Alconox Inc. is honored to have reached our 75th anniversary milestone. Lets take a look back at some important dates in the company’s history. 1940s
While working at a hosiery company, chemist Louis Zisman learned about the emerging chemistry of synthetic surfactants. He discovered that a wetting agent he developed excelled at cleaning glassware without leaving a residue.
Louis Zisman combined his talents with that of William Lebowitz, owner of Standard Scientific Supply Corporation. Standard Scientific was a distributor of products focused on the laboratory market. Together, they began selling and distributing detergent to hospitals and laboratories.
The detergent was first used in commerce on September 1st, 1943 and was coined, Alconox® Powdered Precision Cleaner.
Alconox Inc. was formed May 28th, 1946, to hold exclusive rights to Alconox detergent and its distribution.
1950s
Alconox Inc. opens an office on 853 Broadway, New York, NY. Over time, more and more dealers signed up to distribute Alconox detergent and the product became widely distributed by just about every lab or hospital dealer.
Alconox Inc. launches a decade of innovation with some hits and some misses. They created the powdered detergent, Oranox® Rust Inhibitor, that targeted dentists and oral surgeons. It was ultimately not successful and was discontinued in 1954. Recently, one box was recovered from an antique store in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Alcotabs® Tablet Pipet Detergent, a tablet solution to better clean siphon pipet washers, was developed and hit the market July 12th, 1957. The new, innovative, flotation cleaning, slow dissolving tablet allowed for cleaning over multiple cycles in the pipet washer resulting in better pipet cleaning.
Closing out the decade came another Alconox Inc. powerhouse, in fact our flagship detergent for lab washers. Alcojet® Low Foaming Powdered Detergent was created and put in distribution August 12th, 1959. It was invented to provide a low-foaming detergent effective in automatic dishwasher glassware washing applications.
1960s
On Oct. 28th, 1964 Liquinox® Critical Cleaning Liquid Detergent, was developed in response to customer requests for a phosphate-free detergent that would not interfere with biological oxygen demand (BOD) bottle washing where unrinsed bottles could result in contamination with phosphate essential nutrients causing false high readings in BOD testing.
1970s
In order to improve removal of protein residues of blood, body fluids, and tissue for cleaning medical instruments, Tergazyme® Enzyme-Active Powdered Detergent was introduced on November 21st, 1971.
To meet the needs of new automated lab glassware washers that use liquid pump dosing systems, Detojet® Low Foaming Liquid Detergent was introduced on September 23, 1974.
As Alconox Inc. continued to innovate, they transitioned their packaging to a more user-friendly carton for Alconox® Powdered Precision Cleaner in 1979.
1980s
In response to requests for a nonionic and ion-free detergent that does not leave conductive residues on electronic components, Detergent 8® Low-Foaming Ion-Free Detergent was introduced on July 14th, 1983.
For improved inorganic salts, oxides and acid labile residue cleaning, Citranox® Liquid Acid Cleaner and Detergent was introduced on December 8th, 1987.
1990s
To help replace hazardous ozone depleting solvents that were being restricted by the Montreal Protocol, Luminox® Low-Foaming Neutral pH Liquid Detergent was first sold on April 21st, 1997.
In 1998, the first edition of the Aqueous Cleaning Handbook: A Guide to Critical-Cleaning Procedures, Techniques and Validation, was published. This book was designed to distill and present practical information covering the history of such cleaners—what they are, how they work, and how to make best use of them.
2000s
Per the need for a low foaming acid detergent and neutralizing rinse for automatic lab washers, Citrajet® Low-Foam Liquid Acid Cleaner/Rinse was released on March 13th, 2001.
To address requests for an automatic lab washer phosphate free detergent for use in cleaning biological oxygen bottles (BOD), Solujet® Low-Foaming Phosphate-Free Liquid, went on sale July 2004.
Concurrently, Tergajet® Low-Foaming Phosphate-Free Detergent was also released at the same time in order to have a powdered product for use in automated washer BOD bottle cleaning.
2010s
Tergazyme makes a cameo on Bones Season 10 Episode 4. Check it out here: Bones – S 10 E 4 – The Geek in the Guck – Bing video
Working with customers with difficult cosmetic polymer and sticky botanical extract residues we developed Detonox® Ultimate Precision Cleaner, introduced in April 2015.
To match the manual cleaning power of Detonox for cosmetic polymers and sticky botanical residues in an automated washer cleaning, Keylajet® Low-foaming Chelating High Alkaline Liquid was released on August 18th, 2016.
2020s
Alconox Inc. celebrates 75 years of solving critical cleaning challenges. Read More
In 2023, Alconox Inc. members proudly published the fifth edition of the Aqueous Cleaning Handbook: A Guide to Critical-Cleaning Procedures, Techniques and Validation. With the increasing demand for critical cleaning solutions in various industries, this edition of the Aqueous Cleaning Handbook is a valuable resource for scientists, engineers, technicians, and everyone involved in the critical cleaning of parts and surfaces.
In late September of 2023, Alconox Inc. will be proud to introduce the packaging transition of the 4lb cartons to 4lb jars. Same great powder, brand new package. It is a recyclable water-resistant pre-sealed plastic jar with a pinch grip, flip top lid for easy dosing, and airtight closure to guarantee freshness.
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