Purex is a brand of

laundry detergent Laundry detergent is a type of detergent (cleaning agent) used for cleaning dirty laundry (clothes). Laundry detergent is manufactured in powder (washing powder) and liquid form. While powdered and liquid detergents hold roughly equal share o ...

and laundry-related products manufactured by Henkel North American Consumer Goods and marketed in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Purex is one of the most widely used laundry detergents in North America. Its original product, Purex Bleach, was a major competitor to Clorox bleach. The brand name is also used for a line of in-wash "fragrance booster" products called

Purex Crystals Purex Crystals are a crystal-form in-wash "fragrance booster" (and formerly a crystal-form in-wash fabric softener) manufactured by Henkel and marketed in the United States and Canada. Former fabric softener product Introduced in 2011, the Purex ...

. The Purex Crystals brand was originally launched as an in-wash

fabric softener A fabric softener (American English) or fabric conditioner (British English) is a conditioner that is applied to laundry during the rinse cycle in a washing machine to reduce harshness in clothes that are dried in air after machine washing. In con ...

product.

History

In 1922, Lionel S. Precourt and his son, Ray, began to make household bleach from their garage behind their family home in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. The following year, the name Purex was adopted for their bleach product. By 1946, Purex began to produce its first light-duty, dry detergent, under the brand name Trend. In 1955, Purex acquired Old Dutch Cleanser from

Cudahy Packing Company Cudahy Packing Company was an American meat packing company established in 1887 as the Armour-Cudahy Packing Company and incorporated in Maine in 1915.

. On July 31, 1956, Purex acquired the Manhattan Soap Company best known for its "SweetHeart" soap.''Other Sales, Mergers'',

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

, August 1, 1956, pg. 30. In 1962, Purex acquired

The Campana Company The Campana Company of Batavia, Illinois was a major manufacturer of cosmetics in the 20th century. History The Campana Company was incorporated in Illinois in 1927. Its first product was Italian Balm, a hand lotion. The formula was purchased f ...

Batavia, Illinois Batavia () is a city mainly in Kane County and partly in DuPage County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in the Chicago metropolitan area, it was founded in 1833 and is the oldest city in Kane County. Per the 2020 census, the population w ...

, from the

Dow Chemical Company The Dow Chemical Company, officially Dow Inc., is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company is among the three largest chemical producers in the world. Dow manufactures plastic ...

. The same year, it merged with Brillo Manufacturing Company, makers of

Brillo Pad Brillo is a trade name for a scouring pad, used for cleaning dishes, and made from steel wool impregnated with soap. The concept was patented in 1913, at a time when aluminium pots and pans were replacing cast iron in the kitchen; the new coo ...

. In 1975, Purex liquid laundry detergent was introduced. Purex liquids began the use of its distinctive blue

plastic bottle A plastic bottle is a bottle constructed from high-density or low density plastic. Plastic bottles are typically used to store liquids such as water, soft drinks, motor oil, cooking oil, medicine, shampoo, milk, and ink. The size ranges from v ...

in 1981. In 1981, Purex acquired the food and household brands of A. E. Staley Manufacturing Company, among them, Cream Corn Starch, Staley Pancake and Waffle Syrup, Sta-Puf fabric softener, Sta-Flo liquid starch and Sno Bol toilet bowl cleaner. In 1982, Purex Industries, Inc. was acquired in a

leveraged buyout A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money (leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loan ...

by Gibbons, Green and van Amerongen Ltd., the predecessor of

Leonard Green & Partners Leonard Green & Partners ("LGP") is an American private equity investment firm founded in 1989 and based in Los Angeles. The firm specializes in private equity investments. LGP has invested in over 95 companies since its inception, including Petc ...

. In 1985, the household and consumer products business of Purex Industries, Inc. was acquired by

Greyhound Corporation Viad Corp provides experiential leisure travel and face-to-face events in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United Arab Emirates via two divsions: GES and Pursuit. Pursuit (formed in 2017) includes travel attractio ...

and was combined with Greyhound's Armour-Dial to form

The Dial Corporation Henkel Corporation, doing business as Henkel North American Consumer Goods, and formerly The Dial Corporation, is an American company based in Stamford, Connecticut. It is a manufacturer of personal care and household cleaning products, and is a ...

. By the 1990s, Dial would discontinue the Purex bleach product to focus on laundry detergents. In April 2004, The Dial Corporation was acquired by

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, commonly known as Henkel, is a German multinational chemical and consumer goods company headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. It is active in both the consumer and industrial sectors. Founded in 1876, the DAX company is organi ...

References

External links

* Laundry detergents Dial Corporation brands Private equity portfolio companies Cleaning product brands Products introduced in 1922 Henkel brands {{Product-stub

History

See also

References

External links