DuPont Zytel® Manufacturing Facility

Historic Project: Groundbreaking Work From Earlier in Fluor’s History

Client: DuPont

Location: Singapore

Business Segments: Energy SolutionsUrban Solutions

Industries: ChemicalsTechnology

Map showing the location of DuPont Zytel® Manufacturing Facility

Executive Summary

Fluor served as a full-service contractor providing engineering, procurement and construction management services for this $90-million DuPont Nylon / Zytel® chemical manufacturing facility in Pulau Sakra Island, Singapore.

We teamed with RSP for permitting and infrastructure work.

Fluor's Solution

The project made use of a modular construction approach, with the majority of module fabrication completed in the Philippines. Seventeen modules were used involving 65% of the construction, the largest being the continuous polymerization module, which weighed 2,000 metric tons. Once completed, the modules were shipped to Pulau Sakra Island for final installation.

This modularization approach reduced the schedule from 29 months, a consultant's initial projection, to 20 months. In addition, we saved the client approximately 10% of the total installed cost.

Conclusion

The facility was designed to produce 72 million pounds per year of an engineering-grade nylon 6,6 polymer, brand-named Zytel®. Five main process areas are located on the grassroots site: salt strike, continuous polymerization, finishing, packaging, and heat transfer areas. The two primary feedstocks are adipic acid and hexamethylene diamine.

The project received the DuPont Project Excellence award. It was also awarded Fluor's Hugh Coble Project Excellence Award in 1995. The award is based on outstanding performance in several areas, including safety, value creation and client and community relations.

Zytel is a registered service mark of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company or its affiliates.

Because we were able to move many of the labor hours to another location, costs were lower, we had better control of the quality of construction, and the schedule was compressed dramatically.

Lou Yurechko

DuPont Project Manager