Instruments & Innovation

General view of employees at work in a facility used for the production and testing of detonators and initiators manufactured at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. Formed in 1912 as part of an…

Close-up view of an automatic press machine used to fill shells with an explosives charge the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. Formed in 1912 as part of an anti-trust settlement with DuPont, the…

General view of an unidentified employee setting a tray of shells into an apparatus used during the production of blasting caps at Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. The apparatus is likely a press…

General view of an unidentified female employee operating an automatic precision-assembly station used during the manufacture of detonators and initiators at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. The…

General view of several employees at work on the automatic loading line for the production of detonators and initiators at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. On the left-hand side of the…

General view of an unidentified employee using assorted machinery to test the destructive range and effectiveness of detonators and initiators manufactured at the Hercules Powder Company plant located in Port Ewen, New…

General view of an unidentified employee operating a Beckman (Berkeley Division) Time Interval Meter at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. Time Interval Meters were commonly used for a range of…

Close-up view of an automatic press machine used to fill shells with an explosives charge the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. Formed in 1912 as part of an anti-trust settlement with DuPont, the…

General view of a Prodex brand extruder used in the production of Penton, a chlorinated polyether used as an ingredient in protective coatings for structural steel and other metals, papers, cardboard, and plastics, at…

General view of a ring closure reactor used in the production of Penton, a chlorinated polyether used as an ingredient in protective coatings for structural steel and other metals, papers, cardboard, and plastics, at…

General view of an acetylation unit used in the production of Penton, a chlorinated polyether used as an ingredient in protective coatings for structural steel and other metals, papers, cardboard, and plastics, at the…

General view of a machine used to mold Penton, a chlorinated polyether used as an ingredient in protective coatings for structural steel and other metals, papers, cardboard, and plastics, at the Hercules Powder Company…

General view of an unidentified employee operating a polymerizer and extruder at the Hercules Powder Company plant located in Parlin, New Jersey. Per notations accompanying the photograph, the polymerizer and extruder…

Two views of a separator used to separate carbon tetrachloride and water containing hydrochloric acid at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Parlin, New Jersey. The employee visible in the first photograph is…

General view of employee Edward Newmans clearing spent wood chips from an extractor tank at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Brunswick, Georgia. One of two Hercules plants specializing in naval stores, the Brunswick…

Close-up view of assorted valves and pipes at the Hercules Powder Company plant located in Parlin, New Jersey. Per notations accompanying the photograph, these valves and pipes were lined with Penton, a Hercules-branded…

General view of several employees using a crane to move a heat treatment tank in preparation for the expansion of rosin-making facilities at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Brunswick, Georgia. One of two Hercules…

Close-up view of solid Penton needle and plug valves, as well as Penton pipes and fittings, at the Hercules Powder Company plant located in Parlin, New Jersey. Penton was a Hercules-branded chlorinated polyether used as…

Close-up view of assorted valves, pipes, and fittings at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Parlin, New Jersey. Per notations accompanying the photograph, this system, which was used to handle hydrochloric acid, was…

General view of boilermaker Hubbie H. Hattaway operating an acetylene cutting torch in the machine shop at the Hercules Powder Company plant located in Brunswick, Georgia. Per notations accompanying the photograph, the…

General view of employee Kenneth Newell operating a press machine used to fill electric blasting caps with an explosive charge at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. The operation was…

General view of employee Raymond Demskie operating a series of levers to remotely mix explosive powders used in the electric blasting caps produced at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Port Ewen, New York. The levers…

General view of Stan Fenelon (left), Pexite rosin and refinery supervisor, and Clarence Darley (right), day relief operator, examining the rosin solution evaporator apparatus at the Hercules Powder Company plant in…

General view of employees Thomas Stauble (left, foreground) and Andrew Tubby (right, foreground) using assorted machinery to test the destructive range and effectiveness of detonators and initiators manufactured at the…

General view of safety inspector John Cloer at work in the foam house at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Brunswick, Georgia, with view of assorted fire-fighting and fire-suppression apparatus. One of two Hercules…