User:Ripper777
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kordite Corporation was American poly-synthetic engineering company and manufacturer of plastic products. Founded in 1946 in the town of Macedon, New York by brothers Richard and Howard J. Samuels for $20,000,[1] the company became one of the largest employers in the Northeast industrial corridor of the United States, boasting sales of $200 million in its tenth year in business and was the largest manufacturer of plastics production and household consumer goods in the U.S.[2]
Company type | Defunct (Company) Defunct (Brand) |
---|---|
Industry | Manufacturing, Chemical |
Founded | 1946 |
Founder | Howard J. Samuels Richard Samuels |
Headquarters | ![]() |
Area served | Worldwide |
Products | Consumer, Chemicals |
Services | Foodservice |
Parent | Textron Corp. (1955-58) Nat. Dist.Chemical (1958-62) Mobil Oil Company (1962-95) Tenneco Inc. (1995-99) Pactiv Corporation |
Website | [none] |
The company is credited with a number of distinctions in industrial and commercial industry including the first chemical engineering company to produce for household consumerism. Among its many contributions to the public consciousness include a μm thin polyethylene film pouch that became the plastic bag, plastic clothespins and hanger, plastic bristled broom, wax paper, freeze-lock bag micowaveable plastic and a no-stretch reinforced wastebasket liner known as the Hefty trash bag.
In 1999, the Pactiv Corporation became the parent company of Kordite.[3] Under Pactiv, Kordite was restructured as a brand in disposal kitchen containers and utensils. As part of its growth platform, executives of Pactiv began to phase out Kordite products and brand from the market in the early 2000's as the company sought to focus only one brand a piece in the commercial and household consumer market. Kordite's influence in the sociocultural identity of American mass production remains and can still be seen today, as the logo for the Hefty brand.