When Murray Bordeaux, vice-president and a co-owner of Dymatrol, Inc., was notified early last year by DuPont that he may have to move his manufacturing facility to another location, he had no idea where he would eventually locate it.

However, through what he calls a stroke of good fortune, he has found a place that is ideally suited to his type of operation-the old Bladenboro Cotton Mill.

Dymatrol, a maker of nylon strapping and taping products, had at one time been a thriving division of DuPont, with several manufacturing locations around the country. Nylon strapping had been developed as an alternative to steel for binding products for transport, and had replaced steel in many applications.

However, as other types of strapping were developed, demand for nylon strapping products began to decrease. In response to decreases in demand, DuPont began closing production facilities until the sole remaining production line was located at the DuPont Fayetteville Works plant in Bladen County.

DuPont began looking to divest itself of the Dymatrol division.

Bordeaux, who had worked for DuPont in the Dymatrol division for 22 years, and his immediate superior led a leveraged buyout of the division in 1993, with the understanding that it would continue to operate in the DuPont facility.

For the next eight years, Dymatrol operated its manufacturing facility at the DuPont site, with at satellite location in St. Pauls.

Then, according to Bordeaux, DuPont notified the company that it needed the space being used by the Dymatrol production facility.

"We began looking for another site right away," said Bordeaux. "I contacted Chuck Heustess (Bladen County Economic Developer) about finding a location for our operation. He suggested that this ( the old Bladenboro Cotton Mill) might be a good location for us.

"He (Heustess) said he thought the old plant might be ideal for our needs," he added.

"He (Heustess) made the necessary contacts with the owners of the (Bladenboro) building, and as soon as I looked over the site, I knew it was a good fit for the Dymatrol operation. We negotiated with the owners and by October we had a lease signed."

Bordeaux said he immediately began refurbishing the building to accommodate the Dymatrol operation.

"We used local companies to refurbish the plant," he explained. "IRS Electrical Services did the electrical refitting and Continental Maintenance did the repair and construction work on the plant."

It took six months to move the entire operation from the DuPont and St. Pauls sites. In May the move was complete and the entire operation is now located in the old cotton mill in Bladenboro.

Bordeaux says the building is ideally suited to his operation because it requires long, narrow production lines.

Heustess said he is elated that the facility works so well for the Dymatrol operation.

"Because the building was built earlier in the 20th century and has support beams in rows throughout it, it would not accommodate many manufacturing operations today," said Heustess. "It was designed for what it was originally used for, as a textile plant. I was concerned that we would be able to find someone who could use the plant.

"But because of the way the Dymatrol process operates, it fits into the building very well," he added.

"Murray has since told me that he had reservations when I first suggested that he come look at the old plant," Heustess explained. "But after he saw it, he seemed convinced that it would make a good location for his business."

Bordeaux said his operation furnishes products for many niche markets. Despite the fact that the entire operation only has 16 employees, it produces products that are used throughout much of the world. In fact, many of the orders are for European companies.

Bordeaux said his company uses recycled waste nylon from carpet mills as its raw material. The process itself leaves almost no waste products because virtually all waste is recycled through the same process.

The company makes a variety of products besides nylon strapping for packaging material-products that are used in many commercial applications. They are used in everything from automobiles to blinds.

Much like the company's manufacturing process uses recycled material to produce new products, the company is using a "recycled" building for a new and different type of industry.

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