DuPont marked the opening of a new biopharmaceutical plant near Moncks Corner that will expand the chemical conglomerate’s production of flexible tubing for the medical industry.
Liveo Healthcare Solutions’ manufacturing facility at the Charleston International Manufacturing Center near Moncks Corner employs 25 workers and is expected to double that number by mid-2024, according to site manager Bill Alexander.
The tubing that will be produced at the Berkeley County plant near the Cooper River can be used in medical devices such as catheters and IV bags.
The facility is on property that DuPont originally purchased in 1970. It joins a sister plant in Hemlock, Michigan.
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster (sixth from left) joins DuPont and local government officials at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at DuPont’s Liveo Healthcare Solutions manufacturing campus, Charleston International Manufacturing Center , near Moncks Corner. DuPont/Supplied
DuPont previously said it spent about $66 million to reopen the empty Goose Creek plant, which previously produced the company’s Kevlar-branded high-strength fabric used in body armor.
“The Cooper River site will bring additional production capacity online over the next two years to serve strategic customers and expand our Liveo Healthcare Solutions customer base,” said Eugene Toccalino, global business manager for the healthcare division and specialty lubricants from DuPont, in a written statement. “We are committed to investing in our healthcare business, and this investment in biopharmaceutical manufacturing…is a key step in our growth strategy that will help us deliver a highly reliable and sustainable product supply. “
DuPont said it worked with local businesses, including more than 40 contractors, on the expansion project. Governor Henry McMaster and DuPont officials joined local government leaders at the July 28 dedication.
In addition to the Cooper River expansion, DuPont announced that it will add silicone tubing capacity in China in the second half of this year to meet growing needs in Asia.
DuPont marked the opening of its Liveo Healthcare Solutions manufacturing facility in Berkeley County on July 28. The plant will manufacture tubing for medical devices. File/AP
Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont came to the Charleston area more than half a century ago, when it purchased about 2,100 acres at the end of Cypress Garden Road in 1970.
Several years passed before he unveiled plans for a large 275-acre manufacturing plant, where about 1,500 workers were making a new variety of polyester called Dacron. The $266 million investment covered an area the size of seven football fields.
But even before its completion, the plant was already struggling as the global synthetic fiber market was becoming oversaturated. In addition, polyester clothing began to go out of fashion and low-wage foreign rivals were able to sell the material at cheaper prices.
DuPont eventually sold the Dacron business, but it also poured money into other product lines in Berkeley County. A $167 million plant making resins under the Hytrel and Castrin brands was announced in 1997. DuPont announced in February that it was selling that division to Irving, Texas-based Celanese Corp. as part of a an agreement which should be concluded by the end of the year.
The company also paid $500 million to build its Kevlar plant in Berkeley County, but it closed after about six years because demand for the material fell far short of expectations.