Our Story
Who is New Pig and
what's with that name?
We hear it a lot: How did your company get that funny name? It's an interesting story that goes back to the 1980s, when a simple product
we nicknamed the “pig” launched an industry. We've told it a thousand times —
but we don't mind telling it again…
Top Hogs (l-r) Ben Stapelfeld, Nino Vella and Doug Hershey.
A pig is born.
While people were dancing the night away, our founders were working up a sweat cleaning the oil and grime off tanks, equipment, walls and floors in dirty factories. The worst job was shoveling up the loose, oil-soaked cat litter around the bases of leaking machinery. The clay pellets stuck to everything. It was a nightmare. And it was everywhere. When they started losing money on these jobs, they decided to find a better way to soak up the oily mess.
They cut up pantyhose and stuffed them with everything from sawdust to rice hulls. Then they laid these sausage-like things into pools of oil to see what would happen. Time and again, they were disappointed with the results — until they tried the ground corncob they used to blast oil off factory walls. It worked.
What's in a name?
Our original prototype was a 40-inch nylon sleeve filled with ground corncob. When we tested its absorbency in a pool of dirty oil, someone called it a pig because it looked like it was wallowing in the stuff. The name stuck. We loved it. Our first users loved it. But when it was time to trademark it, we weren't sure that “pig” would be the best name for an industrial product. A big-city advertising agency even advised us against it. “Your target market will never accept it,” they warned.
We trusted our customers and our gut instead. We named the product the PIG® Absorbent Sock and co-founder Ben Stapelfeld chose the name “Pig Corporation” for our fledgling company. When he discovered it was already registered to a Pennsylvania farmer, Ben simply added the word “new” at the beginning to create “New Pig Corporation.”
What we do.
If it leaks, drips, splatters or spills, we make hardworking products to absorb, contain and clean it up. Our original PIG® Sock launched the industrial absorbent industry, and 27 years later we're still inventing new solutions to help you keep your workplace clean, safe and productive.
New Pig is home to PIG® Mat, the world's best-selling absorbent mat. We invented the PIG® SPILLBLOCKER® Dike, the PIG® DRAINBLOCKER® Drain Cover, the PIG® Burpless® Drum Funnel and the PIG® Latching Drum Lid, just to name a few. PIG® Products set the standard for quality, durability and features you just won't find anywhere else.
But it's not just about products. It's about you. It's about helping you work better. Safer. Smarter. It's about making you feel like part of the family when you call. Answering any question. Going to any length. Putting a smile on your face or giving you a chuckle. It's why New Pig customers are the most loyal bunch you'll find anywhere. Try us once and you'll be one, too.
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