Duracell

History

Origins

In 1964, the term "Duracell" was introduced as a brand, from "durable cell". Until 1980, the batteries also bore the Mallory brand.

Developments

P. R. Mallory was acquired by Dart Industries in 1978, which in turn, merged with Kraft in 1980. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts bought Duracell in 1988 and took the company public in 1989. It was acquired for $7 billion by The Gillette Company in 1996.

In 2005, Procter & Gamble acquired Duracell's parent Gillette for $57 billion.

In September 2011, Duracell and Powermat Technologies Ltd. started a joint venture, called Duracell Powermat, to make small wireless chargers for mobile phones and small electronics, with P&G owning 55% of the joint venture shares and Powermat 45%.

In March 2012, along with Powermat Technologies, Duracell, under the Procter & Gamble corporate umbrella, founded the Power Matters Alliance (PMA), an alliance of leading industry and governmental organizations that is dedicated to advancing smart and environmentally sound wireless power. AT&T and Starbucks joined the board later that year.

In 2013, the company released a "Duracell Quantum" line as their top-performing alkaline batteries.

P&G spin-off and Berkshire Hathaway ownership

On October 24, 2014, Procter & Gamble announced it would spin off Duracell in 2015 as part of a wider restructuring scheme. On November 14, 2014, Berkshire Hathaway declared its intent to acquire Duracell in an all-stock deal, consisting of $4.7 billion worth of P&G stock then owned by Berkshire Hathaway. The acquisition received regulatory approval from the European Commission in July 2015.

The transfer was completed on February 29, 2016, with P&G investing $1.8 billion in cash into Duracell, and Berkshire Hathaway giving P&G back 52 million shares.

In September 2016, Duracell announced plans to move its executive team and 60 employees to Chicago.

In February 2022, Duracell announced a long-term partnership deal with Williams Racing. The deal culminated with the vertical air intake of the car designed like a Duracell battery, which was first introduced in the 2022 Miami Grand Prix. The design was later implemented on the Williams FW45 for the 2023 season. Duracell also became the title sponsor of William Racing's eNASCAR team as Duracell Williams Esports eNASCAR.

Products

Duracell manufactures alkaline batteries in many common sizes, such as AAA, AA, C, D, and 9V. Lesser-used sizes such as AAAA (primarily for pagers, penlights, and blood glucose meters) and J size batteries (for hospital devices and photographic strobe flash units) are also manufactured and a range of "button cells" using zinc-air, silver-oxide, and lithium chemistries, used in calculators, watches, hearing aids, and other small (mostly medical-related) devices. Duracell entered into a brand licensing agreement with flash memory manufacturer Dane-Elec in 2008 for a line of products including memory cards, hard drives and USB flash drives with the Duracell brand mark and in the brand's trademark "copper top" coloring.

Duracell also manufactures specialty batteries, including NiMH rechargeable batteries and batteries for cameras, watches, hearing aids, etc. Their two main battery brands are "CopperTop (Plus)," marketed as longer-lasting, and "Ultra," directed mainly at users of digital devices and devices that need more power. Duracell also makes some lithium batteries and car batteries.

Duracell manufactures alkaline and lithium batteries in prismatic as well as cylindrical shape. In 2006, Duracell introduced "Power Pix" batteries with NiOx technology, designed to power digital cameras and other high-drain devices for up to twice as long as alkaline batteries.

Duracell's professional batteries have been sold in the United States and Europe under the brand name "Procell" (previously "Industrial by Duracell" and "Duracell Procell"). Two main product lines are currently sold under the Procell brand, "Procell Alkaline" and "Procell Intense Power", intended to provide longer endurance by tailoring the power profile of the batteries to the requirements of the device. "Procell Alkaline" are designed for use in low-drain applications such as clocks, and Procell Intense Power is designed for higher-drain devices.

In the 1980s, the company briefly had a line of flashlights called Durabeam, marketed as being much stronger and brighter than other flashlights.

References

References

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5. Annual Report of P. R. Mallory for 1956
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7. (September 13, 1996). "Gillette to Buy Duracell for $7 Billion". New York Times.
8. (January 28, 2005). "P&G to acquire Gillette for $57bn". BBC News.
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10. (October 29, 2012). "AT&T, Google, Starbucks Back 'PMA' Wireless Power Ecosystem and Open Standard". PR Newswire.
11. Gilbert, Ben. (October 29, 2012). "Boston-area Starbucks testing wireless smartphone charging; Starbucks, Google and AT&T back PMA standard". Engadget.
12. "''Duracell Introduces Quantum The World's Most Advanced Alkaline Battery''".
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18. Agarwal, Armaan. (2023-02-08). ""Genius. Absolute genius!!!" - Fans react as Williams cleverly blend sponsor Duracell with its 2023 F1 livery".
19. Agarwal, Armaan. (2023-02-08). ""Genius. Absolute genius!!!" - Fans react as Williams cleverly blend sponsor Duracell with its 2023 F1 livery".
20. (2022-07-06). "Duracell Becomes Title Partner of Williams eNASCAR Team".
21. "Duracell Advances 'Trusted Everywhere' Brand Name To Flash Memory Products".
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26. (2018). "An Examination of the Factors That Influence Primary Battery Longevity Performance Under Multiple-Cell Vs Single-Cell Testing Conditions". ECS Meeting Abstracts.