At the evening reception kicking off the Cyrel Customer Technology Center (CTC) inauguration, held April 15–16 in Wilmington, DE, DuPont leadership emphasized both the company’s legacy of innovation and its continued investment in flexographic printing.

Lori Koch, CEO of DuPont, framed the new CTC as part of a broader evolution within the company, including the consolidation of key activities at the DuPont Experimental Station.

“This is truly where the action happens,” Koch said, describing the campus as a hub for innovation and value creation. The Experimental Station has historically been the birthplace of major DuPont technologies, including Kevlar and Tyvek, and continues to serve as a center for research and development.

Koch also acknowledged the volatility the industry has faced in recent years, citing supply chain disruptions and geopolitical challenges, while reinforcing DuPont’s commitment to innovation and customer collaboration.

“We’ll continue to innovate for you and solve your challenges,” she said.

Legacy Meets Future Vision

Building on that theme, Tucker Norton, vice president and general manager of DuPont Printing & Films, highlighted the long-standing role of the Cyrel brand in advancing flexographic printing.

“Cyrel has been here for more than 50 years, helping lead the flexographic printing industry through innovation and partnership,” Norton said.

Speaking at the Experimental Station, Norton connected DuPont’s history — dating back to its origins in 1802 and the founding of the site in 1903 — to its current innovation strategy.

“This site is really the lifeblood of innovation for DuPont,” he said. Looking ahead, Norton pointed to increasing demands from brand owners and converters as a key driver of innovation, including higher print quality, faster turnaround times, and improved sustainability.

“Customers want better quality, faster results, and more sustainable solutions,” he said. “We don’t see those as conflicting demands, but as challenges to be solved.”

DuPont’s approach centers on what Norton described as a “beyond limits” vision — advancing flexographic technology while helping converters meet these evolving expectations.

“We call it ‘printing beyond limits,’” he added. “It’s about solving challenges together.”

Cyrel Renew Platform Targets Sustainable Flexo Production

During the event, DuPont also introduced a new product platform aimed at addressing one of the industry’s most persistent challenges: delivering sustainability gains without disrupting established workflows.

PJ Fronczkiewicz, Cyrel North America manager of technical marketing and service, presented the Cyrel Renew platform, beginning with the first product in the series, Cyrel Renew LSH.

The platform is designed to provide measurable sustainability benefits while maintaining full compatibility with existing flexographic plate workflows.

“We wanted to create something that offers a sustainability benefit without introducing reformulation risk or requiring changes in plate making or prepress,” Fronczkiewicz said.

At the core of the platform is a mass balance approach to sustainability — an emerging model that allows certified bio-circular content to be attributed to products without altering their physical composition or performance.

“This is essentially a drop-in solution,” Fronczkiewicz explained. “There are no changes required in plate making, no changes to workflows, and no changes on press.”

The Cyrel Renew LSH plate will be offered as an alternative to the standard LSH plate and delivers an estimated 15–17% reduction in product carbon footprint, according to DuPont.

The company positioned the launch as the first step in a broader platform strategy, with additional products expected as adoption grows.

A Facility Built for Real-World Collaboration

The event culminated with the official ribbon cutting of the Cyrel Customer Technology Center, where DuPont leadership emphasized the facility’s role as a collaborative environment designed to support converters under real production conditions.

Beth Ferreira, president of DuPont’s Diversified Industrials segment, underscored the importance of the Printing & Films business within the company’s broader portfolio.

“We’re proud of this facility and the role it plays in supporting our customers and advancing the industry,” Ferreira said. “This is about continued partnership.”

DuPont leaders positioned the CTC as more than a demonstration space, instead describing it as a working environment where customers can engage directly with technologies, workflows, and applications.

“This is not a showroom,” one executive noted during the ceremony. “It’s a collaborative space where customer challenges meet our expertise.”

Designed to reflect real-world production environments, the center allows converters to test jobs, evaluate technologies, and validate solutions alongside DuPont’s technical teams. The goal is to bridge the gap between development and application — enabling customers to assess performance in conditions that closely mirror their own operations.

“Today’s ribbon cutting symbolizes an open door — to collaboration, to innovation, and to creating solutions together,” Ferreira said.

Following the ceremony, attendees toured the facility in small groups, seeing firsthand how the CTC is designed to support hands-on problem solving across print quality, productivity, consistency, and sustainability.

Looking Ahead

With the opening of the Cyrel Customer Technology Center, DuPont reinforces its commitment to working closely with converters and partners to advance flexographic printing.

The message throughout the event was consistent: innovation in flexo is no longer just about incremental improvements in materials or equipment — it is increasingly about collaboration, integration, and real-world validation.

And with the CTC now operational, DuPont is positioning itself — and its customers — to move that vision forward together.