DuPont An Investment Analysis :: essays research papers

DuPont makes a variety of high-value products for industry today, includingpolymers, chemicals, fibers, and petroleum products...products for agriculture,electronics, transportation, apparel, food, aerospace, construction, and health care.DuPont serves customers in these and other industries every day, offering "better thingsfor better support" as the company prepares to begin its third century of scientific, technological, commercial, and social achievement. DuPont is a research and technologybased chemical and energy company with its annual receipts exceeding $39 billion.     Eleuthre Irne du Pont de Nemours, a French immigrant, established DuPontin 1802 in a small Delaware town. E.I. du Pont was a pupil of AntoineLavoisier, the father of modern chemistry, and when he came to America he brought some ofthe new ideas about the manufacturing of consistently reliable gun powder. Hisproduct ignited when it was supposed to, in a manner consistent with expe ctations. This wasgreatly appreciated by the citizens of the growing nation, including ThomasJefferson, who wrote thanking du Pont for the quality of his powder, which was being used to clear the land at Monticello. legion(predicate) other heroes of early America owed their success, and theirlives, to the dependable quality of DuPonts first product. This represents a good,strong start for a company.      DuPont, which is moving through the last decade of the 20th century andtoward its third century, emphasizes several things competing globallysharpening its business focus increasing productivity committing to safety, health, andenvironmental excellence and continuing to extend its significant science andtechnological achievement.      One of DuPonts major strategies is to focus on businesses in which DuPonthas core competencies, where DuPont can build competitive advantage. The mostnotable example of this focus was the 1993 transaction in wh ich DuPont acquired ICIsnylon business and ICI acquired DuPonts acrylics business. This strengthened thecompanys position in the global nylon business while divesting a business that nolonger fit its portfolio.      Another major performer in the transformation of the company in the1990s wasthe focus on reducing costs and improving productivity. This was necessary togive the company the flexibility for competitive determine and to grow market share andearnings.      DuPont had strong plants in several countries around the world for manyyears, and their globalization trend continued in the 1990s. New plants unfastened inSpain, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, and China, and a major technical service centeropened in Japan. In 1994, a Conoco joint venture began producing oil from the ArdalinField in the Russian Arctic--the first major oil field brought into production by aRussian/Western partnership since demise of the Soviet Union.