DuPont Tyvek to form global alliance with Kappler Safety Group

Mississuaga, Ontario, October 17th,2001 The DuPont Company in Wilmington, Delaware, announced October 15th that its Tyvek organization has entered into an agreement with Kappler Safety Group, Inc., of Guntersville, Ala., to acquire Kappler s product line of protective garments for industrial safety applications and to form a global manufacturing alliance.

The U.S. transaction is effective as of today; closing on the European assets will occur after taking necessary regulatory steps. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. “This alliance is a positive step for the safety industry and for each of our companies,” says Mark Vergnano, global business director for DuPont Tyvek .”Over the past 30 years, Tyvek has helped advance worker protection through its expertise in material science, market knowledge and research and development. The Kappler Safety Group has delivered garment technology and a high level of manufacturing and service for two decades. “The industry will benefit from this alliance of two innovative companies one from the fabric side and one from the garment side,” continues Vergnano, “The result will be new product developments that will meet the ever-changing requirements for worker protection.”

Combining the complementary product lines from DuPont and Kappler will provide a broader range of solutions to meet the diverse needs for worker protection. From dry particulates to chemical and liquid splashes, there will be a limited-use or reusable protective garment.

Building on DuPont s 200-year heritage of safety and Kappler s protective garment technology base, DuPont will continue to improve worker protection through new technology. DuPont is committed to delivering the best in protective apparel knowledge, products and services.

“We are proud of the technological advances that our company has delivered to the protective apparel industry during the past 20 years and are excited to be entering into this alliance,” said George Kappler, founder and CEO of the Kappler Safety Group. “At the same time,we look forward to bringing our advanced technology to other product lines in new markets outside of the safety industry.”

DuPont Protective Apparel offers high-quality products and services to meet the protective apparel needs of workers across many industries around the world. These products include DuPont Tyvek and Tychem brands of protective material, DuPont Nomex and Kevlar brand fibres and DuPont Sontara brand spunlaced fabric. For more information about our products, call 1-877-797-5907 or visit our web site at www.DuPont.ca/protective apparel

DuPont is a science company,delivering science-based solutions that make a difference in people’s lives in food and nutrition; health care; apparel;home and construction; electronics; and transportation. Founded in 1802,the company operates in 70 countries and has 85,000 employees.

Contacts:Heather Byrne-Moumdjian DuPont Canada Inc.,

905-821-5860

Heather.A.byrne-1@CAN.dupont.com

Gail Sawchuk-Grieve,

DuPont Canada Inc.,

905-821-5564

Gail.G.Sawchuk-Grieve@CAN.dupont.com

10/17/01

DuPont is a trademark of E.I.du Pont de Nemours and Company.

Tyvek ,Tychem ,Nomex ,Kevlar and Sontara are registered trademarks of

E.I.du Pont de Nemours and Company. DuPont Canada Inc.,is a licensee.