DuPont to Unveil Safety Study at SAE World Congress

The 2004 SAE World Congress and Exposition is fast approaching. The event, which will be held March 8-11 in Troy, Mich., will feature the 10th annual DuPont-sponsored survey, which ranks advanced safety and entertainment systems as tied among the top two technologies consumers for which consumers would be willing to pay in their vehicle.

"The SAE survey results support double-digit growth projections for safety systems development and validates our experiences around the world with first tier and OEM customers," said Michael L. Sanders, global business director for DuPont and INVISTA™ Automotive Safety Systems. "Our primary focus is to contribute materials technology and the expertise to apply it in priority development programs for side-impact and rollover protection as well as collision avoidance and pedestrian protection systems that are on the near-term horizon."

The 2004 SAE study report indicates that among the top ten safety systems to receive priority attention among first-tier suppliers and OEMs over the next five years will include heads-up display images in windshields and laminated sidelites, sunroofs and backlites.

Among DuPont's offerings to meet these needs are:

- DuPont™ SentryGlas® Wedge™, which enables sharper head-up display images in windshields; and

- DuPont™ SentryGlas® Plus safety glass interlayer, which it says offers added rigidity and tear strength for sidelites. It is commercially used as an option on both the BMW 5 and 7 Series models. New SentryGlas® technology will be debuted at SAE for its additional benefits in providing acoustic, solar and styling benefits in addition to safety and security.