General view of an unidentified employee operating a polymerizer and extruder at the Hercules Powder Company plant located in Parlin, New Jersey. Per notations accompanying the photograph, the polymerizer and extruder units were used in the production of Penton, a chlorinated polyether used as an ingredient in protective coatings for structural steel and other metals, papers, cardboard, and plastics.

Formed in 1912 as part of an anti-trust settlement with DuPont, the Hercules Powder Company (later Hercules Inc.) initially specialized in the manufacture of explosives and smokeless powders and subsequently diversified its business to encompass a variety of industrial products, including pine and paper chemicals, synthetics, pigments, polymers, and cellulose.