Family Business
In 1884 he went to work at the family's gunpowder manufacturing plant in the Brandywine mills. Though he started in a low position, he eventually became known, according to the Alfred I. du Pont Foundation, as "one of the nation's top powder men." Most of the over 200 patents he registered were related to this work.
Du Pont married his cousin Bessie Gardner (1864–1949) in 1887, and she was the mother of his first four children. In 1889, the manufacturing plant passed to the management of Eugene du Pont, at which time it was reorganized and renamed E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, and du Pont was made a limited partner. Beyond that, Eugene du Pont and other family members largely ignored du Pont, excluding him from the company board.
In 1902, upon the death Eugene du Pont, the three senior partners considered selling the company to competitor Laflin & Rand Powder Company. Du Pont proposed keeping the company in the family, and the senior partners agreed on condition that du Pont be joined in the venture by Coleman du Pont, who would be president, and Pierre S. du Pont. They had no money, but the cousins were able to convince other family members to exchange their company shares for a promissory note instead of cash, plus shares in the reorganized company. According to the Trust organization, the company was purchased "for $15.4 million—$12 million in notes and 33,000 shares of the reorganized DuPont", with the partners retaining $8.6 million worth of shares (86,400). The actual amount of money which the partners were required to pay was $2,100, at $700 each for lawyers' fees.
Pierre du Pont was named Treasurer and Executive Vice President of the company, while Alfred du Pont served as Vice President for operations and took over the black powder manufacture and sat on the Executive Committee. Alfred was directly engaged with the company and instituted major changes to its operation that resulted in greater efficiency and safety, leading to a boom in business.
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