DuPont Expanding Zodiac® Output

The Wilmington, Del.-based company made the announcement on Feb. 22 in Thetford Mines, where it currently produces Zodiac® surfaces. The Quebec government also is helping to fund the project.
“This investment demonstrates DuPont's focus on growth, which will benefit our customers in Canada and around the world,” said William B. White, president of DuPont Canada. “We will make equipment enhancements that will enable us to further increase the size of the slabs and improve quality of the slabs we deliver, which will improve the yields during fabrication, and deliver a better finished product to consumers to meet the increasing market needs of our customers around the world.”
The current plant, using technology from Breton S.p.a., began production in 1991 under the ownership of Granirex Inc. DuPont purchased Granirex in December 1998, and inaugurated its Zodiac line, which it noted as “an advanced composite material made of quartz and other materials” in the plant-expansion announcement, in mid-2000.
“DuPont is well established in Frontenac County, and today's announcement further demonstrates its confidence in our community and their employees,” said Laurent Lessard, Quebec’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and the local member of the Quebec National Assembly. “I am proud that DuPont is making this investment in state-of-the-art equipment. I am pleased to add my support to the management and the employees for the improvements they are making to the manufacturing activities at the plant.”
“We are dedicated to providing our customers with access to the broadest choices in high-quality materials, and this investment in our Zodiaq® quartz surfaces products is a key component of that offering,” said Thomas F. Schuler, vice president and general manager – DuPont Building Innovations. “We anticipate further growth in this fast-growing market, as consumers are drawn to the strength and beauty of combining natural quartz with smart technology.”
The expansion announcement caps an evaluation process that began in the mid-2000s. In July 2006, the Canadian national government’s Service Canada noted that the Thetford Mines site was then competing with South Carolina for this development, and reported a potential investment of C$143 million. Service Canada’s notice also reported the investment would generate at least 100 direct jobs in Thetford Mines; at the time, governments offered a C$9.5 million interest-free loan for the expansion.