Unifi Inc., Greensboro, N.C., and DuPont, Wilmington, Del., have announced their intention to form
a manufacturing alliance in the United States to produce polyester filament yarn. The alliance will
optimize the companies partially oriented yarn (POY) manufacturing facilities, increase
productivity and improve product quality. The alliance will only involve production.Under the terms
of the agreement, DuPont and Unifi will cooperatively run their polyester filament manufacturing
facilities, with a combined capacity of 800 million pounds, as a single unit, with DuPont managing
the production planning and scheduling. According to the companies, production will be realigned
among DuPonts Dacron® polyester filament plants in Kinston and Wilmington, N.C., and Unifis plant
in Yadkinville, N.C., to take advantage of the unique capabilities of each site.DuPonts Dacron POY
business and Unifis textured yarn business will remain separate entities.Unifi also recently
announced its acquisition of Intex Yarns Ltd., Manchester, England, giving Unifi high-quality
package dyeing capabilities in Europe. Intex will be renamed Unifi Dyed Yarns Ltd.According to
Unifi, the new company enhances its flexibility to adjust to evolving market needs and represents
an ongoing commitment to provide customers worldwide with a broader range of specialized products.
The acquisition gives Unifi 4,000 tons of dye capacity annually.”Our goal is to establish Unifi as
a high-quality supplier of dyed yarns throughout Europe,” said Brian Parke, Unifi CEO. “The
acquisition is a logical addition to our yarn production facility in Letterkenny, Ireland, and
allows us to offer our European customers a unique advantage in the marketplace.”Unifi plans to
upgrade the plant over the next 18 to 24 months. All employees will remain with the new company.
June 2000
