Hydrocarbon Processing - January 2022 - 57

History of the HPI-Up to 1930
Saint-Gobain NorPro
Saint-Gobain NorPro: A Long Legacy of
Supporting the Hydrocarbon Processing Industry
Saint-Gobain NorPro has been servicing the petrochemical,
chemical, refining, environmental and gas processing industries for
more than 150 years. The business was founded in 1859 by Frank
J. Knapp who started a small pottery at his home in Akron, Ohio.
The business was named The United States Stoneware Company.
As the nation expanded, so did U.S. Stoneware. A group of Akron
industrialists, including Jonathan Brewster, George Laudenslager
and J.M. Wills, began to provide additional capital needed to meet
the increasing volume of orders. In 1885 the firm was incorporated.
At that time, some 30 potters were turning out the extensive line of
butter crocks, vinegar jars, bed chambers and churns, which were
the mainstay of the company's business.
EXPANSION AND GROWTH IN THE
AMERICAN CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
The U.S. Stoneware Company was nearly felled by the short
depression which began in 1907 as common stoneware sales
dropped to an all-time low. Wills, then acting superintendent,
sensed he was in a declining business, and explored new markets
for clay products. The American chemical industry, then in its infancy,
showed great growth potential, and stoneware showed excellent
resistance to chemical attack. Wills, and his son-in-law, John J.
Chamberlain, pioneered the development of chemical stoneware.
The American chemical industry was forced to expand quickly
during World War I, and U.S. Stoneware began producing the large
volume of chemical resistant crocks and a number of other products
needed to support the war. The plant located then on Annadale Avenue
was enlarged, and the Ohio Stoneware company was absorbed.
Later the Sperry Pottery plant on West Avenue in Tallmadge, Ohio
was purchased and became U.S. Stoneware's headquarters. Additional
acquisitions in the 30's included an old pottery in Ravenna,
Ohio and Conneaut Rubber and Plastics. U.S. Stoneware also purchased
Federal Refractories Corp. in Mineral City, Ohio in 1940. As
an extension of work in ceramics, U.S. Stoneware began to design
and manufacture mechanical equipment such as mill jars and bar
mills. Bathroom fixtures and accessories, porcelain raschig rings,
cyclohelix spiral rings for packed towers and ceramic balls used for
catalyst support beds were also produced at U.S. Stoneware's various
facilities. The development of the ceramic *Intalox® saddle in the
50's introduced a new design which increased tower efficiency and
capacity by as much as 50%. This revolutionary packing paved the
way to U.S. Stoneware's (and later Norton's) position as an industry
leader in random dumped tower technology.
Expansion continued in the 50s including adding a metal fabricating
plant across the street from the company headquarters.
This facility produced metal trays and tower internals used in the
chemical processing industry. R.C. Stamping in Canal Fulton, Ohio
was acquired in 1959, enabling U.S. Stoneware to begin production
of metal tower packings, strengthening its presence in the chemical
industry.
SPONSORED CONTENT
FIG. 1. The United States Stoneware Company located in
Akron, OH 1800s
NORTON COMPANY ACQUISITION-1966
By 1965, U.S. Stoneware had 15 plants in Ohio and Tennessee as well
as a state-of-the-art research and development center in Stow, Ohio.
These plants produced a diverse range of products including their
mainstay: ceramics and plastics. Jim Chamberlain's failing health laid
the foundation for the sale of the company, and in August 1966, The
U.S. Stoneware Co., and its affiliated company, Chamberlain Engineering
Corp., were acquired by Norton Company of Worcester, Massachusetts.
The company then became known as Norton Chemical Process
Products (Norton CPPC). The business grew more broadly to include
not only ceramic random packing for heat and mass transfer applications,
but also custom catalyst carriers and catalyst bed support media
for refining, gas processing and petrochemical applications. A number
of market-leading products including the well-known Denstone® 57
support media product was developed during these years.
SAINT-GOBAIN ACQUISITION-1990 TO PRESENT
In 1990, Norton CPPC was acquired by Saint-Gobain, one of the
largest industrial corporations in the world. At that time the Norton
CPPC name was changed to Saint-Gobain NorPro, to reflect the
change in ownership and direction.
A number of support media products were developed in the 1990s
and 2000s including Denstone® 2000, Denstone® 99 and Denstone®
deltaP® along with MacroTrap® bed topping media. Saint-Gobain has
also developed many technical advancements in catalyst carriers including
the company's newest innovation, Accu® spheres catalyst carriers,
which were commercialized in 2017. Today Saint-Gobain NorPro remains
a global leader in supplying engineered ceramic media and shapes
to the chemical industry, operating seven world class manufacturing
facilities on three continents along with a state-of-the-art research and
development center and their global headquarters located in Stow, Ohio.
CONTACT INFORMATION
3840 Fishcreek Road Stow, OH 44224
+1 (330)677-3552
Norproceramicsales@saint-gobain.com
https://www.norpro.saint-gobain.com/
*Intalox® is a registered trademark of Koch-Glitsch
Hydrocarbon Processing | JANUARY 2022 57
https://www.norpro.saint-gobain.com/
Hydrocarbon Processing - January 2022

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