Inside Our Manufacturing: People, Technology, and Quality at Fayetteville Works

Kuraray America, Inc.’s (KAI) Fayetteville Works site in North Carolina manufactures interlayers used in laminated glass for automotive and architectural applications.

The site operates two production lines:

1. one producing polyvinyl butyral (PVB) interlayer as part of the Trosifol® product line,
2. one producing SentryGlas® ionoplast interlayer,
    

with both serving automobile and architectural applications.

Manufacturing at the Fayetteville site dates back more than five decades. Construction began in 1969 under DuPont, with PVB production starting in 1970; SentryGlas® production was added about 25 years ago, around 2001.

Today, Fayetteville primarily supplies customers across North and South America. PVB resin comes from Kuraray America's Washington Works site in West Virginia, with the broader operation also connected to other parts of KAI’s U.S. manufacturing network.

Two Film Technologies, Distinct Manufacturing Processes

How SentryGlas® film is made

The process begins with proprietary SentryGlas® resin and additives, which are received, stored, and metered into the production system. Raw materials are carefully controlled to ensure consistent product quality and performance.

The raw materials are fed into an extrusion system to form a continuous sheet. The sheet then undergoes in-process inspections, sampling, and quality verification to ensure it meets customer specifications.

Those checks continue as the material moves toward the finished product. Once approved, the finished SentryGlas® interlayer film is produced in the required thickness and dimensions for use in laminated safety glass applications. Product quality is verified before release to finished goods inventory.

The process ends with finished SentryGlas® film sheets being stacked, packaged, labeled, and prepared according to customer and transportation requirements. Packaged products are transferred to the warehouse and shipped to customers for use in architectural, automotive, and specialty glazing applications.

How Trosifol® PVB film is made

The Trosifol® PVB film process begins with PVB resin, plasticizers, and additives, which are blended to meet product specifications. These materials are prepared and fed to the extrusion process under controlled conditions.

Once blended, the materials are melted, mixed, and extruded into a continuous film. The film is then cooled, conditioned for moisture content, relaxed, inspected, and wound into rolls while continuously monitoring thickness and surface quality.

The resulting PVB film is manufactured to precise customer requirements for thickness, width, and optical quality. Finished rolls are inspected and approved for use in laminated glass applications for architectural, automotive, solar, and security markets.

After final approval, the product enters the final stage of the process. Trosifol® PVB film is packaged with protective materials, labeled, and staged for shipment. Finished product is warehoused and shipped in accordance with customer orders and transportation requirements to ensure product integrity through delivery.

A Plant Built to be Self-Sufficient

Fayetteville Works is KAI's only manufacturing site in North Carolina, and its distance from the Gulf Coast operations has helped shape a highly self-sufficient team.

The site maintains expertise across functions, including maintenance, engineering, process technology, quality, safety, environmental, warehousing, and supply chain. This depth of expertise enables teams to troubleshoot challenges and manage many day-to-day plant needs directly at the site, while drawing on expertise and support from other Kuraray America locations as needed.

Standards in Practice

At Fayetteville Works, safety and quality are reflected together in how products are made, tested, and released every day. Defined processes, operator practices, routine checks, and clear expectations help protect employees while supporting consistent product performance and customer requirements over time. Employees are also encouraged to speak up when something does not look right, whether the concern relates to the process, the product, safety, or the work being performed.

Fayetteville Works holds IATF 16949*, an automotive industry quality management standard, as well as ISO 9001** for quality management and RC 14001*** for safety management. Maintaining these certifications includes annual surveillance audits and full recertification every three years.

*IATF - International Automotive Task Force; **ISO – International Organization for Standardization; ***RC – Responsible Care®

Building on its established ISO-certified quality systems, Fayetteville Works spent approximately a year completing the requirements for IATF 16949 certification. For Jesse Stone ("Jay"), Site Quality Manager, the certification provides customers with another indication of the site’s commitment to quality and disciplined manufacturing practices.

That commitment extends beyond documented procedures. An IATF audit begins on the production floor, where an auditor can review a process against its control plan and speak directly with operators to confirm their understanding of the requirements and how they are applied. The audit then examines the management systems that support those activities.

Day-to-day, written process specifications and recipes help maintain consistency over time. Periodic sampling evaluates characteristics such as caliper, adhesion, moisture, pattern, and clarity against established requirements, while analytical laboratories operate around the clock to support continuous production. Materials that do not meet established specifications are identified and managed through defined processes, and the finished product remains on quality hold in SAP until required checks are complete and specifications have been met.

Building Knowledge from Day One

Each takes a quality overview course built for Fayetteville, then an annual awareness course, and participates in internal quality audits. Training references explain how IATF requirements apply to each person's work through document control, policy adherence, testing requirements, on-time training, and knowing where to find procedures.

Operators interested in leadership can step into what the company calls an informal affiliate role, with additional training through KAI, and maintenance brings in vendors for equipment-specific lunch-and-learns.

Building on the Local Workforce Pipeline

Kuraray America's Fayetteville Works Site is one of the Larger Employers in the Area.

Three years ago, Plant Manager Ross Crews connected with Cumberland County's early college program and brought on a student intern headed into engineering. That student went on to North Carolina State and has come back to work every summer since then. The site has also donated $30,000 in surplus drives to Robeson Community College's mechatronics program.

That workforce pipeline is particularly important in an area where manufacturing opportunities can be more limited. Whether an employee enters operations, develops into maintenance, or begins exploring leadership roles, the goal is to make those possibilities visible.

Ultimately, the quality standards, training programs, and process controls at Fayetteville all serve the same purpose: making a product customers can consistently use while providing a structured, safe way to manufacture it.