Wilko Extra "Baked Beans" Oranges Design; 010

If you've been a customer of "Wilko" aka "Wilkinson's" over the last few years, you may well have caught sight of these batteries where they usually hang up next to every till, and mainly because of their striking design;

Wilko Extra "Baked Beans" Oranges 1

The funny thing is, when I was recently "diving" for batteries in one store's dead battery container, I was very pleased to see this one at the bottom thinking that if any battery design deserved an award (Like the Oscars, but... er... "The Batties?") then it would be this one. I used to think that was an image of Baked Beans" for some reason, but looking at it a bit closer it's obviously not Baked Beans but oranges (I think?) instead.

Have a think as to why oranges (or Baked Beans) might be chosen for the design of an AA battery, whilst I tell you a bit about why Wilkinson's (as I always refer to it) is also known as "Wilko";

So, originally the company was founded back in 1930, and has always been run by the Wilkinson family, hence the name.  However in 2012, the family began to re-brand the stores as "Wilko", as this was the name that was in-use on their own-brand products, much like the direct polar opposite of how "Marks and Spencer" decided to drop their own-brand "St. Michael" name in 2000, having used it for 73 years.

Just after this in 2014, one side of the family sold all their holdings after an 84-year span in retail. Sources close to the retailer insisted the family has not fallen out, but that Ms Swann’s side of the family wanted to pursue “other business interests”. Their shareholding in the business has been sold to the other side of the Wilkinson family, which is led by Lisa Wilkinson, who is now the sole chairman.

Then, Wilkinson is likely to have been valued in excess of £500m in the transaction. In 2014, it reported sales of £1.53bn and pre-tax profits of £27.5m. Karin Swann and Lisa Wilkinson are the third generation of the family to run Wilkinsons.

Wilko Extra "Baked Beans" Oranges 2

The company’s founder, who is known as JK, had two children, Tony and Barbara Wilkinson, who were the second generation to run the business. Mrs Swann is Barbara’s daughter and Lisa Wilkinson is Tony’s daughter. It is Barbara’s side of the family that decided to cease being shareholders. This means that complete ownership of the retailer has passed to Tony Wilkinson, his wife Christine, and Lisa Wilkinson, who remains the family director.

So, any guesses as to why they have used oranges on the battery?

No, neither have I. 

;-)

[EDIT: 08/01/2019 08:56 - Yes, stop laughing at the back please. I realised in a flash of inspiration last night why it's oranges...it must be because electricity / batteries can be said to have "run out of juice" where juice is a slang term for energy. I still think Baked Beans would have worked too; you can be "full of beans", can't you?]

AGFAPhoto Heavy Duty; 009

This is another battery from what I think of as a camera / camera film manufacturer; AGFA. 

AGFA Heavy Duty Premium 1

 AGFA, otherwise known as "Agfa" or Agfa-Gevaert (do wish these companies would stick to block capitals, lowercase, whatever and stop the mix and match lettering. It drives the OCD in me into overdrive) is actually three separate companies; "Agfa Graphics" offers integrated prepress and industrial inkjet systems to the printing and graphics industries, whilst "Agfa HealthCare" supplies hospitals and other care organisations with imaging products and systems, as well as information systems. "Agfa Specialty Products" supplies products to various industrial markets and these are all part of the whole that part of the "Agfa Materials" organization. In addition to the Agfa Specialty Products activities, Agfa Materials also supplies film and related products to Agfa Graphics and Agfa HealthCare themselves.

I remember that a number of years ago AGFA were quite a reputable company, and I began to wonder just what happened to them, as I can't recall seeing their logo on anything nor anywhere come to think of it.

Turns out that the consumer imaging division division which I was thinking of and which were once makers of prominent consumer products was sold to a company founded via management buyout in 2004. "AgfaPhoto GmbH", as the new company was called, filed for bankruptcy after just one year.

AGFA Heavy Duty Premium 2

What happened was that the brands are now licensed to other companies by "AgfaPhoto Holding GmbH", a holding firm and because of that, and following this sale, Agfa-Gevaert's commerce today is 100% business-to-business.

Phew, I don't think I could have crammed another business name of theirs into the space above. ;-)

Not sure how old this one is, but there's no "use by" date, suggesting it's pretty old. That would tally with the leakage you can see on it. Not exactly a great advert for them, is it?

ALDI Activ Energy; 008

Not one I'd ever heard of, but a quick search reveals this is a brand that is commonly sold at the "German originally, now in the UK" supermarket chain; ALDI;

ALDI Activ Energy 1

Reading a good history page from the Telegraph newspaper here, I found out that the name Aldi is a combination of Albrecht and discount. They also focuses on own-brand products, which account for around 90% of their sales in the UK.

