R. P. Scherer

R. P. Scherer Corporation, commonly styled R. P. Scherer or R.P. Scherer, was an American softgel encapsulation company whose recreational-products division became a major manufacturer of paintball ammunition. The company applied technology developed for pharmaceutical capsules to the production of gelatin-shell paintballs and manufactured paintballs for Pursuit Marketing Inc. (PMI) and other international distributors from the early 1980s until its paintball operations were sold to PMI.[1][2][3]

R. P. Scherer paintballs were manufactured at several plants, including facilities in Florida, Canada and France. Its products included conventional single-colour paintballs and the distinctive two-colour Marballizer range.[2][3][4]

Corporate origins

The company was established in Detroit in 1933 by chemical engineer Robert Pauli Scherer. Scherer developed a rotary-die encapsulation machine that allowed soft gelatin capsules to be formed, filled and sealed continuously. The technology was principally used for pharmaceuticals, vitamins, nutritional products and cosmetics.[1]

The same encapsulation process could be adapted to produce spherical gelatin capsules containing coloured liquid. R. P. Scherer initially manufactured oil-filled marking capsules used in forestry and livestock applications. During the early 1980s, it became involved in manufacturing water-soluble paintballs for the developing recreational paintball market.[2][4]

Paintball manufacturing

A 1992 account of the company's St Petersburg, Florida, operation identified Paul Tournier as director of marketing for recreational products and Gary Jay as a development specialist in research and development. At that time, R. P. Scherer manufactured paintballs at its St Petersburg plant and in Windsor, Ontario.[2]

The manufacturing process began with powdered gelatin, which was mixed and formed into two continuous ribbons. These ribbons passed through rotating dies which formed the two halves of each shell. Liquid fill was injected between the halves as they were pressed together, producing a sealed paintball with a visible seam.[2][4]

Newly formed paintballs were washed to remove processing oil, dried and cured on trays. Finished batches were then inspected, separated by size and tested for characteristics including roundness, leakage, shell performance, accuracy and breakage. Random production samples were fired on an on-site test range.[2][4]

R. P. Scherer also manufactured .50- and .62-calibre paintballs, although .68 calibre was the standard size used for most recreational and tournament play.[4]

Dedicated Florida facility

In 1992, R. P. Scherer opened a dedicated paintball-manufacturing plant in an unincorporated area of Pinellas County, Florida, several miles from its existing St Petersburg softgel facility.[3]

The 30,000-square-foot plant reportedly cost approximately US$3 million to plan and construct. Unlike the company's general softgel plants, it was devoted entirely to paintball production. The facility incorporated paintball manufacturing, offices for the recreational-products marketing division, and research and development areas where the company tested both its own products and competing paintballs.[3]

The plant was designed to operate continuously and was described as R. P. Scherer's fifteenth manufacturing facility worldwide. By 1995, the company had also opened a paintball plant in France which was reported to have capacity comparable with the Florida facility.[3][4]

Relationship with PMI

Pursuit Marketing Inc. began marketing R. P. Scherer paintballs shortly after PMI was established in 1982. By 1995, PMI had distributed the company's paintballs for approximately thirteen years and had served for about five years as its exclusive marketing company for North and South America.[4]

The arrangement divided manufacturing and distribution responsibilities between the companies. R. P. Scherer produced and tested the paintballs, while PMI maintained warehouses and dealer networks, packaged some products and supplied fields, retailers and tournament organisers.[4]

The companies also worked together on product research, dealer seminars and the development of packaging intended to protect paintballs from moisture and temperature changes.[4]

Products

R. P. Scherer manufactured paintballs in a range of shell and fill colours. Products documented during the 1990s included conventional R. P. Scherer paintballs and several colour combinations sold under the Marballizer name.[4]

Marballizer paintballs used contrasting colours swirled through the gelatin shell to produce a marble-like appearance. R. P. Scherer and PMI held patents covering the process and equipment used to produce this effect, together with associated trade-dress rights.[5]

Other product developments included different shell and fill formulations, field-specific colours, laser-engraved paintballs and packaging ranging from 200-round bags to bulk cases.[4]

Tournament involvement

R. P. Scherer and PMI were prominent sponsors of tournament paintball during the early and mid-1990s. Their sponsorship included the Manufacturers' Series organised by Lively Productions, together with the International Masters, Windy City Open, Music City Open, Bay City Open and other events.[3]

The companies also supported regional tournaments and scenario games. Sponsored teams documented in contemporary coverage included the All Americans, Chicago Aftershock, Team Rage, Marine Team One, the Bushwackers, Mayhem Predators and Australian team Sports SWAT.[3][4]

In 1995, R. P. Scherer and PMI were identified as early major sponsors of the National Professional Paintball League, including the provision of paintballs for amateur prize packages.[4]

Corporate acquisition and sale of paintball operations

Cardinal Health announced its acquisition of R. P. Scherer Corporation in May 1998. The transaction incorporated Scherer's wider pharmaceutical and encapsulation operations into Cardinal Health.[6]

By February 2004, PMI had purchased R. P. Scherer's paintball-manufacturing operations and associated intellectual property from Cardinal Health. The purchase included the manufacturing facilities, patents, trademarks and trade-dress rights associated with products including Marballizer.[5][7]

The acquisition brought the manufacturing operation under the ownership of its long-standing distributor. PMI and its paintball brands were subsequently incorporated into KEE Action Sports following the consolidation of PMI and National Paintball Supply.

References

Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, “Rotary Die Encapsulating Machine”. Corporate history and information about Robert Pauli Scherer's encapsulation machinery.
Ken “Hollywood” Gilder, “The Making of a Paintball at R. P. Scherer”, Action Pursuit Games, March 1992, pp. 48–49 and 93. Contemporary account of R. P. Scherer's paintball manufacturing process and Florida operation.
Ken “Hollywood” Gilder, “R. P. Scherer Opens New Plant”, Action Pursuit Games, April 1993, pp. 52–55. Contemporary coverage of the dedicated Pinellas County paintball facility and tournament sponsorship.
Jessica J. Sparks, “Inside R. P. Scherer: Meet the World of Paintballs”, Action Pursuit Games, August 1995, pp. 44–47 and 56–59. Factory profile covering manufacturing, products, PMI distribution, international facilities and sponsorship.
SGB Media, “Brass Eagle Settles Patent Infringement Suit”, 13 February 2004. Information about PMI's acquisition of R. P. Scherer's paintball operations and Marballizer intellectual property.
Los Angeles Times, “Drug Supplier Cardinal to Buy R.P. Scherer in $2.4-Billion Deal”, 19 May 1998.
Paintball History, “Pioneering the Sport of Paintball: The History of PMI”, interview with Jeff Perlmutter, 31 January 2023.