Duracell is a brand of
batteriesAn electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
manufactured by
Procter & GambleProcter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
.
Additionally, Duracell owns the
Procell professional-use brand.
Products
Duracell manufactures
alkaline batteriesAlkaline batteries are a type of primary batteries dependent upon the reaction between zinc and manganese dioxide . A rechargeable alkaline battery allows reuse of specially designed cells....
in
many common sizes, such as
AAAA triple A or AAA battery is a standard size of dry cell battery commonly used in portable electronic devices. A carbon-zinc battery in this size is designated by IEC as "R03", by ANSI C18.1 as "24", by old JIS standard as "UM 4", and by other manufacturer and national standard designations that...
,
AAAn AA battery is a standard size of battery. Batteries of this size are the most commonly used type of in portable electronic devices. An AA battery is composed of a single electrochemical cell...
,
CThe C battery is a standard size of battery typically used in medium-drain applications such as toys and musical instruments.As of 2007, C batteries accounted for 4% of alkaline primary battery sales in the US...
,
DA D battery is a size of dry cell. A D cell is cylindrical with electrical contacts at each end; the positive end having a nub or bump...
, and 9V. Lesser used sizes such as
AAAAThe AAAA battery is 42.5 mm long and 8.3 mm in diameter. The alkaline cell weighs around 6.5 g and producing 1.5 V. This battery is also classified as LR8D425 and 25A...
(primarily for
pagerA pager is a simple personal telecommunications device for short messages. A one-way numeric pager can only receive a message consisting of a few digits, typically a phone number that the user is then requested to call...
s,
penlightA flashlight is a hand-held electric-powered light source. Usually the light source is a small incandescent lightbulb or light-emitting diode...
s, and
bloodBlood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
glucoseGlucose is a simple sugar and an important carbohydrate in biology. Cells use it as the primary source of energy and a metabolic intermediate...
meters) and J size batteries (for hospital devices) are also manufactured along with a range of "button" batteries using zinc-air, silver-oxide and lithium chemistries, used in
calculatorAn electronic calculator is a small, portable, usually inexpensive electronic device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic. Modern calculators are more portable than most computers, though most PDAs are comparable in size to handheld calculators.The first solid-state electronic...
s,
watchA watch is a small timepiece, typically worn either on the wrist or attached on a chain and carried in a pocket, with wristwatches being the most common type of watch used today. They evolved in the 17th century from spring powered clocks, which appeared in the 15th century. The first watches were...
es,
hearing aidA hearing aid is an electroacoustic device which typically fits in or behind the wearer's ear, and is designed to amplify and modulate sound for the wearer. Earlier devices, known as "ear trumpets" or "ear horns", were passive funnel-like amplification cones designed to gather sound energy and...
s, and other small (mostly medical related) devices. Duracell entered into a
brand licensingLicensing means renting or leasing of an intangible asset. Examples of intangible assets include a song , a character , a name or a brand . An arrangement to license a brand requires a licensing agreement...
agreement with
flash memoryFlash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...
manufacturer
Dane-ElecDane-Elec is a French maker of computer memory chips and storage products.It has had a manufacturing facility in Spiddal, County Galway, Ireland since 1996. Major job losses were announced there in December 2010.-External links:**...
in 2008 for a line of products including
memory cardA memory card or flash card is an electronic flash memory data storage device used for storing digital information. They are commonly used in many electronic devices, including digital cameras, mobile phones, laptop computers, MP3 players, and video game consoles...
s, hard drives and
USB flash driveA flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface. flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g...
s with the Duracell brand mark and in the brand's trademark "copper top" coloring.
Duracell also manufactures specialty batteries, including
NiMHNIMH or NiMH may refer to:*Nickel-metal hydride battery, a type of rechargeable battery*National Institute of Mental Health, a part of the United States National Institutes of Health...
rechargeable batteries and batteries for
cameraA camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
s,
watchA watch is a small timepiece, typically worn either on the wrist or attached on a chain and carried in a pocket, with wristwatches being the most common type of watch used today. They evolved in the 17th century from spring powered clocks, which appeared in the 15th century. The first watches were...
es, hearing aids, etc. Their two main battery
brandThe American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
s are "Coppertop," marketed as longer-lasting, and "Ultra," directed mainly at users of digital devices and devices that need more power. Duracell also has a line of
lithiumLithium batteries are disposable batteries that have lithium metal or lithium compounds as an anode. Depending on the design and chemical compounds used, lithium cells can produce voltages from 1.5 V to about 3.7 V, over twice the voltage of an ordinary zinc–carbon battery or alkaline battery...
chemistry batteries and products, now manufactured outside of the U.S.
