The Permutit Company has its origins in the 1908 discovery, by Professor Robert Gans, of Berlin, Germany that the process of ion exchange is reversible.  Dr. Gans applied the process to softening hard water, using refined zeolites as the ion exchange material.  He renamed his discovery, the "Permutit" process from the Latin verb "permutare", which means "to change."

Gans patented his process and then sold it to a German chemical company, which organized the Permutit Filter Company, Gmbh.  A Belgian syndicate later purchased the Permutit Filter Company and eventually set up a subsidiary in the United States.

The Permutit Company was founded in 1912, and the following year organized and incorporated under the laws of Delaware.  Headquarted in New York City, the company held patent and trademark rights nearly everywhere in the world, except Europe.  A factory, build in Brooklyn, housed the furnace used to produce the melted zeolite according to Gans' formula.

Permutit's business in the United States prospered.  Laundries were the primary market and selling was ingeniously simple.  Permutit would install a water softener into a laundry no charge.  In exchange, the laundry would agreed to pay Permutit on half the monthly savings in soap costs.  As always, the savings were so great, the laundry purchased the softener after making a few monthly payments.  The laundry business provided the references needed for selling ion exchange softeners to other industries.

Some year later, Permutit personnel discovered inadvertently that a natural softening material, Glauconite, also called "greensand", had the same ion exchange properties as melted zeolite.  Permutit then obtained patents on processing this material, and on its use for water softener.  Also, huge deposits of Glauconite were discovered in nearby New Jersey.  In the early 1920's Permuti purchased a 525 acre Glauconite deposit located in Birmingham, New Jersey, and constructed a factory on this site to mine and process the Greensand.  The Brooklyn factory was converted into a machine shop to produce controls, valves, and other mechanical components required for Permutit equipment.

With its water softening business firmly established, Permutit began to expand into other areas of water and wastewater treatment.  The company became the expert in clarification, filtration, aeration, and flotation.  Permutit invented the demineralizing process.  It also developed unique processes, such as concentrating and refining uranium (and other metals), and products like the seawater desalting kits used extensively in life raft survival packs during World War II.

After World War II, Permutit vigorously expanded its product and market bases, both domestically and internationally.  With the development of new, superior synthetic ion exchange resins, competition became a factor.  Old proprietary advantages disappeared and success depended on superior technology, service, salesmanship and for the first time, pricing.

In 1954, recognizing the need for continued growth, Permutit purchased property in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and built a new factory.  Permutit sold the old plant in Brooklyn and all manufacturing operations moved to the new and more efficient Lancaster facility.

Permutit and the Pfaudler Company of Rochester, New York, merged to form Pfaudler-Permutit, Inc. in 1957.  Thus began a progression of corporate expansion and changes that culminated in the formation of the Sybron Corporation.  During this time, many significant changes occurred.  The Birmingham chemical plant separated from Permutit and became the Ionac Chemical Company.  Permutit moved its offices from New York City to Paramus, New Jersey and expanded the Lancaster manufacturing facility.  A research and development center was established in Princeton, New Jersey.

Zurn Industries, Inc. of Erie Pennsylvania acquired Permutit from Sybron in 1977.  During that time, and for several years to follow, major forces were at work that would drastically reshape the water and wastewater treatment equipment business.  Chief among these was the unparalleled reduction in the construction of large plants for the power, chemical and petrochemical, petroleum, pulp and paper, and steel industries.  The market for new, large water treatment systems to these major end uses dwindled dramatically.  The office as then moved from Paramus NJ to Warren NJ and in 1993, Permutit was acquired by USFilter who remains the parent to date.