CHEMI-PURE PRODUCTS, LTD.
HISTORY OF CHEMI-PURE PRODUCTS, LTD.
After the end of World War II, on November 7, 1946, a group of veterans, under the leadership of Dan T. Nishimura, a Chemical Engineer, banded together to organize Chemi-Pure Products, Ltd.
With the background and “know-how” that Mr. Nishimura had acquired in chemistry and all related fields including termite and pest control (chemical engineer at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Hawaii Sugar Planter’s Association), the corporation was organized to engage in and carry on the business of termite and insect fumigation and wood treatment. In 1932, Mr. Nishimura was initially exposed to the problems of termite control as a chemist at HSPA and assisted in the development of termite-resistant canec board by the impregnation of sugar cane fiber. In 1935, Mr. Nishimura was first to develop and commercially incorporate pentachlorophenol as the leading component in wood preservative compounds. His label, sold in many hardware and department stores such as Kress, Ben Franklin and Hardware Hawaii, was called, “X-Term-O”. (Not to be confused with another pest control company, many years later, of a very similar name.)
Chemi-Pure Products, Ltd. pioneered the application of termiticide into the soil in the early 1950’s. Prior to this, the military specifications for the control of ground termites called for treatment only to the wooden members of structures. This method was wholly inadequate, causing heavy termite re-infestation and damage to our military installations. Mr. Nishimura was aware of a new termiticide that was being introduced into the industry. This chemical, Chlordane, prescribed injection into the soil, thus creating a chemical barrier. We bid on the Hickam AFB project, complying with their specifications but also augmenting with the soil treatment. The results were so impressively effective that Chemi-Pure Products, Ltd. was highlighted in a national professional publication.
Chemi-Pure was also the first company to introduce the tent fumigation process to the State of Hawaii. We have used the photograph of our tenting of the Governor’s Mansion in our past yellow page advertisements.
We are very grateful of the fact that we are the oldest existing termite and pest control company in Hawaii and still owned and operated by Mr. Nishimura’s children and grand-children. We pledge to continue Mr. Nishimura’s work and moral ethics by striving to provide honest, reliable service, technical knowledge and quality control in all our commercial and residential projects.