Purafil, Inc. is a publicly held environmental company owned by the Kaydon Corporation
(NYSE:KDN) and headquartered in Doraville, Georgia, United States of America. Purafil revolutionized the gas-phase air filtration industry in the early 1960’s with the development of the world’s first active oxidant-impregnated, air cleaning pellet — “Purafil.” Almost fifty years later, Purafil remains a world leader in the development of
innovative gas-phase air filtration technologies designed to eliminate, control
and provide real-time monitoring of toxic, corrosive, odorous and hazardous
gases.
and the brand provincialism that retarded acceptance by the engineering
community.
The decision was then made by Marbon to market Purafil products through local
manufacturer’s representatives serving the mechanical and industrial HVAC marketplace. Some of our current key reps were among those appointed as representatives in
the early days of the Purafil market introduction. The next two years brought
noteworthy progress for the Purafil product line in specific strong territories
while several significant installations were gained. These early successes strengthened the representative distribution pattern. Significant corrosion control installations were attained in Houston and
California for the petrochemical industry. In the southeast, major inroads were achieved in the pulp and paper industry. Several large installations, such as the Mobile Auditorium, were acquired as
direct replacements for using charcoal in commercial HVAC systems. At the research level, noted researchers continued to work with Purafil media
for ethylene control.
By the end of 1972, the Borg-Warner Corporation, including the Marbon Chemical
Division, experienced business reverses. Borg-Warner made the decision to “spin-off” any products considered marginal or unprofitable at the time regardless of any
investment in the product line. Marbon’s support for Purafil products was erratic, resulting primarily from a lack of
expertise in marketing a mechanically oriented product amidst a usually pure
chemical product mix. The Purafil business was slated for “spin-off.”
By the late sixties, the Marbon Chemical Division of Borg-Warner assumed the
manufacturing of Purafil along with full marketing responsibilities.
In 1968 and 1969, extensive time, money and effort was expended to determine
marketability, applicability, and field acceptance of the Purafil product. Focused in the Houston, Texas area, a broad installation market survey was
conducted. This survey was subsequently followed by intensive advertising and marketing
tests to establish the best merchandising techniques and market response.
As a result of the Houston evaluation, the potential for Purafil media
applications as a corrosion control device in refineries was discovered. It was also determined that the primary market potential for Purafil products
was large commercial and industrial installations, which required technical and
engineering-oriented marketing tactics.
Marbon proceeded with a full introduction of Purafil products, particularly in
the Southeastern, Southwestern, and Western United States. Early distribution and sales of the product was completed by distributors of air
conditioning equipment through the cooperative effort of the sister York
Division. Although some sales and progress were achieved, it was determined that this type
of distribution was hampered by the relatively small equipment sold through
York distributors
Purafil engineered media
The Purafil product was developed in the research laboratories of the York
Corporation as an outgrowth of work by Dr. Richard Kuehner, in conjunction with
developmental work involving liquid permanganate scrubbers. In the late fifties, the Borg-Warner Corporation acquired the York Corporation. Dr. Kuehner and the infant product, Purafil, transferred to the Roy L. Ingersoll
Laboratories, a research division of the Borg-Warner Corporation. By the early sixties, experimental manufacturing techniques were undertaken and,
under a contract with Kaiser Chemicals, the current manufacturing technique was
refined.
Early developmental quantities were manufactured under contract with the
Colorado School of Mines on a pilot plant basis. Purafil was introduced to the
market by several divisions of Borg-Warner: the York Division in HVAC systems,
the Norge Division in residential, small-packaged air conditioning, and the
Ingersoll Division in hospital applications.