In recent years, Duracell's innovations expanded to include new battery designs with their
prismIn geometry, a prism is a polyhedron with an n-sided polygonal base, a translated copy , and n other faces joining corresponding sides of the two bases. All cross-sections parallel to the base faces are the same. Prisms are named for their base, so a prism with a pentagonal base is called a...
atic batteries, which are prismatic in shape rather than
cylindricalA cylinder is one of the most basic curvilinear geometric shapes, the surface formed by the points at a fixed distance from a given line segment, the axis of the cylinder. The solid enclosed by this surface and by two planes perpendicular to the axis is also called a cylinder...
. Prismatic cells were made available in both alkaline and lithium designs. In 2006, Duracell introduced "Power Pix
TM" batteries with
NiOxNickel oxyhydroxide battery is a type of primary cell . NiOx batteries excel in high-drain applications such as digital cameras, and in this role, they can provide up to twice the life of an alkaline battery....
technology, designed to supply longer life in digital cameras and other high drain devices by up to twice the number of photos typically achievable with alkaline batteries.
Duracell batteries are also bulk packaged for end users under the brand name
Procell.
History
Duracell originated via the partnership of scientist
Samuel RubenSamuel Ruben was an inventor who made lasting contributions to electrochemistry and solid-state technology, including the founding of Duracell.-Early life:...
and businessman Philip Rogers Mallory, who met during the 1920s. The
P.R. Mallory CompanyP. R. Mallory and Co Inc was a US producer of dry cell batteries , electronic components including electrolytic capacitors, and audible warning devices , it also was the parent firm of Mallory Batteries Ltd., an Irish producer of Ever Ready batteries...
produced
mercury batteriesA mercury battery is a non-rechargeable electrochemical battery, a primary cell. Due to the content of mercury, and the resulting environmental concerns, the sale of mercury batteries is banned in many countries. Both ANSI and IEC have withdrawn standards for mercury batteries...
for military equipment, trumping the carbon-zinc batteries used then in virtually all applications.
During the 1950s,
KodakEastman Kodak Company is a multinational imaging and photographic equipment, materials and services company headquarted in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded by George Eastman in 1892....
introduced cameras with a
flashA flash is a device used in photography producing a flash of artificial light at a color temperature of about 5500 K to help illuminate a scene. A major purpose of a flash is to illuminate a dark scene. Other uses are capturing quickly moving objects or changing the quality of light...
: the design required a new cell size, and size AAA was developed.
In 1964, the term "Duracell" was introduced as a brand. The name is a portmanteau for "durable cell."
The name came from a conversation with A-1 Durable Carpet & Fabric Specialist Inc. and an executive from Mallory Battery which were both from Waterbury CT. The executive called the cleaning company and asked if A-1 Durable Carpet & Fabric Specialist Inc. had a trademark on the name Durable. The executive spoke to the son of the cleaning company, Steven Nobrega. The executive explained how they were thinking of calling a new battery that had a copper cell "Durable Cell" and asked how the name suited the cleaning company. The owner's son explained that his father was the owner of a franchise originally called "Duraclean". His father had chosen the new cleaning company name for the cleaning company by dropping the clean in "Duraclean" and added able to Dura to keep the name similar. The two of them started playing with the name for the new battery and the executive and owners son instantly agreed that Duracell was a better name for the new battery.
P.R. Mallory was acquired by Dart Industries in 1978, which in turn merged with
KraftKraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
in 1980. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts bought Duracell in 1988 and took the company public in 1989. It was acquired by Gillette in 1996.
Dynacharge was owned by Duracell.
In September 2011, Duracell and Powermat Ltd. have made a joint venture, called Duracell Powermat to make small wireless charger for
mobile phoneA mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
and small electronics. P&G will own 55 percent of the joint venture shares and the rest is for Powermat.
Advertising campaigns
Duracell's advertising campaigns in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
have always outlined the reliability of Duracell batteries, and usually end with a three-note chime highlighting each syllable in the brand name (and previously highlighting the trademark "copper top" portion of the battery's overlay wrapping). These campaigns show people using the battery to power the devices they find most important: everything from a Defibrillator to a BrickHouse Child Locator.
Some of Duracell's most notable advertising campaigns include:
- Duracell "Trusted Everywhere" "Heart" Campaign
- Duracell "Trusted Everywhere" "BrickHouse Child Locator" Campaign
- Duracell "Trusted Everywhere" "Firefighters" Campaign
Further reading
- Hintz, Eric S., “Portable Power: Inventor Samuel Ruben and the Birth of Duracell,” Technology and Culture, 50 (Jan. 2009), 24–57.