By 1970 chemicals and fertilizers comprised the company's chief activity, accounting for two-thirds of its turnover. Petrochemicals then took center stage. In just twelve years profits from raw materials for plastics grew by a factor of fourteen. No mean feat in view of the fact that DSM had to fight its way into a market dominated by major companies with long-established names.
In the 1970s and '80s DSM underwent major reorganizations to ensure itself of sufficient scale, greater guarantees for market consumption, and diversification into high-quality plastics and fine chemicals. After 1985, DSM developed a series of ambitious innovation projects resulting in specialties such as the polyethylene fiber Dyneema, the strongest fiber on earth.