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Viskase

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Viskase Companies, Inc
Company typePublic (OTC Pink Limited: VKSC)
IndustryFood service manufacturing
Founded1925
FounderErwin O. Freund
Headquarters
Lombard, Illinois
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Kees Bras, President and CEO
ProductsFood casings
Total assets$203,542,000 (2006)
Number of employees
2,100
Websitehttp://www.viskase.com

Viskase (formerly Visking) is a global corporation based out of Lombard, Illinois, United States that supplies plastic, cellulose, and fibrous film and packaging to the food service industry, including casings for processed meats such as hot dogs and sausages. Viskase has manufacturing facilities in the United States, Mexico, Brazil and France, as well as sales offices located around the world.

Viskase is a publicly traded company, using the stock symbol OTC Pink Limited: VKSC.

Company history

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Origins

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Erwin O. Freund, founder of what would become Viskase, sought a readily available replacement for animal intestine casing. Upon creating a cellulose casing, using the "viscose" process (also used in rayon) he realized the product stuffed well, linked, and was able to withstand the smokehouse. Quite by accident, he discovered that when the casing was removed from the product the sausages retained their shape and were firm. This was the beginning of the skinless frankfurter or hot dog.[1]

In the 1950s, Visking Corporation became a division of Union Carbide.[2]

Products

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  • Fibrous
  • LCC
  • MEMBRA-CEL
  • NOJAX
  • POLYJAX
  • VISCOAT Smoke Master & Color Master
  • VISFLEX
  • VISMAX

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Viskase: About Us". Viskase Companies, Inc. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  2. ^ "Leslie Enders Houck". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
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  • Viskase Corporate Website
  • Business data for Viskase Companies: