DuPont refrigerants is no more. Let that sink in for a second. OK, ready? Instead of DuPont Refrigerant you now have Chemours Refrigerant.
In 2013 DuPont announced that they would be separating their refrigerant division into a completely new company called ‘The Chemours Company.’ This new company would be completely independent and separate from DuPont. In the official announcement in 2013 the completion date was estimated around first or second quarter 2015 and so far they have lived up to their goals. A timeline of Chemours’ history can be found on the website.
Even though Chemours is a new company and could jokingly be called a ‘start-up,’ it is nowhere near a start up. They will be starting their first year with guaranteed seven billion in sales, with a presence in over one-hundred and thirty countries, as well as having all of the former DuPont management at the reigns. Also, did I mention that this stat up has nine thousand employees already? Now if only my start up could get this kind of traction!
I was reading through their Frequently Asked Question section earlier today and it seemed pretty standard to be honest. The one thing to mention is that Chemours will not just be dealing with the refrigerant side of DuPont’s business but also with Titanium Technologies and Chemical Solutions. It’s pretty much all of their chemical divisions being merged into one separate company.
History
DuPont has a long history of splitting into various companies. For example, were you aware that Pierre DuPont helped fund General Motors in their beginning and was eventually the chairman of GM? DuPont and GM actually partnered together to come up with the first trademarked Refrigerant. DuPont led General Motors for nearly forty years but they were eventually forced to give up ownership of GM due to government anti-trust laws.
DuPont was also split up by the government in the early 1900s for their monopoly in the explosives industry after they purchased numerous smaller explosive companies over the course of a few years. Did I mention in the 1980s that DuPont purchased all of Conoco as well? At least with Conoco they weren’t forced to sell by the government. They sold their Conoco ownership in 1999 to another petroleum company.
Now, I can only guess as to why DuPont decided to split up their refrigerant and chemical division but given their track record of holding monopolies and eventually being split up maybe they just jumped the gun before the government intervened. Besides Honeywell what other major refrigerant manufacturers are there out there? You could count Mexichem here in the United States and there are a few here and there across the world but the two powerhouses are HoneyWell and now Chemours. Not many others can compete with their price and quality.
Conclusion
In essence this new Chemours company isn’t really going to change much within the industry. It’s the same people running it from DuPont, the same plants and manufacturers as DuPont, and you’re getting the same great quality that DuPont provided in years past.
The ONLY thing that I can predict changing over the next few months and years is that the DuPont name will eventually be phased out and you will begin to see the new Chemours name take place on all of their cylinders and tanks you purchase from them.
Even though nothing is really changing saying goodbye to DuPont refrigerants seems like the end of an era.