Hercules Inc. celebrates 50 years in Southampton County

Virginia Business
November 2006

Milk and juice cartons don't leak, and inkjet paper doesn't smear, thanks to some of the chemicals processed at Hercules Inc. in Southampton County. Celebrating its 50th year in the community, Hercules sends chemicals to paper mills all over the world.

A leading international supplier of chemical specialties for the pulp and paper industry, the Wilmington, Del.-based company had sales of $2 billion in 2005. It built a 98-acre, 100,000-square-foot plant in 1956 on the banks of the Nottoway River just two miles outside Franklin. It was a joint venture between Hercules and five paper mills: Camp Manufacturing (now International Paper), Chesapeake Corp., Continental Can, Halifax Paper and the North Carolina Pulp Company.

Today, the plant is one of 23 production facilities in Hercules' Paper Technologies and Ventures Division. It employs 93 people, including 18 salaried staffers and 75 hourly wager workers.

Hercules ranks second (behind Dominion Virginia Power) among Southampton's top corporate taxpayers and third among its top private-sector employers. "Obviously, Hercules is very important to Southampton County," says County Administrator Michael W. Johnson. "They regularly open their doors to the community to keep them informed about what is going on at the plant. Also, a number of their employees are leaders in our civic organizations."

Hercules began its Southampton operation with a tall oil distillation unit as a low-cost alternative to gum rosin. The unit separates the liquid left over when pulp is extracted from pine trees into rosin, fatty acid and pitch. Rosin is then used in adhesives, while fatty acids are further refined and used in everything from paints to food emulsifiers. Pitch is used to manufacture fire logs and fuel.

In 1966, Hercules added an aquapel operation that acts as a paper sizing agent. Four years later, the company built a pamolyn plant as a sister facility to the tall oil distillation unit. That was followed in 1971 by the construction of an organic peroxide plant that makes rubber temperature resistant. Over the years, some of its biggest customers have included Weyerhaeuser, Procter & Gamble, and Kimberly-Clark.

Hercules sold all but the aquapel plant to Eastman Chemicals Co. and GEO Specialty Chemicals in 2001, as the company focused more on paper technologies instead of rosin. Although the plants are no longer part of Hercules, the company continues to manage and staff all four operations. "We basically run the plant like we did before," says plant manager Andrew B. Chapman. "Some plants get sold and put a fence down the middle, but we're so integrated we share steam, nitrogen and electricity."

Chemical operators make up the bulk of the work force. Other staff includes mechanical and chemical engineers, support personnel such as accountants, shipping personnel, maintenance workers and lab analysts. Employees who start at Hercules often retire there. "Most people who come to work here are here to stay," says Dorothy Hickman, Chapman's administrative assistant. She adds that along with International Paper, Hercules pays the highest wages in the county, with average hourly pay ranging from $19 to $24.

With five decades in Southampton, Hercules plans to stay put. "We're centrally located to paper mills and have always had a good relationship with the county and the city," says Chapman. "We're committed to staying here."