Ariel (detergent) Automatic" powder. Though with the increasing popularity of automatic front-loading washing machines, a suitable low-suds variant "Ariel Automatic" was eventually launched in the early 1980s. The mid-eighties saw the range expanding to encompass liquid detergent and compact powder. The compact powder was originally known as "Ariel Ultra"; and was subsequently reformulated into the nineties as "Ariel Future". This was possibly in response to Unilever's launch of the ultimately doomed "Persil Power", which was seen to damage clothes. Compact powders never proved popular in the UK, so when the tablet variant appeared in July 1999, the compact version disappeared. In 2003,
Purex (laundry detergent) their bleach product. By 1946, Purex began to produce its first light-duty, dry detergent, under the brand name Trend. On July 31, 1956, Purex acquired the Manhattan Soap Company best known for its "SweetHeart" soap. In 1975, Purex liquid laundry detergent was introduced. Purex liquids began the use of its distinctive blue plastic bottle in 1981. In 1982, Purex Industries, Inc. was acquired in a leveraged buyout by Gibbons, Green and van Amerongen Ltd., the predecessor of Leonard Green & Partners. In 1985, the household and consumer products business of Purex Industries, Inc. was acquired by Greyhound Corporation and was