CRC Industries is a manufacturer and distributor of

industrial chemicals The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials (oil, natural gas, air, water, metals, and minerals) into more than 70,000 different products. The ...

for

maintenance Maintenance may refer to: Biological science * Maintenance of an organism * Maintenance respiration Non-technical maintenance * Alimony, also called ''maintenance'' in British English * Champerty and maintenance, two related legal doctrine ...

and

repair The technical meaning of maintenance involves functional checks, servicing, repairing or replacing of necessary devices, equipment, machinery, building infrastructure, and supporting utilities in industrial, business, and residential installa ...

of marine, electrical, industrial, automotive and aviation equipment.

History

It was founded in 1958 after a verbal agreement between Rocket Chemical, the predecessor of the

WD-40 Company The WD-40 Company, originally the Rocket Chemical Company, is an American manufacturer of household and multi-use products, including its signature brand, WD-40, as well as 3-In-One Oil, Lava, Spot Shot, X-14, Carpet Fresh, GT85, 1001, Solvol, 2 ...

, and Charles J. Webb II to distribute

WD-40 WD-40 is an American brand and the trademark of a penetrating oil manufactured by the WD-40 Company based in San Diego, California. The formula for WD-40 was invented for the Rocket Chemical Company as early as 1953 before it evolved into ...

fell apart. Webb then set up a competitor company in Philadelphia, Corrosion Reaction Consultants, Inc., and hired away Rocket president

Norman Larsen Norman Bernard Larsen (1923—1970) was an American industrial chemist. Biography He was born in Chicago. Larsen is sometimes credited with inventing the WD-40 formula in 1953 but this is not certain. The WD-40 company website and other books an ...

to lead it. In 1960 it consisted of Larsen, two chemists and five staff. Its first product was CRC Corrosion Inhibitor, also called 5–56, a product comparable to WD-40. The product was reformulated in 1963 as the company diversified to make more specialized products. The company has been owned by

Berwind Corporation Berwind Corporation (previously also known as Berwind-White Coal Mining Company) is a large privately held American corporation historically involved in the coal industry. Today it is a diversified company involved in property leasing and owner ...

since 1981.

Products

CRC's first product, 5-56, is still sold. However, 6-56, a silicone-based replacement, is CRC's current competing product for WD-40. Brakleen, a

tetrachloroethylene Tetrachloroethylene, also known under the systematic name tetrachloroethene, or perchloroethylene, and many other names (and abbreviations such as "perc" or "PERC", and "PCE"), is a chlorocarbon with the formula Cl2C=CCl2 . It is a colorless liq ...

(PERC)-based

brake cleaner Brake cleaner, often also called '' parts cleaner'', is a mostly colorless cleaning agent, mainly used for cleaning the brake disks, the engine compartment and underfloor of motor vehicles. An important feature is that the brake cleaner leaves n ...

, is one of CRC's signature products. It has gained a cult following due to its dissolving power and has been used off-label for many other purposes, a practice strongly discouraged by health experts and the product's own warning labels. As PERC is illegal in New Jersey and California, a safer but weaker substitute chlorine-free formula mostly made of acetone and heptane is also offered.

Facilities

CRC's manufacturing is headquartered in

Warminster, Pennsylvania Warminster Township (also referred to as Warminster) is located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was formally established in 1711. The township is 13.7 miles north of Philadelphia and had a population of 32,682 according to the 201 ...

with the corporate office in

Horsham, Pennsylvania Horsham is a home rule municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 14,842 at the 2010 census. Horsham is located entirely within Horsham Township, and it is home to the Horsham Air Guard Station at the form ...

. It markets products through subsidiaries in the United States, Australia, Germany,Germany Office
/ref> Belgium, United Kingdom, China and New Zealand.
on Berwind Corporation website, retrieved 2011-04-04 Their facilities in Warminster include a private railroad spur, served by the

New Hope Railroad The New Hope Railroad , formerly and colloquially known as the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad, is a shortline and heritage railroad located in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Today, the railroad operates both steam and diesel powered locomotives and is ...

. Traffic on the spur constitutes a sizable portion of the railroad's freight traffic; CRC Industries is their largest freight customer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crc Industries Chemical companies of the United States Lubricants Berwind Corporation

External links

CRC Industries, Inc.