As a global player, RIL is already engaged in polyester R&D. RIL is now building a new 'state-of-the-art' Research and Technology Centre (RTC) at Patalganga, near Mumbai. This 'world-class' facility will incorporate the latest polyester research equipment as well as pilot lines for high speed POY, FDY, PSF and bicomponent spinning and several unique polymerization pilot plants including one featuring the revolutionary new NG-3 PET resin technology by DuPont. Downstream pilot facilities will include plants to simulate customers operations in bottle processing, yarn texturing, weaving and poly-cotton spinning.

DPT is the technology development and licensing arm of DuPont Textiles and Interiors (DTI). The strategic alliance will not only enable RIL and DTI to explore jointly new areas of research opportunity, but also pursue many promising projects already in the DTI and RIL research pipelines.

The alliance will benefit polyester consumers worldwide, by accelerating the delivery of new polyester products and processes to the world marketplace in a very 'cost-effective' manner, by employing both pilot scale and commercial scale manufacturing facilities at Patalganga and other Reliance polyester manufacturing sites.

The intellectual property from joint developments under the alliance will be available, on a royalty-free basis, to both RIL and DTI. This will bring a new dimension to DTI's worldwide polyester licensing activities and simultaneously assure that RIL can rapidly bring a sustained stream of high-quality, innovative new products to their customers.

Within the past year, RIL and DTI have entered into several important alliances. RIL is at present producing polyester-filling products to supply DTI's global markets, and is also the exclusive agent to develop the market and distribute DuPont Lycra stretch fibres within India. Later this year, RIL will commission the world's first commercial PET resin plant using DTI's NG-3 process. This will expand the existing Relpet PET capacity of 80,000 tonnes per year to 300,000 tonnes per year.

"We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with DuPont and are excited to leverage the R&D strengths of the two companies," says Subodh Sapra, president, polyester sector, RIL. "This strategic agreement is an important milestone for both companies and one based on convergence of business objectives. However, I believe the final consumer, both in India and the US, will ultimately benefit as new products are brought to the marketplace, through world-class polyester R&D in India."

"As DuPont and Reliance have had a strong relationship for more than 20 years, Reliance was the natural partner for DTI to further our polyester knowledge base. We are sure that this will enable both DTI and Reliance to enhance their positions as world leaders in polyester," says DPT director Robert Graham.