What is 'Kelite'? The Kelite Bldg. in Los Angeles

A. Hi, Folks. I suspect, but don't know, that this is an alkaline cleaner. You could probably determine the pH. You might check for cyanide since cyanide was not uncommon in cleaning solutions years ago. And if there is no cyanide, titrate it to confirm the degree of alkalinity.

I also suspect that it was a product of Allied-Kelite, an old-line chemical supplier from Baltimore which eventually became part of Macdermid; they may be able to tell you if there is any info about Kelite No. 89. Good luck.

A. Kelite No. 89 was a steam cleaning compound for Aluminum and painted surfaces. Phosphate based & buffered to 9.5-9.6 pH approved by Ford Motor Co. and Braniff international.

A. My Grandfather, Louis Sorensen, founded Kelite Corporation in the 1930s. It was purchased by Richardson Chemical in the 1960's and Allied Chemical in the 1970's. It was based in Los Angeles, CA on Main Street. I can tell your more about the products if you are interested.

A. Hello Judy B of Monrovia and Cathy S of Detroit

I had forgotten all about my post on this site. The building you have pictured on 1301 N. Main St in Los Angeles was the Corporate HQ. Regional distribution centers also existed in the Chicago area and in Berkley Heights, NJ. In the early 1960's Kelite was listed on the (former) American Stock Exchange and was purchased by Richardson Chemical. Richardson in turn was later purchased By Allied Chemical. My Grandfather, who founded the company in the early 1930's retired after the sale to Richardson. Kelite Corporate operations were absorbed into Richardson. Allied also acquired Witco and the Kelite and Witco operations were combined at the old Kelite location in LA. 1994, Witco-Allied-Kelite was acquired by MacDermid Corp. The building was vacated at that time and then abandoned. An environmental cleanup effort included the complete gutting of the structure. Only bearing walls and exterior wall remain. The building is currently owned by a neighboring commercial real estate investor. I had considered asking the current owner if he would allow me to retrieve the "Kelite" sign hanging above the corner window as a kind of family heirloom but it is probably too big and bulky to keep around the house!

There are additional plant and warehouse buildings to the rear of the building pictured on Main street. The property extends all the back to the boundary of the Santa Fe railroad right of way where rail spurs once terminated at the Kelite loading and unloading faculties.

Kelite's first products focused on industrial cleaning solvents, metal finishing, electrochemicals, and detergents. The company's products stayed generally focused in these areas although there was a brief foray into the consumer retail detergents markets such as laundry soaps and dishwashing powder in the 50's and 60's.

If you are in possession of old liquid or powdered chemicals in Kelite containers, I suggest that you dispose of them in the appropriate industrial chemical disposal method. Some of these chemicals decompose over time and most of these products are highly toxic and would be harmful to people and the environment. They could also damage or react with other material found in the factory or home.

The steam cleaning machines, some of which were configured on two or four wheeled trailers and could be towed behind a passenger car or light truck, were marketed and sold in the 1950's. I think they were discontinued after that. As a boy, I recall my father, who ran the Berkley Heights distribution center in the 1950's driving up with one in tow and backing it up in the family driveway. He used it to steam clean his car's engine. (It was intended for more challenging tasks such as cleaning the inside of rail tanker cars.)

"Electroless Plating"
by Mallory & Hajdu

on eBay or

AbeBooks

or Amazon

(affil links)

 I worked at that site from 1985 to 1992. It manufactured most of the Allied-Kelite product line but their major money maker was the Niklad series of electroless nickels. Glenn Mallory researched there and wrote what was then the premier textbook on the subject.

A. Hi Daniel, I knew that gentleman, "the godfather of electroless nickel", Glenn O. Mallory. His good friend B.J. Mason was always a lot of fun, and introduced Glenn to me and others at an Irish Pub as Glenn O'Mallory :-)

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
February 2019

Allied Kelite Pension Obligations?

Q. My dad Bob Matistic worked as a district manager for Allied-Kelite in Berkeley Heights NJ in the 1970's. He passed away last month and as we are going through everything; we will look for any Kelite items. Apparently a few years ago a company benefits office reached out to him about an account/pension? But his health prohibited him from responding. Any idea what company that would have been? We are thinking maybe a company (Macdermid?) bought the company and was trying to reach out. Any help would be appreciated. Karen Matistic Morgan - Cherry Hill, New Jersey USA September 26, 2019 A. Hi Karen. Condolences over the passing of your dad. And you have my sympathy re. pensions. In the same time frame I worked for a company that was owned by American Can Co. and I was owed a pension. I started trying to track it down when I hit 60, did not get it as I was supposed to at 65, and finally found it at 73 years old, 8+ years late after 13 years of hunting! I had a certificate for the pension from American Can Co. for it, and my mistake was thinking that whoever bought American Can Co owed it, based on still holding that certificate from them from lo those many years ago. But actually, when the particular division I worked for was sold, the pension obligation followed the division, not the parent corporation :-) Thus, although I don't know for sure, I think you're on the right track with MacDermid! I'd suggest contacting human resources and finding out from them who handles their pension payments ... there's an excellent chance that that payment company has your father's pension. I have no idea whether the obligation passes on his death, or whether a lump sum is still owed to his beneficiary though. Best of luck! Regards, Ted Mooney, P.E. RET Striving to live Aloha finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey October 2019   Thank you for getting back to me. I will follow that route and post the results for anyone else in the same situation. Regards, Karen Matistic Morgan [returning] - Cherry Hill, New Jersey USA October 11, 2019 A. Allied Kelite was bought by MacDermid; MacDermid was bought by Platform; Platform was bought by Element Solutions, Fort Lauderdale FL, the current owner. Tom Rochester CTO - Jackson, Michigan, USA Plating Systems & Technologies, Inc. October 14, 2019   Thank you Tom. You were able to get me on the right track. I can't believe how many times the company was sold. The pension obligations weren't included in one sale. I was able to contact someone who confirmed that my dad had a pension with M&T and it was in the Total pension plan. I spoke with someone from Total and they are mailing my mom a packet of information for filing. Thanks again everyone for your help! Karen Karen Morgan [returning] - Cherry Hill, New Jersey USA February 8, 2020 Glad I was able to help a little. Tom Rochester CTO - Jackson, Michigan, USA Plating Systems & Technologies, Inc. February 8, 2020 That's great news Karen! M&T was owned by American Can when I worked there, and I also ended up receiving my pension payout from M&T through Total too. It was a dinky $28/month, but it's the principle of the thing, as we try to follow money owed to us, when companies are bought, sold, and restructured endlessly. Their purpose isn't avoiding pension payouts, but that's quite clearly a very frequent result :-) Tell your legislator that alerting pension recipients of who has assumed the pension obligation simply must become a requirement of any such sales. Regards, Ted Mooney, P.E. RET Striving to live Aloha finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey February 2020

My father Michael Murphy was the sales manager for Kelite,;
he helped build the company before it was sold to Allied Chemical