DuPont Leader: Asia Pacific Remains Growth and Innovation Engine

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- DuPont East Asia President Carl J. Lukach told investors at the CLSA Asia Forum that DuPont is on track to generate approximately 20 percent sales growth this year in Asia Pacific, versus 2010 revenues of $7.3 billion.

Robust growth in Asia Pacific has been led by electronics, especially products in solar panels and electronic devices, performance polymers for the automotive industry, titanium dioxide, packaging polymers, crop protection and seeds.

"We are addressing the broader food, energy and protection challenges generated by dramatic global population growth," Lukach said.  "DuPont strives to advance the boundaries of knowledge in materials, biology, chemistry and engineering.  By combining these disciplines across markets and regions, we can create new innovations that address the key unmet needs of customers, wherever they may be."  

Lukach said new product and market innovations in China, India, Japan and ASEAN are driven by macro-economic factors and demographic shifts, especially a growing middle class in the region.  He also said DuPont's commitment to science-powered innovation and collaboration is reflected in four new innovation centers that opened this year in Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and India.  The innovation centers foster an exchange of ideas and real-time collaboration between scientists and customers, with the goal of creating more innovative solutions and increasing the speed of innovation.

"Growth and collaboration in Asia is not new to DuPont.  We have been operating in various parts of the region since the early 1900s, when we first established our operations in China.  In fact, Asia accounted for approximately one quarter of DuPont's 2010 revenues," Lukach said.  "We're confident our strategy is working in Asia Pacific and we are committed to delivering superior revenue growth and continued innovation in the future."

DuPont (NYSE: DD) has been bringing world-class science and engineering to the global marketplace in the form of innovative products, materials, and services since 1802.  The company believes that by collaborating with customers, governments, NGOs, and thought leaders we can help find solutions to such global challenges as providing enough healthy food for people everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting life and the environment.  For additional information about DuPont and its commitment to inclusive innovation, please visit http://www.dupont.com.

Forward-Looking Statements:  This news release contains forward-looking statements based on management's current expectations, estimates and projections.  All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about the company's strategy for growth, product development, market position, expected expenditures and financial results are forward-looking statements.  Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "intends," "projects," "indicates," and similar expressions.  These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions.  Many factors, including those discussed more fully elsewhere in this release and in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by DuPont, particularly its latest annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q, as well as others, could cause results to differ materially from those stated.  These factors include, but are not limited to changes in the laws, regulations, policies and economic conditions, including inflation, interest and foreign currency exchange rates, of countries in which the company does business; competitive pressures; successful integration of structural changes, including restructuring plans, acquisitions, divestitures and alliances; cost of raw materials, research and development of new products, including regulatory approval and market acceptance; seasonality of sales of agricultural products; and severe weather events that cause business interruptions, including plant and power outages, or disruptions in supplier and customer operations. The company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements as a result of future developments or new information.

SOURCE DuPont