Aldi arrived in the UK in 1990, having originally started back in 1946 in Essen, Germany. Quoting verbatim from the article, "From the small provincial store, they built one of Germany’s biggest retailers, which became renowned for its low prices. However, in 1960, the business and its 300 shops were split by the brothers after they fell out over whether to sell cigarettes. This led to Aldi being separated into Aldi Nord, which operates shops in the north of Germany, and Aldi Sud, which is based in the south and now operates the Aldi stores in the UK. Karl Albrecht took control of Aldi Sud. He is now in his 90s and ranked by Forbes as the richest man in Germany."

I wonder what he spends his money on at his age? Cocaine and prostitutes, or Anusol Hemorrhoid Cream? Perhaps he lives a permanent life in Walt Disney World, Florida... I know I would if I could. ;-)

Useless fact; did you know that the name ALDI is a combination of  the German words "albrecht" and the English word "discount", meaning "bright discount", unless I've totally got that wrong Rabatt is the german word for discount, which would have made them "ALRA", which perhaps is a little too close to the pop-group "ABBA". I'd guess Benny, Bjorn, er... Frankie and the other one whose name I forget in the group have very powerful lawyers and would have sued. ;-)

ALDI Activ Energy 2

I did also find a Which? review of these batteries, but you need to sign up and subscribe real money to them, to enable you to read it in full. I'll be buggered if I'm going to do that, but if you have a subscription, feel free to share the more salient parts in the comments below. 

It's a simple design, this one, but somehow the motion that the lines give to the text make it appear space-like and futuristic... well, to me, but that might be a side-effect of the painkillers I'm taking right now.

The text suggests it was partly proof-read too, it doesn't fall into the "Keep out of Children" mis-translation trap, but does however suggest that you dispose of a fire. Question to self: Can you incinerate a fire to dispose of it, or is it safe to just put it alight in the bin? ;-)

£1.99 for eight at the time of going to press gives a cost of... hang on a moment... I have a calculator here.... oh, yes; 24.8p or so each.

A Titan Amongst Batteries; Titan; 007

Titan, as far as I can tell, is an advanced lithium ion battery design and production company based in the United States of America. I don't know if that means they actually manufacture the batteries they sell themselves there, or weather they import Chinese-made stock.

I do have my doubts that this Titan is the same as the Titan behind this AA battery I have as they only started out in 2015, with this battery looking like it's been through a much longer life than just 3 or so years;

Titan 1

Also, from the blurb on the site, they appear to focus on rechargeable lithium batteries, mainly for the unmanned airborne vehicle (UAV) market, which make me suspect this isn't the same people... 

Nothing else has turned up in my searches, but some things do "match" in my mind. The style of font they are using on the site and their stock is similar to the one I have, almost too similar to be a coincidence. I suppose there could be a chance that this battery is only a few years old and they originally produced leaky alkaline cells before specialising in rechargeables.

Titan 2

Anyone out there on the Entirenet know whose batteries these are? 

This battery is worthy of a mention, if a little indirectly; looking over the Titan web site, I came across their company "slogan"... I guess you'd call it that, and it's a champion of a doozy of a great one;

"Inside beats the heart of a Titan"

It does reek somewhat of a badly translated "Chinglish" line, which makes me think I still have a chance with this site and the batteries being one and the same.

Hyundai Heavy Industries; Super Alkaline OEM?; 006

 Another brand-name which I don't immediately think of when it comes to manufacturing or buying domestic AA batteries is that of the Korean car giant "Hyundai", but a quick check online shows me that they aren't just a car manufacturer, but a huge conglomerate that has it's fingers in many different pies... from cars to department stores to the strangely frightening-sounding "heavy industries".

Hyundai Super Alkaline 1

So it's no surprise that they also manufacture and sell batteries, I suppose and,  although I don't necessarily think of Hyundai as a "cheap" brand, they turn up not in mainstream retail shops, but in the bargain "Pound store" places instead.

No main site or page I could find for the batteries in English, but I did strike this Netherlands-based site here; http://hyundaibattery-nl.com/ which is worth a (translated) read.

Hyundai Super Alkaline 2

Not much else to say about this. It's a pretty nondescript design; white body, with a blue "top". Makes me wonder if this is an OEM or an "Original Equipment Manufacturer" battery... one that was supplied with some other companies device where they don't make batteries themselves. Kind of like the electric nose hair trimmer I got for Christmas this year. What a truly thoughtful gift... NOT.

No mercury or cadmium in this one either, which is good.

Oh, and I have yet to check my bottom for a date... I don't remember there being one on there last time I looked... ;-)

"Powercell"... A Battery By Any Other Name; Variant 1; Super Extra Fresh Green And Blue; 005

 "Powercell" may be a name or brand that strikes fear into some of the hardiest world-weary of consumers when it comes to batteries.

I've always felt that it was a direct rip off of the "Duracell" name, but you could argue that the word "cell" isn't exactly owned by Duracell and it does imply battery cell, so perhaps I'm being cantankerous. Or perhaps it's the Powercell or brands using the words "Dura" and "Cell" in their name AND using a similar "Copper-Coloured Top" marketing gimmick to sell their products as Duracell-like I'm thinking of...

