DuPont Performance Elastomers, L.L.C.

DuPont Performance Elastomers, L.L.C. was incorporated in Delaware on January 16, 1996, as DuPont Dow Elastomers, L.L.C. It was a joint venture of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and the Dow Chemical Company, but Dow later sold its interest back to DuPont. It was in part the successor to DuPont's Elastomer Chemicals Department.

Viton, the first fluoroelastomer, grew out of the research of Dr. D.R. Rexford of the Organic Chemicals Department in 1954. It proved remarkably stable when exposed to chemicals, oils, solvents and high temperatures, making it ideal for seals, gaskets, O-rings, and similar components in the aerospace and automotive industries. The invention was announced in a 1957 paper by J.S. Rugg and A.C. Stevenson and brought to market in the following year.