DuPont
Headquartered in the United States, DuPont is organized around its core business segments: agriculture and nutrition, electronics and communications, performance chemicals, performance coatings, performance materials, and safety and protection, and pharmaceuticals. Its agriculture industry consists of DuPont Crop Protection, Pioneer Hi-Breed International, and many other business units and subsidiaries. As of 2009, DuPont is the world's sixth largest agrochemical company and, as Pioneer, the world's second largest seed company.
Reported Sales: USD 34.812 billion (2012)
Net Income: USD 3.510 billion (2012)
Workforce: about 70,000 employees worldwide
Revenues are from: Chemicals, plastics, performance chemicals, catalysts, coatings, crop technology
Founded in 1802, DuPont was initially an explosives company. During the American Civil War, it supplied the Union army and navy almost 40% of the powder used. Although World War I brought an unprecedented growth, the company started diversifying to non-explosives such as lacquer and paints, synthetic rubber but also later going into ammunitions and agrochemicals. During World War II, DuPont supplied the explosive needs of the military, and venturing into atomic explosives and plutonium production. After the war, it shifted its focus to textiles and industrial chemicals and ending its explosives and munitions legacy by the early 1990s.
The Agriculture and Nutrition segment had sales of USD 9.085 billion, about 28.8% of DuPont's revenues.
Pesticides
DuPont's pesticides portfolio included or includes the hazardous chemicals benomyl, clopyralid, cyanazine, diuron, mancozeb, and methomyl. Mancozeb, a carbamate, and diuron are known human carcinogens.
Biotechnology
Current biotechnology crops include herbicide tolerant soybeans, corn, and canola as well as insect-killing corn.
