P. R. Mallory and Co Inc

A photoflash battery with the Mallory logo.

P. R. Mallory and Co Inc was a US producer of dry cell batteries (Mercury; alkaline Duracell), electronic components including electrolytic capacitors, and audible warning devices ("Sonalert"), it also was the parent firm of Mallory Batteries Ltd., an Irish producer of Ever Ready batteries. British Ever Ready had a sizable stake in it by World War II and had a close relationship with Mallory by the late 1960s. In the US, "Eveready" batteries were a trademark of Union Carbide, which had no relationship with P. R. Mallory.

Scientists George Allis and Daniel I. Pomerantz at P. R. Mallory and Co discovered anodic bonding of glass to silicon. Their work was published in 1969 in the Journal of Applied Physics and is protected under U.S. Patent No 3,397,278.

The company was founded in 1916 by Philip Rogers Mallory, and initially manufactured tungsten wire for lamp filaments. In 1924 the company moved its headquarters to 3029 E. Washington Street in Indianapolis, Indiana and had several divisions besides Duracell batteries including Mallory Capacitor Company with manufacturing plants in Greencastle, Indiana, Huntsville, Alabama, Waynesboro, Tennessee, and Glasgow, Kentucky; Mallory Controls with a manufacturing plant in Frankfort, Indiana; and Mallory Distributor Products in Indianapolis.

In 1942 inventor Samuel Ruben with Mallory developed a practical balanced form of mercury battery which was used for portable electronic equipment during the Second World War.

In the 1950s the company had developed a powerful alkaline AAA cell for use in a Kodak camera flash, but the Kodak company required Mallory to license the design to competitors to ensure availability in the consumer market. In 1957 the company sold stock. In 1960 founder P. R. Mallory handed control of the company to his son G. Barron Mallory, who was chairman from 1960 to 1968 and active on the board for many years afterward. The company started battery manufacturing plants in Kentucky and Tennessee in 1960 and 1961. The company registered its "Duracell" trademark in 1964 and began rebranding under the new name and with the intent of marketing directly to consumers instead of industrial and military customers.[1]

In 1978 the company was purchased by Dart Industries and renamed Duracell after its alkaline battery brand introduced in 1964. In 1985 the European metal alloys part of the former P. R. Mallory company were collected under the names "Mallory Corporation" and "Mallory Alloys Group".[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gordon McKibben Cutting Edge: Gillette's Journey to Global Leadership, Harvard Business Press, 1998, ISBN 0875847250 page 288
  2. ↑ http://www.mallory.com/english/history.htm Company history page retrieved 2013 Feb 5
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