Overview

The polymer that became polyester has roots in the 1929 writings of Wallace Carothers. However, DuPont chose to concentrate on the more promising nylon research. When DuPont resumed its polyester research, ICI had patented Terylene polyester, to which DuPont purchased the U.S. rights in 1945 for further development. In 1950 a pilot plant at the Seaford, Delaware, facility produced Dacron® fiber with modified nylon technology. DuPont opened its huge Kinston, North Carolina, plant in 1953 to produce Dacron®.