 | |
| Industry | Chemical |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1912 |
| Founder | T.W Bacchus |
| Fate | Sold to Ashland Inc. in 2008 and dissolved |
| Headquarters | Hercules Plaza, Wilmington, Delaware, United States |
Key people | Craig A. Rogerson, President and CEO Allen A. Spizzo, VP and CFO Paul C. Raymond III, VP and President, PTV John E. Panichella, VP and President, Aqualon Edward V. Carrington, VP of HR |
| Products | Chemical, munitions |
| Website | www |
Hercules, Inc. was a chemical and munitions manufacturing company based in Wilmington, Delaware, United States, incorporated in 1912 as the Hercules Powder Company following the breakup of the DuPont explosives monopoly by the U.S. Circuit Court in 1911.[1] Hercules Powder Company became Hercules, Inc. in 1966, operating under this name until 2008, when it was merged into Ashland Inc.
An earlier Hercules Powder Company was formed in 1882 by DuPont and Laflin & Rand Powder Company.[2][3][4][5] This company was dissolved on June 30, 1904.[6]
Hercules was one of the major producers of smokeless powder for warfare in the United States during the 20th century. At the time of its spin-off, the DuPont Corp. retained the processes and patents for the production of "single-base" nitrocellulose gunpowders, whereas Hercules was given the patents and processes for the production of "double-base" gunpowders that combined nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine.
- ^ US v. Du Pont 188 Fed 127
- ^ "Laflin & Rand Powder Company". DuPont. Archived from the original on April 13, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
- ^ Dyer, Davis; Sicila, David B. (1990). "Labor of a Modern Hercules: Evolution of a Chemical Company". Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
- ^ "History and Background". City of Hercules. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
- ^ Box/folder number, Ellis Leroy Hawk Jr. polypropylene plant construction http://findingaids.hagley.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/2015_284.xml;query=bacchus
- ^ US v. Du Pont 188 Fed 127, 146