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 chlorinated polyether used as an ingredient in protective coatings for structural steel and other metals, papers, cardboard, and plastics.

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.