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The story of Duracell begins in the
early 1920's with an inventive scientist named Samuel
Ruben and an eager manufacturer of tungsten filament wire named Philip
Rogers Mallory.
Ruben came to the P.R. Mallory Company seeking a piece of equipment
he needed for
an experiment. Ruben and Mallory saw an opportunity: uniting Rubens
inventive genius
with the companys manufacturing muscle. Their partnership, which
would last until 1975
with Mallory's death, was the bedrock of Duracell International.
Samuel Ruben's inventions revolutionised battery technology. Amidst
World War II, for
instance, Ruben devised the mercury cell, which packed more capacity
in less space and
was durable enough for the harsh climates of wartime theatres like
North Africa and the
South Pacific places where ordinary zinc carbon batteries used
in flashlights, mine
detectors, and walkie-talkies couldn't hold up. P.R. Mallory manufactured
millions of
mercury cells for the war effort. The Mallory Battery Company was
formed shortly
thereafter.
In the 1950's, Samuel Ruben went on to improve the alkaline manganese
battery, making
it more compact, durable, and longer lasting than anything before
it. At about the same
time, Eastman Kodak introduced cameras with a built-in flash unit
that required more
power than zinc carbon cells could provide. The cameras needed alkaline
manganese
cells but in a new size, the AAA. Mallory made them, and also licensed
the technology to
others because the company, at that time, had no consumer distribution.
The photographic demand for power put alkaline cells on the map
and the DURACELL
brand was introduced in 1964. Soon, the consumer market for DURACELL
batteries
rocketed and supplies had to be rationed in the 1970's as manufacturing
capacity caught
up.
Today, as part of The
Procter & Gamble , Duracell is the world's leading
manufacturer and
marketer of high-performance alkaline batteries. The tradition of
innovation started by
Ruben and Mallory is still evident in new DURACELL batteries such
as DURACELL ULTRA
with M3 Technology®. Duracell also markets primary lithium, silver
oxide and zinc air
batteries. The company operates 6 battery-manufacturing facilities
worldwide. With
headquarters in Bethel, Connecticut, USA. Duracell sells its batteries
throughout the
world, primarily under the DURACELL® trademark.
For more information about our consumer products, visit www.duracell.com
For more information about
P&G , visit www.pg.com |
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