DuPont Spruance facility plans $75M expansion in Chesterfield

Technology-based materials producer DuPont de Nemours Inc. will invest $75 million to expand and modernize its Kevlar manufacturing plant in Chesterfield County over the next several years, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. The DuPont Spruance factory employs 2,000 people and will add 60 more jobs as a result of the expansion.

The plant, which opened in 1929, is the manufacturing company’s largest facility in the world, as well as one of the county’s main employers. It currently produces Kevlar, which is used in body armor; Nomex, an insulation material used for firefighters’ suits; and Tyvek, a material used in protecting homes and buildings from weather.

“The DuPont Spruance site has been proud to call Richmond its home for over 90 years,” David Johnson, the site manager, said in a statement. “Since 2015, we have invested more than $250 million to upgrade and improve our manufacturing assets that deliver essential innovations for our customers around the world.”

The company is eligible to receive sales and use tax exemptions on manufacturing equipment, as well as tax credits and benefits from the Port of Virginia and the state. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Chesterfield County and the port to secure the project, and Northam approved a $250,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund for the county, as well as a $1 million Virginia Investment Performance grant to encourage capital investment by existing companies in the state.

“Innovative companies like DuPont help to keep Virginia at the forefront of a rapidly evolving manufacturing industry,” Northam said in a statement.