General view of employee Stanley J. Kusic operating a balance to compare different forms of nitrocellulose at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Parlin, New Jersey. Per notations accompanying the photograph, Kusic is comparing a new type of cubed nitrocellulose, visible in the two beakers on the right-hand side of the balance, to an older fibrous type occupying the three beakers on the left. Formed in 1912 as part of an anti-trust settlement with DuPont, the Hercules Powder Company (later Hercules Inc.) initially specialized in the manufacture of explosives and smokeless powders and subsequently diversified its business to encompass a variety of industrial products, including pine and paper chemicals, synthetics, pigments, polymers, and cellulose.