Tenneco and DuPont Partner on Retail Car Care Line

Tenneco Automotive today announced that it has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with DuPont to develop, manufacture and market certain car care products under the DuPont brand in North America. 
Initially, the two companies will launch a line of DuPont branded car appearance products — including waxes, protectants, car wash, and tire and wheel care products — which will be available at retailers throughout the United States and Canada. 
These products will feature DuPont Teflon in the North America DIY (Do It Yourself) category. According to the companies, early response from customers has been positive, as the products will be available at more than 10,000 automotive retail outlets throughout the United States and Canada, beginning in January 2004. 
The agreement represents Tenneco Automotive’s first strategic step to expand its aftermarket product offerings beyond the ride control and emission control categories. 
“We are excited to be working with DuPont to enter the car care product market and to broaden beyond our traditional product lines,” said Mark P. Frissora, chairman and CEO of Tenneco Automotive. “Our innovative products, combined with the powerful DuPont and Teflon brands and Tenneco Automotive’s extensive distribution network, have the opportunity to provide a high value, high performance offering in this market segment.” 
Partnering with Tenneco Automotive combines their decades of automotive expertise and DuPont’s science and technology capabilities to make better, more innovative products,” said Ellen J. Kullman, group vice president, DuPont Safety & Protection. 
“This partnership allows us to jointly market products consumers can trust for quality assurance.” 
The new DuPont Car Care products have been developed to deliver a high level of performance in terms of cleaning ability and enhancing overall vehicle appearance. The formulations are water-based and avoid acids and caustic materials found in other automotive appearance products. The line will include: DuPont Teflon Car Wash, DuPont Teflon Car Wax, DuPont Teflon Protectant, DuPont Teflon Wheel Cleaner, DuPont Teflon Spray Wax, DuPont Teflon Protectant Wipes and DuPont Teflon Tire Shine. 
The two companies intend to work together to develop additional car care product lines for the category, which is a $775 million market in North America alone. Specific terms of the long-term deal were not disclosed.