In The Cradle of Industry and Liberty

More documents

Recommendations

Info

PEACOCK LABORATORIES, INC. OPTIXTAL, INC. Peacock Laboratories and its sister organization, OptiXtal, Inc., combine traditional silvering technology used in the manufacture of mirrors with the development of high-tech supercapacitors used to power the growth of the Internet of Things. William Peacock founded Peacock Laboratories in 1930 and most of his early ventures involved technical improvements in mirror manufacturing. Until Peacock established his labs, all mirrors were made by hand, a difficult, time-consuming and dangerous process. He developed a way to safely and easily spray silvering compounds on glass and—equally important—fix the silver in place on the back of the mirror with a formulation especially developed to maximize the light reflected by the mirror and keep the silver from cracking and peeling. Peacock Laboratories’ leadership in silvering technologies captured the attention of Libby Owens Ford (LOF), which acquired the company in 1940. Peacock became independent again in 1950 and, since that time, the company has remained at the forefront of research and development in the fields of clearcoat lacquers, mirroring compounds and other related technologies. Peacock Laboratory has pioneered a variety of innovative mirror and electroplating techniques since it was established eighty-five years ago. These include non-electrolytic copper-backed mirrors, Galena blue mirrors, conveyorized silvering systems, double nozzle silver spray guns and instantaneous spraying methods, specialized sensitizers to silver coat non-glass surfaces such as wax, ceramics, plastic and ink, and ‘sludgeless’ silvering concentrates. Permalac, developed by Peacock Laboratories, is a leading clearcoat lacquer used to protect the surfaces of metal sculpture and architectural metal work. Building maintenance of the metal surfaces in elevators and other metal surfaces has become another significant application. The firm’s PChrome silver coating delivers a superior spray-on chrome-like mirror surface on a variety of metal, plastic, ceramic and other substrates. Peacock’s leading edge technology in mirror science earned it the contract for the mirrors used on the Hubble telescope as well as a variety of other specialty assignments such as the mirrors used for spectacular special effects in several Las Vegas shows. OptXtal, Inc., Peacock Laboratories sister organization, represents the next generation of high-tech manufacturing that grew out of the company’s tradition of innovation. OptXtal is committed to becoming the leading source for the trillions of sensors that will soon comprise the growing Internet of Things, a growing network of everyday objects—from industrial machines to consumer goods—that can share information and complete tasks while individuals are busy with other activities. OptiXtal, Inc. was founded in 2002 by Sagar Venkateswaran, PhD, the president of Peacock Laboratories, who capitalizing on Peacock Laboratories’ strong chemical experience and its manufacturing and marketing expertise. OptiXtal designs and manufactures supercapacitors that meet the precise power needs of the trillions of sensors projected to drive the Internet of Things. The growing deployment of self-powered sensors interconnected by Wi-Fi is the primary application. The supercapacitors store energy harvested from the environment, including photovoltaic, vibration and temperature changes, and handle hundreds of thousands of recharges and IN THE CRADLE OF INDUSTRY AND LIBERTY 146
discharges. The supercapacitors are flexible and bendable, operate in a small space and eliminate the need for a battery. This results in more peak power, longer life, and smaller size and fills the power gaps left by batteries. OptiXtal’s first contract was with the U.S. military and this formed the foundation for much of the work that has led to development of the SuperXcapacitors. OptiXtal’s SuperXcapacitors were not originally designed to be implanted in the human body, but their small size, power, long life and ability to recharge through the skin have made them an excellent solution for new medical devices that provide nerve stimulation or diagnostic sensors for chronic conditions. To date, much of the work in perfecting OptiXtal SuperXcapacitors has been for the exacting requirements of military and industrial sensor applications. As the company moves forward, SuperXcapacitors are being customized to power specialized applications that range from implantable medical devices to millions of sensors to detect inventory levels on retail shelves. The plants, offices, research labs, manufacturing facilities and warehouses for Peacock Laboratories and OptiXtal, Inc. are located in a 15,000-square-foot building at 1901 South Fifty-Fourth Street in southwest Philadelphia. Although this neighborhood is no longer the manufacturing powerhouse it once was, Peacock is at the center of a bustling group of businesses determined to bring the area back to prominence. Looking to the future, Peacock Laboratories will continue to be a leader of specialty metal coatings with manufacturing firmly rooted in its Philadelphia facility. OptiXtal will continue to have research and development and hightech medical device manufacturing in its Fifty-Fourth Street location, with plans to expand high volume manufacturing lines in the Southwest Philadelphia area. PARTNERS IN BUILDING PHILADELPHIA 147
