gearhart-owen

[chuck-ia]

Ok, so when did the powder cans start coming out marked GOEX? As I understand Dupont owned the company for many years, around 1972 dupont sold the company to Gearhart, Owen (2 business men), I think one of the men bought out the other and renamed it GOEX? Any idea when the cans started being marked Goex? Just curious. chuck-ia

[Mad Monk]

Gearhart-Owen bought the black powder business from Du Pont in 1972.  Initially the cans were marked GO.  A few years later you see GOI.  For Gearhart-Owen Industries.  Then around 1976 Gearhart and Owens split.  The one, name escapes me, did not want anything to do with supplying black powder to the military.  At that time they owned a big munitions plant in Texas.  A safety nightmare.  Then they had problems with the military where problems in the black powder resulted in a string of large-caliber gun failures in both the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy.  Then there was a problem with grenade fuses made in that plant.  A number of injuries in the military and police forces using flashbangs where almost as soon as the pin was pulled and the spoon released the grenades would go off.

Once Gearhart and Owens parted company the parent company name was changed to Pengo Industries.  About that time we see the name GOEX appear on the cans.  For Gearhart Owen Explosives.  Even though it was no longer Gearhart and Owen together.


Bill K.

[Harnic]

Thanks Bill, enlightening as always! 

[Mad Monk]

If you are interested in the history of GOEX during the years they operated the former du pont plant near Moosic, PA go to www.laflinandrand dot com.  Lower right of page.  Click on The Mutterings of the Mad Monk on Black Powder.  Download two files.  History and then Moosic-Union.  That will give you a good look at how that plant was operated and how it suffered under the financial problems of the parent companies and the unionization of the Moosic plant as a result and how it was dealt with.

I started to document the history of that plant under GOEX.  Then in 1996 their office building burnt to the ground.  All of the plant's records were destroyed in the fire.

Bill K.

[chuck-ia]

Just curious is all, I have a couple cans marked gearhart and owen, looks pretty much like the old goex cans except it is marked gearhart and owen. The powder seems to work just fine, as does the can of dupont. chuck

[Dphariss]

Gearhart-Owen bought the black powder business from Du Pont in 1972.  Initially the cans were marked GO.  A few years later you see GOI.  For Gearhart-Owen Industries.  Then around 1976 Gearhart and Owens split.  The one, name escapes me, did not want anything to do with supplying black powder to the military.  At that time they owned a big munitions plant in Texas.  A safety nightmare.  Then they had problems with the military where problems in the black powder resulted in a string of large-caliber gun failures in both the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy.  Then there was a problem with grenade fuses made in that plant.  A number of injuries in the military and police forces using flashbangs where almost as soon as the pin was pulled and the spoon released the grenades would go off.

Once Gearhart and Owens parted company the parent company name was changed to Pengo Industries.  About that time we see the name GOEX appear on the cans.  For Gearhart Owen Explosives.  Even though it was no longer Gearhart and Owen together.


Bill K.

One cheery morning in Northern I corps we got a radio message that we were NOT to use the "baseball" grenades. Bad fuses we were told, detonate when the spoon comes off... Turned them in when we got back.
This was sometime around Nov-Dec 1970 IIRC.

Dan

[Bob Roller]

Dan;
I have a good friend here,Roger Weir that had one of these defective grenades go off in his right hand.He survived but barely did and was almost dropped off of a helicopter medivac  gurney minutes afterward. One "fine"day,huh?
He retired a few years ago a Prosthetics Chief for the VA,Eastern USA. He is an avid shooter and has more interests than most people ever dream of.

Bob Roller