From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A pair of Duracell AAA batteries.
Duracell is a leading brand of
batteries and
flashlights. The brand's mascot outside North America is the
Duracell Bunny. Duracell is also a rival to
Energizer.
|
Contents
-
1
Products
-
2
Business
-
3
History
-
4
In popular culture
-
5
See also
-
6
External links
|
Products
Duracell manufactures
alkaline batteries in
many common sizes, such as
AAA,
AA, C, D, and
9V. Lesser known sizes such as
AAAA (primarily for
pagers,
penlights and
blood
glucose meters) and J size batteries (for hospital devices)
are also manufactured along with a range of "button" batteries
using Zinc-air chemistry, used in
calculators,
hearing aids and other small (mostly medical related)
devices.
Duracell also manufactures specialty batteries, including
NiMH
rechargeable batteries and batteries for
cameras,
watches, hearing aids, etc. Their two main battery
brands are "Coppertop", marketed as longer-lasting, and
"Ultra", directed mainly at users of digital devices and devices
that need more power. The Coppertop and Ultra brands of
batteries use the
alkaline-manganese
dioxide chemistry. Duracell also has a line of
lithium chemistry batteries and products, now manufactured
outside of the U.S.
In recent years, Duracell innovations expanded to include new
battery designs with their
prismatic batteries, which are prismatic in shape rather
than
cylindrical. Prismatic cells were made available in both
alkaline and lithium designs. In 2006, Duracell introduced
"Power PixTM" batteries with
metal hydroxy technology, designed to supply longer life in
digital cameras and other high drain devices by up to twice the
number of photos typically achievable with alkaline batteries.
Duracell batteries are also bulk packaged for end users under
the brand name
Procell.
Business
Duracell introduced many battery formats, including AAA (R03)
in the
1950s
and AA (R6 Penlight) in
1960.
It merged with
Gillette in 1996, and became part of
Procter & Gamble when P&G acquired Gillette in
2005.
Duracell's main competitor is the
Energizer battery brand. Duracell continues to have
manufacturing facilities in the U.S. (primarily in the
southeast) and in Asia and Europe. Duracell's global
headquarters is located in
Bethel, Connecticut, about an hour from
New York City.
History
Duracell came to be via the partnership of scientist
Samuel Ruben and businessman
P.R. Mallory, who met in the 1920s. The P.R. Mallory Company
produced mercury cells for military equipment use, trumping the
Zn-air battery technology then used in virtually all
applications. In the late 1970s, when the company's concerns for
the now known effects of
mercury took hold, mercury quickly became an obsolete
ingredient in all their manufacturing processes. Alkaline
technology quickly rose to take its place.
In the 1950s when
Kodak
introduced cameras with integral
flash, the design called for a new cell size and the AAA was
born.
In 1964 the term "Duracell" as a brand was formally
introduced. The name is a
portmanteau for "durable cell".
In popular culture
- In the video game
Pikmin 2 for the
Nintendo GameCube, a Duracell battery appears as the
very first collectable item. Another smaller Proton AA is
found very later on.
- A Duracell battery appears in
The Matrix, when
Morpheus uses one to explain to
Neo that humans are being used as a power supply. The
term "copper top" is used as a somewhat derogatory reference
to humans plugged into the Matrix, referencing the
appearance of the Duracell battery.
- Because of their distinctive colour, Duracell is a term
for a person with ginger hair.
See also
External links
-
Online Store
-
UK Online Store
|
Procter
& Gamble Co. |
|
|
Corporate
Directors:
Norman Augustine |
Bruce Byrnes |
R. Kerry Clark |
Scott D. Cook |
Joseph Gorman |
A. G. Lafley |
Charles R. Lee |
Lynn M. Martin |
W. James McNerney, Jr. |
Johnathan Rodgers |
John F. Smith, Jr. |
Ralph Snyderman |
Robert Storey |
Margaret Whitman |
Ernesto Zedillo |
|
Brands:
Always |
Ariel |
Aussie |
Bounty |
Braun |
Charmin |
Cheer |
Clairol |
CoverGirl |
Crest |
Downy |
Dreft | Duracell |
Eukanuba |
Fairy |
Febreze |
Folgers |
Gillette |
Head & Shoulders |
Herbal Essences |
Iams |
Ivory |
Joy |
Luvs |
Max Factor |
Metamucil |
Noxzema |
Olay |
Old Spice |
Oral-B |
Pampers |
Pantene |
Pringles |
Puffs |
Pur |
SK-II |
Swiffer |
Tampax |
Tide |
Vicks |
Zest |
Annual Revenue: $55.4 billion
USD (.png/10px-Green_Arrow_Up_(Darker).png) 10%
FY 2005) | Employees: 110,000 | Stock
Symbol:
NYSE:
PG | Website:
www.pg.com |
Categories:
Consumer battery manufacturers |
Procter & Gamble brands |
Company portmanteaus