Page 1 and 2:
IN THE CRADLE OF INDUSTRY AND LIBER
Page 3 and 4:
IN THE CRADLE OF INDUSTRY AND LIBER
Page 5 and 6:
CONTENTS 4 FOREWORD 6 ACKNOWLEDGEME
Page 7 and 8:
@ Michael A. Nutter, Former Mayor,
Page 9 and 10:
For the historical images that enli
Page 11 and 12:
This is a history of manufacturing
Page 13 and 14:
While other manufacturing centers w
Page 15 and 16:
@ Above: Workers at Midvale Steel p
Page 17 and 18:
aircraft that dates to the earliest
Page 19 and 20:
would hold into the early nineteent
Page 21 and 22:
technology, transportation, and com
Page 23 and 24:
age had joined the Religious Societ
Page 25 and 26:
Philadelphians lived in the city’
Page 27 and 28:
“and many boats, which are useful
Page 29 and 30:
Quaker merchant Thomas Masters purc
Page 31 and 32:
INDUSTRY INVENTORS Manufacturers in
Page 33 and 34:
Quaker upbringing. Known as the “
Page 35 and 36:
MAKING A CASE FOR AMERICAN MANUFACT
Page 37 and 38:
up cotton manufacturing operations
Page 39 and 40:
After receiving a patent for the en
Page 41 and 42:
The Globe Mill on the Cohocksink Cr
Page 43 and 44:
@ Opposite: Detail from 1849 map sh
Page 45 and 46:
of the town’s total population. S
Page 47 and 48:
On a positive note, a group of Fran
Page 49 and 50:
factories with a powerful energy so
Page 51 and 52:
and flagship for Commodore Matthew
Page 53 and 54:
@ Left: Penn Steam Engine & Boiler
Page 55 and 56:
Garrett & Eastwick Locomotive Works
Page 57 and 58:
seen. The episode brought Hagner co
Page 59 and 60:
United States, the nation’s de-fa
Page 61 and 62:
The turn of the twentieth century p
Page 63 and 64:
in various categories at the Centen
Page 65 and 66:
makers, 20 stove manufacturers, 12
Page 67 and 68:
and lace, in which Kensington manuf
Page 69 and 70:
through exploitation of their worke
Page 71 and 72:
@ Left: Yard locomotives at Midvale
Page 73 and 74:
among the largest in the world at t
Page 75 and 76:
factory nearby. This became the lar
Page 77 and 78:
she writes of the sad circumstances
Page 79 and 80:
@ Clockwise, starting from the top:
Page 81 and 82:
BEER AND TOBACCO Beer making contin
Page 83 and 84:
MILK AND ICE CREAM Like any major c
Page 85 and 86:
the Philadelphia Phillies. Located
Page 87 and 88:
and a half later from a city of man
Page 89 and 90:
After major cutbacks in the auto in
Page 91 and 92:
into countless lunchboxes throughou
Page 93 and 94:
hangar space in 1980 at Northeast P
Page 95 and 96:
is the nation’s largest manufactu
Page 97 and 98: fuel for local industries, current
Page 99 and 100: centralize operations in the buildi
Page 101 and 102: BOOKS AND ARTICLES Bridenbaugh, Car
Page 103 and 104: Sutcliffe, Andrea J. Steam: The Unt
Page 105 and 106: Penrose, Bartholomew & Thomas shipy
Page 107 and 108: PARTNERS IN BUILDING PHILADELPHIA H
Page 109 and 110: @ Left: An early Kingsbury advertis
Page 111 and 112: PARTNERS IN BUILDING PHILADELPHIA 1
Page 113 and 114: Aerodynamics. The name DeVal was a
Page 115 and 116: packaging and shipping; and nondest
Page 117 and 118: Another step in product advancement
Page 119 and 120: PHILLY CASE From the basement of a
Page 121 and 122: Under Yost’s direction, The Rowla
Page 123 and 124: The story of Tioga Pipe is a classi
Page 125 and 126: neighborhood. The increased product
Page 127 and 128: Humphrys is one of the oldest manuf
Page 129 and 130: The Doherty brothers realized, to s
Page 131 and 132: Centrally located off the Pennsylva
Page 133 and 134: Jersey and Delaware. Outgrowing the
Page 135 and 136: Philadelphia is famous for its appr
Page 137 and 138: injection molded plastic to enter t
Page 139 and 140: had expanded from smaller pieces fo
Page 141 and 142: for many years and they know the fi
Page 143 and 144: furnace as well as a custom flame h
Page 145 and 146: and Salmon Streets. The company wou
Page 147: The company capitalized on the stra
Page 151 and 152: products that are custom designed t
Page 153 and 154: Today manufacturing matters, now mo
Page 155: LEADERSHIP SPONSORS Historical Publ
show all

In The Cradle of Industry and Liberty

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?