When It Comes to Gas and Radiator Caps, Stant’s No. 1

During the 1920s and 1930s, most automobiles proudly proclaimed their make with a large, stylish chrome-plated radiator cap that was both decorative and functional.

For instance, a crouching man with a taut bow and arrow at the ready adorned the hood of a Pierce-Arrow, a flying quail signified a Model A and a greyhound leaping through the air a Lincoln.

Then along came World War II, and the ornamental radiator cap went out of style. The change in auto fashion was a particular blow to Stant Inc., the firm that designed and made the majority of that particular automotive accessory. Stant, however, did not allow the setback to prove fatal.

The company continued to make fuel and radiator caps for cars, trucks, motorcycles and other vehicles, as it had since 1924. Today, it is the world’s largest producer of gas and radiator caps with plants here and in Connersville, Ind., where it also has its headquarters.

Stant produced 25 million gas and radiator caps last year at its Arkansas facility and 20 million at its Indiana factory. It had total gross sales in excess of $100 million.

“We’re in an enviable position. We make most of the caps for the Big Three--General Motors, Ford and Chrysler--as well as for many other vehicle manufacturers,” explained Earle Segrest, 44, manager of Stant’s Pine Bluff plant.

“If auto sales are moving, we’re moving. If the auto industry has bad years, like in the early 1980s, our sales are down. We make caps for after-market vehicles as well as new ones.”

Stant is a subsidiary of Purolator Inc., part of the corporation’s automotive division, which also includes Courier Service, an air freight carrier. Purolator Treasurer Robert Wheaton said revenue at the Basking Ridge, N.J.-based company was $712.6 million last year. Of that, the automotive division accounted for $201.2 million.

Wheaton called Stant “a very successful entity for Purolator, primarily because of its engineering record. It has always come up with products needed by automobile manufacturers who rely on Stant’s advanced technology. If every one of our divisions were as successful as Stant, I could go home earlier every night.”

Stant was founded in 1898 by Connersville mechanic George Stant, who opened a machine shop in the small Indiana town to make wagon and buggy parts. In 1912, Stant developed a special automatic screw machine for making piano-tuning pins.

The company quickly became the nation’s largest producer of piano-tuning pins. However, for the past 61 years, radiator and gas caps have been its mainstay and an area in which it has maintained technological leadership.

In 1932, Stant’s son, Kyle, conceived the idea of a locking gas cap, and the company has produced them ever since. In 1960, in response to consumer demand for a safe way to remove radiator caps, Stant invented the Lev-R-Vent safety radiator cap. In 1971, valves became part of gas caps to control emissions into the atmosphere.

Purolator bought Stant from Kyle Stant and his brother Ivan in 1965.

Stant radiator caps retail between $2.50 and $6.95 and gas caps between $2.50 and $15.

Both Stant plants have state-of-the-art, robot-equipped assembly lines as well as the latest plastic injection molding equipment for lightweight, high-strength plastic fuel caps.

But there are still some procedures done by hand, like Betty Knowles’ job of inserting keys into gas cap locks. Knowles puts as many as 3,750 keys into locks during one day’s work.

Counterfeiting Problem

Stant products are so dominant in their field that they are the target of counterfeiters from Taiwan. Henry Rhul, 59, director of manufacturer service, recently testified before Congress about the counterfeit Stant gas and radiator caps being sold by after-market retailers.

“It’s a problem we’re trying to eliminate,” Rhul said. “The counterfeiters copy our product to the nth degree but produce a much inferior cap, just as they do with Rolex watches and other products.”