DuPont history

Sales rose yearly, especially during the War of 1812, and by the time of his death his mills were a major American enterprise.

Blasting powders for industries, mines, and quarries were becoming more important, and in 1857 the company produced a “soda powder” that was the first strictly industrial explosive.

In 1880 DuPont began manufacturing nitroglycerin and dynamite.

The company first incorporated in 1899, after nearly a century as a partnership.

A Gunpowder Monopoly by 1900

When the cousins first incorporated in 1902, the company controlled 36 percent of the United States powder market.

1903 Launch of the Experimental Station

In 1904, as a by-product of its manufacture of explosives, DuPont began producing a special nitrocellulose for lacquers, leather finishes, and so on.

By 1905 DuPont held a 75 percent share of the United States gunpowder market and had become a major producer of explosives and one of the nation's largest corporations.

Alfred Du Pont and two cousins, Coleman Du Pont and Pierre Du Pont, expanded the company to command the entire explosives market by 1907.

The company subsequently purchased several smaller chemical companies; in 1912 these actions generated government scrutiny under the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Pierre Samuel du Pont began to buy General Motors (GM) stock in 1914, and he soon became embroiled in a struggle for power within that company.

1917 Expanding into paints and coatings

Pierre du Pont eventually acquired enough stock to be a dominant force within the company during the 1920s.

1924 DuPont goes to the movies

In 1928, DuPont purchases the Grasselli Chemical Company.

Their most important discovery, Nylon, was created in 1930 by a polymer research group headed by Wallace H. Carothers.

Carothers invented neoprene, a synthetic rubber; the first polyester superpolymer; and, in 1935, nylon.

1937 Expansion and progress in Argentina

The company's most important invention, Nylon, was created in 1938.

1939 Growth and the pursuit of transparency

1942 DuPont and the Manhattan Project

The system of organization worked so well that Pierre bailed out the then struggling General Motors Corporation, buying 23 percent of the shares and applying the skills DuPont had perfected. (The Department of Justice later ordered DuPont to divest its General Motors holdings in 1951.)

1957 DuPont UK and the European expansion

In 1962, after 13 years of antitrust litigation, DuPont was ordered to divest itself of GM stock.

In 1965, Stephanie L. Kwolek develops the first liquid crystal polymer, which provides the basis for Kevlar® brand fiber.

Lammont relinquished the chief executive post in 1967 and was succeeded by Charles B. McCoy, son of a DuPont executive.

In 1968, DuPont introduces Lannate methomyl insecticide, which goes on to become one of its most successful crop protection products.

Chandler, Alfred D., Jr., and Stephen Salsbury, Pierre S. du Pont and the Making of the Modern Corporation , New York: Harper & Row, 1971.

1972 Expanding into electronics

However, the company's continued attention to the fibers business resulted in the discovery of a very important material called Kevlar in 1980.

In 1981, DuPont buys petroleum manufacturer Conoco, Inc.

In April 1982 DuPont purchased the agrichemicals division of SEPIC. In November the company acquired the production equipment and technology for the manufacture of spiral wound reverse osmosis desalting products.

1984 Expansion and innovation at Shenzhen

Total expenditure for research and development amounted to more than $1 billion in 1985, and over 6,000 scientists and engineers were engaged in research activities.

In March 1986 DuPont acquired Elit Circuits Inc., a producer of molded circuit interconnects.

By 1987 the changes were paying off in some areas, as discretionary cash flow reached $4.5 billion.

Meanwhile DuPont's pretax income climbed only 4.5 percent, to 3.8 billion in 1988, although sales climbed by 8 percent.

——, "DuPont's Version of a Maverick," Business Week , April 3, 1989.

To make certain things stayed that way, the firm announced in 1990 that it would spend $500 million over three years to build or expand Lucre plants.

Norman, James R., "Turning Up the Heat at DuPont," Forbes , August 5, 1991.

Weber, Joseph, "DuPont's Trailblazer Wants to Get Out of the Woods," Business Week , August 31, 1992.

As part of this initiative Du Pont acquired ICI's worldwide Nylon business in 1993.

In 1995 some analysts (and DuPont shareholders) were recommending DuPont sell off the subsidiary, which they felt was not even returning the cost of its capital.

In 1996 Conoco returned $860 million in net earnings and bought the support of DuPont's board.

In 1997 Conoco acquired heavy oil reserves in Venezuela and a gas field in Texas, thus increasing its oil reserves by 50 percent.

Fittingly, given the company's new orientation toward bioscience, the 1999 spinoff of Conoco occurred at roughly the same time Holliday spent $7.6 billion to acquire Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., the world's largest producer of hybrid corn and soybean seeds.

The company continued to focus on its fiber division, developing new technologies that could cut polyester fiber production costs by up to 20 percent in the year 2000.

In October 2001, the company sold its pharmaceutical business to Bristol Myers Squibb for $7.798 billion.

In 2002, the company sold the Clysar(R) business to Bemis Company for $143 million.

2003 The world’s first integrated bio-refinery

In 2004, the company sold its textiles business, which included some of its best-known brands such as Lycra (Spandex), Dacron polyester, Orlon acrylic, Antron nylon and Thermolite, to Koch Industries.

DuPont sells its textile fibers business; Holliday initiates a cost-cutting program aimed at reducing spending by $900 million by 2005.

In 2011, DuPont was the largest producer of titanium dioxide in the world, primarily provided as a white pigment used in the paper industry

In February 2013, DuPont Performance Coatings was sold to the Carlyle Group and rebranded as Axalta Coating Systems.

On December 11, 2015, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, commonly known as "DuPont", announced a merger with Dow Chemical Company, in an all-stock transaction.

The merger of the two largest United States chemical companies closed on August 31, 2017.

In March 2018, it was announced that Jeff Fettig would become executive chairman of DowDuPont on July 1, 2018, and Jim Fitterling would become CEO of Dow Chemical on April 1, 2018.

In 2019, DuPont completed its spin off from DowDuPont.

In February 2020, DuPont announced that it is bringing back Edward D. Breen as its CEO after removing former Chief Executive Mark Doyle and CFO Jeanmarie Desmond less than a year after they assumed their roles.