than 45 years ago, Tyvek® has been recognised as a standard of excellence for sterile device packaging. Tyvek® earned this distinction because it provides excellent microbial barrier, strength and protection for medical devices and pharmaceutical applications. Tyvek® for medical packaging also helped enable the development of new sterilization methods, such as low-temperature gas plasma sterilisation.

Other applications for Tyvek® include:  industrial packaging, active packaging and other specialty applications; cargo covers for pharmaceuticals and perishables; envelopes used by the U.S. Postal Service; and graphics as a substrate for tags, labels, banners, wristbands, maps and the creation of works of art and consumer products. 

Tyvek® products have earned numerous awards for innovation and performance from organizations in all regions of the world.  Most recently: 

Tyvek® has been recognized as the #1 brand for the house wrap category in the 2017 Builder Brand Use Study conducted by the Farnsworth Group. This is the 20th consecutive year Tyvek® has been rated #1 for brand familiarity, quality and brand used in the U.S. building market.

Tyvek® Protec™ roofing underlayment, introduced in July 2016, was a finalist for the “Most Innovative Building Product” at the 2017 International Builders Show in January.  Tyvek® Protec™ roofing underlayment is the newest offering in the DuPont building envelopes product range in North America.

Tyvek® Silver SR, a thermal and weatherisation barrier sheet specifically designed for the construction industry in Japan, received the prestigious Nikkei Architecture/Nikkei Home Builder Construction Materials Award in 2017 in recognition of improvement to the product that increased its waterproofing performance.

Tychem® ThermoPro (now known as Tychem® 6000 FR in North America), a protective apparel garment that provides triple hazard protection from chemicals, flash fire and electric arc, received the 2016 Innovation Award at the Fair Préventica in Lille, France.

Tyvek® 800J, a protective apparel garment that combines resistance to low-concentration, water-based, inorganic chemicals with the durability of Tyvek®, received the 2014 Innovation Award at the Fair Préventica in Marseille, France.

The history of Tyvek® began in 1955 when DuPont researcher Jim White made a chance discovery of a new fiber source.  A program to develop the new material was set up and a year later DuPont submitted a patent proposal for strong yarn linear polyethylene.  It took several more years for research teams to perfect the complex manufacturing process, which was based on the flash-spinning technology invented by DuPont scientist Herbert Blades. In 1965, the new engineered sheet structure was registered under the trademark name Tyvek®, and in April 1967 DuPont began commercial production. During its first 50 years, this one-of-a-kind invention has had a tremendous impact across numerous industries, resulting in the creation of new categories of products, such as house wrap, which helped revolutionise home construction; setting new standards for personal protective apparel; enabling advancements in medical device technology; and playing an important role in many other applications. DuPont, along with its customers, continues to develop new Tyvek® products to meet evolving marketplace needs.

For Greater Good™ is the promise of the DuPont™ Tyvek® brand.  Tyvek® can provide the trusted protective barrier people need to worry less so they can focus on accomplishing bigger things—making the greater good possible.

DuPont Protection Solutions is a global leader in products and solutions that protect what matters—people, structures and the environment—and enables its customers to win through unique capabilities, global scale and iconic brands.  DuPont™ Kevlar® helps protect law enforcement officers, military personnel, athletes and astronauts; DuPont™ Nomex® helps protect firefighters, industrial workers and race car drivers, as well as mass transit and wind energy systems; DuPont™ Tyvek® helps protect chemical industrial workers, as well as sterile medical devices and building construction; and DuPont™ Corian® resists the growth of bacteria to help protect hospital patients against infection.