Powercell Variant 1 1

This image here is a prime example of that, and if I were Duracell, I'd be spitting my tea out as soon as I saw this and getting my lawyers to grab these con-artists by the throat.

Anyway, these are approaching what I'd call the "bottom" of the cheap battery market, and in my own experience they certainly don't last long in anything important I've tried them with. That said, as a cheap battery for children's toys and the occasional-use item, they appear no better or worse than any other cheap battery.

The name doesn't appear to be trade-marked (yet?) and so there are many different companies churning out batteries all called "Powercell"

I particularly like the way the marketing people behind these batteries often uses key phrases or slogans in an effort to make them appear more attractive, such as "Super", "Extra", "Heavy Duty", "Mega Value", "High Energy", "Ultra", and my favourite pairing of "Maximum Power, Maximum Endurance".

If I owned a genuine "Powercell" business like this one I'd be seriously hacked off at Chinese manufacturers tarnishing my reputation with similarly-named products of lesser value.

This is a pretty old battery, with a use-by date of 2006, making it 12 years old at time of writing, and you can see it's suffered from some deformation;

Powercell Variant 1 2

Being curious, I looked to see what causes that "bulging" effect in batteries and learnt it's a build-up of hydrogen gas that does this, eventually deforming the battery so much it starts to "leak". Manufacturers add mercury in order to prevent the formation of this internal gas. That lead me onto another question; "How much mercury is actually allowed in these AA batteries, then?", as this battery is actually labelled as containing less that 0.025% of mercury (by weight, we assume).

Well, for me here in the UK and with us still "half in, half out" of the EU, according to Directive 2006/66/EC (page 9, Article 4);

1. Without prejudice to Directive 2000/53/EC, Member States shall

prohibit the placing on the market of:

(a) all batteries or accumulators, whether or not incorporated into

appliances, that contain more than 0,0005 % of mercury by

weight; and

(b) portable batteries or accumulators, including those incorporated into

appliances, that contain more than 0,002 % of cadmium by weight.

Powercell Variant 1 3

So technically  this Powercell battery, even with it's peculiar "Fresh" text and hearts logo (implying it's "green" or healthy? God knows...), actually exceeds that limit.

Better go and wash my hands now, whilst I think of it.

Duracell Type 1; Duralock OEM; 004

I think if the question "Name a brand of battery" came up in the quiz "Family Fortunes", "Duracell" would be near the top of the most popular ones, if not THE most popular answer.

Duracell Duralock OEM 1

This example (the first of many different Duracell variants to come I'm sure) is their OEM or "Original Equipment Manufacturer" version, with what they call "Duralock"; essentially, this is technology to prevent the battery "running down" over time, even when not in use and not I should add high performance PVC fencing for use in equestrian applications, as my original research first led me to. ;-)

Duracell offer a 10-year guarantee on the lifespan of these batteries, and are the only manufacturer that I can think of that offers such a long warranty. You can see why anyone selling a product which needs batteries would go for these for inclusion with their item (the "OEM" bit, meaning they aren't sold retail, but will have come with another item as the "included" batteries for it)... that is, if they valued their customers and their customer service.

To quote from their site;

"Ordinary zinc-carbon batteries contain fewer active ingredients inside and lose energy over time as chemical reactions go on constantly. Unlike zinc-carbon batteries, Duracell is filled with 2 times more active ingredients, which are locked inside a unique durable construction. It prevents battery leakage and helps the battery last significantly longer. Duralock is an exclusive power preservation system, which saves energy so effectively that your battery is guaranteed to stay powered for up to 10 years in ambient storage."

I wonder what those "active ingredients" are? Crystal fragments, ground Narwhal tusk powder, or perhaps even marshmallow pieces? Probably heavy elements or metals I guess... more research needed methinks.

I don't think there's anyone who hasn't heard of Duracell and their batteries, and I have fond memories myself of their advertising... be it the "one with the copper-coloured top" slogan (now, sadly "ripped off" by many battery manufacturers), to the "drumming bunny" adverts from all the way back in 1983, and onward to the advent of their "Powercheck" on-board battery tester, built right into the batteries themselves.

I've always felt that if you want a decent battery, and let's say for a good example here that one application I wouldn't be willing to use a pound shop battery for is that of a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm, then I personally feel you can't do better than buy Duracell. They are a trusted brand such as Virgin ("were",  perhaps would be a better word to suffix that after their train fiasco), and well-respected by the consumer.

Duracell Duralock OEM 2

There's now a huge range to choose from, even for the humble AA-size, with their latest offering being tagged as the "Ultra Power" battery, but do have a look at their history here, as some of it is fascinating. I never knew they had the first battery on the moon in the 1960's or that the Duracell "bunny" as it's become known has it's own biography.

At £4 for four (type "Power Plus") at present, that's a not insubstantial £1 per battery, or to put it another way 66 times more per battery than that of Kodak's "Super Heavy Duty" offering... but in the long run, a great many people like me believe them to be the battery to go to for longevity.

Made in China too, which is somewhat predicable these days.