Durez Plastic & Chemicals Co. was founded by Harry M. Dent in 1921 in North Tonawanda, New York, as General Plastics, Inc. The company incorporated in 1937 as Durez in 1937 and consolidated with General Plastics, Inc. in 1939, the same year a $2,000,000 synthetic phenol plant was put in operation.
Durez quickly became a leader in the plastics industry, producing plastics for use in popular consumer products such as radios (Sears), clocks (Telechron), electric shavers (Packard), eyeglass cases (Bausch & Lomb), and many other household products. The company grew rapidly during World War II, supplying resins for military applications with the slogan "Plastics that Fit the Job."
Durez became part of Hooker Chemical in 1955 and by the 1960s was the largest independent manufacturer of phenolic resins and molding compounds in the world, with more than 1,000 employees. Durez also produced Hefron (R) polyester resins and Hetrofoam (R), a rigid urethane foam. The original plant closed in 1986, but Durez also had plants in Kenton, Ohio; South Shore, Kentucky; Fort Erie, Ontario; and in Belgium.
Hooker Chemical Company's successor, Occidental Chemical Corporation of Dallas, Texas, sold the Durez phenolic resins and compounds business to Sumitomo Bakelite North America, Inc., in 2000. Today, the Durez Corporation produces over 400 resins for coated/bonded abrasives, carbonless copy paper, metal coatings, and aerospace and rubber resins. Durez technologies include Sumikon, Bakelite, Methylon, Plyophen, Varcum, Polyrez, acetone melamine, and phenolic emulsions.
See:
http://www.nthistorymuseum.org/Collections/durez.html
http://resins.sbna-inc.com/
Simonds, Herbert R. and Ellis, Carelton. Handbook of Plastics (New York: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1943), 15.
