The story
Founded by Philip Mallory and Samuel Ruben in 1930.1
Origins
Duracell originated via the partnership of scientist Samuel Ruben and businessman Philip Rogers Mallory, who met during the 1920s. The P. R. Mallory Company of Burlington, Massachusetts, United States, relocated its headquarters to Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1924. The company produced mercury batteries for military equipment, trumping the carbon-zinc batteries used then in virtually all applications.
In 1956, P. R. Mallory & Co. acquired General Dry Batteries, Inc. (GDB) with headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. GDB was then the third-largest U. S. manufacturer of zinc-carbon batteries and had made mercury batteries under license from P. R. Mallory during and post World War II until its acquisition in 1956.
During the 1950s, Kodak introduced cameras with a bulb flash. The design required a new zinc-carbon cell size; AAA was introduced.
In 1960s, the term "Duracell" was introduced as a brand, from "durable cell". Until 1980, the batteries also bore the Mallory brand.
Developments
P. R. Mallory was acquired by Dart Industries in 1978, which in turn, merged with Kraft in 1980. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts bought Duracell in 1988 and took the company public in 1989. It was acquired for $7 billion by the Gillette Company in 1996.
In 2005, Procter & Gamble acquired Duracell's parent Gillette for $57 billion.
In September 2011, Duracell and Powermat Technologies Ltd. started a joint venture, called Duracell Powermat, to make small wireless chargers for mobile phones and small electronics, with P&G owning 55% of the joint venture shares and Powermat 45%.
In March 2012, along with Powermat Technologies, Duracell, under the Procter & Gamble corporate umbrella, founded the Power Matters Alliance (PMA), an alliance of leading industry and governmental organizations that is dedicated to advancing smart and environmentally sound wireless power. AT&T and Starbucks joined the board later that year.
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In 2013, the company released a "Duracell Quantum" line as their top-performing alkaline batteries.
P&G spin-off and Berkshire Hathaway ownership
On October 24, 2014, Procter & Gamble announced it would spin off Duracell in 2015 as part of a wider restructuring scheme. On November 14, 2014, Berkshire Hathaway declared its intent to acquire Duracell in an all-stock deal, consisting of $4.7 billion worth of P&G stock then owned by Berkshire Hathaway. The acquisition received regulatory approval from the European Commission in July 2015.
The transfer was completed on February 29, 2016, with P&G investing $1.8 billion in cash into Duracell, and Berkshire Hathaway giving P&G back 52 million shares.
In September 2016, Duracell announced plans to move its executive team and 60 employees to Chicago.
Recent developments
In July 2022, Duracell launched a home energy storage solution through California distributor Power Center+. The Duracell Power Center product line consists of 5 kW and 10 kW inverter products with lithium iron phosphate batteries that can be expanded from 14 kWh to 84 kWh. Its Power Center AC connection allows new and existing solar owners to harvest excess solar energy for use when needed.
In February 2025, Duracell established its new global headquarters for research and development in Atlanta, Georgia, US, with an investment of $56 million.
From Wikipedia’s article on Duracell, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4