By Molly Parker
Staff Writer

DuPont announced plans Tuesday to build a new $500 million facility in Berkeley County where it will produce Kevlar, a durable fiber used in airplane parts, gloves and military and police protection vests.

The company plans to break ground on the new plant adjacent to its existing site near Cypress Gardens on the Cooper River in January and start production in 2012.

Calling the expansion “the largest DuPont investment in the world,” Thomas Powell, vice president and general manager for DuPont Advanced Fiber Systems, said the plant will create 100 permanent DuPont jobs and more than 400 contractor jobs during peak construction.

State and company officials said part of the reason for DuPont’s expansion in Berkeley County was its nearby customers, most notably Force Protection Inc. in Ladson and North Charleston aircraft manufacturers.

“It’s not just the single thing here,” said S.C. Secretary of Commerce Joe Taylor Jr. “It’s woven all throughout our community, all throughout our state, all throughout our country and, really, all throughout our world.”

Given world conflicts and the rapidly growing economy in Asia, DuPont has had a tough time keeping up with demand for its products, Powell said.

“When you can produce a fiber that can stop a bullet, it gets a lot of attention,” Powell said, noting that Kevlar is five times stronger than steel.

DuPont’s Cooper River plant opened in 1973. The site has 60 employees and produces Hytrel thermoplastic polyester elastomer, which is used primarily in the automotive industry.

The new Cooper River facility is part of a multi-phase, multi-year Kevlar production expansion that DuPont announced in September. The expansion will ultimately increase the company’s global production capacity by more than 25%. DuPont is investing an additional $50 million at its Spruance plant in Richmond, Va., to increase Kevlar polymer production and has plans for expansion in Northern Ireland.