North American Executive Issue 102a | Page 43

_______________________________________________________________________________________________ New
Pendulum

Acquiring momentum

New Pendulum is growing its family of companies beyond New Pig

In 1985 , my father , Ben Stapelfeld , was running an industrial cleaning business , where they would go into manufacturing locations after hours to clean the facility to be ready for the next shift . Rather quickly , he saw that oil leaks and spills from machines required a significant amount of time and labor , and spill cleanup was becoming a financial drag . Back then , the common practice was to use loose clay granules to clean up oil , which was a heavy , dusty mess . Seeing an opportunity to increase efficiency , the invention process began . They cut up pantyhose and stuffed them with everything from sawdust to rice hulls , and finally ground corncob ,” begins Clark Stapelfeld , CEO of New Pig Corporation ( New Pig ).

According to those involved , when that prototype sat in a pool of oil , it looked like it was wallowing . Someone called it a pig , and the name stuck . New Pig Corporation and the PIG ® Original Sock were born . “ As you can imagine ,” Clark continues , “ we were working with ad agencies back then , and they were telling us not to use that name and that we should change it . But over almost 40 years , that funny name is one of our greatest assets and has become synonymous with
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