Toray Settles Trade Secret Case

Toray Chemical Korea has admitted that in 2011 it tried to steal DuPont’s intellectual know-how to make the m-aramid fiber Nomex, which is used in fire protection garments. As part of a deal with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the South Korean firm agreed to pay a $2 million fine and create an ethics compliance program. Toray Chemical Korea was known as Woongjin Chemical until earlier this year when Japan’s Toray Industries bought a 56% stake in it. Toray Industries has had close ties to DuPont for many years, including a joint venture that makes the p-aramid fiber Kevlar.