The company was founded in 1916 by
Philip Rogers Mallory, and initially manufactured
tungsten wire for lamp filaments. The P.R. Mallory Company also manufactured
resistance welding electrodes. In 1924 the company moved its headquarters to 3029 East
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 had a manufacturing plant in
Frankfort, Indiana, and Mallory Distributor Products had a plant in Indianapolis. In 1942, inventor
Samuel Ruben, with Mallory, developed a practical balanced form of
mercury battery that was used for portable electronic equipment during World War II. 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 gave 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 began manufacturing batteries at plants in Kentucky and Tennessee in 1960 and 1961. The company registered its "Duracell" trademark in 1964 and began rebranding under the new name with the intent of marketing directly to consumers instead of industrial and military customers. In 1978, the company was purchased by
Dart Industries and renamed
Duracell after its
alkaline battery brand. In 1985, the European metal alloys parts of the former P.R. Mallory company were collected under the names "Mallory Corporation" and "Mallory Alloys Group". == Footnotes ==