In 1980, Northern Technologies International Corporation (NASDAQ: NTIC) filed a patent for an invention that would transform the way modern manufacturing companies protect their bare metal products when they are shipped around the world. NTIC had just discovered how to extrude scientifically classified chemical compounds such as volatile corrosion inhibitors or vapour phase corrosion inhibitors ("VCIs") into conventional polyethylene, creating a plastic package that actively protects all metals packaged in it from rust and corrosion. It took several years to prove the effectiveness of the product and to convince very conservative engineers that this translucent plastic packaging film actually contained a chemical additive that emitted a harmless gas that they could not see or smell and that when they wrapped metal parts in this film, nothing happened (in other words, nothing rusted). This made NTIC the world's leading supplier of innovative anti-corrosion packaging and related products and services. In 1993, ZERUST® EXCOR® was born from the desire to bring together some thirty entities worldwide to design, develop and sell corrosion protection solutions. NTIC is the majority shareholder.
Today, ZERUST® EXCOR® products are sold in more than 65 countries through this network of joint ventures, all of which are quality controlled.

In 1994, the German joint venture, EXCOR Korrosionsschutz Technologien und Produkte GmbH, established the first international R&D facility in Europe, in Dresden, Germany. This laboratory consists of four teams of 22 chemists, physicists, engineers, assistants and technical staff working in four distinct areas: production, quality control, climate and corrosion testing, and "research and development". 
Similarly, in 2000, a third R&D centre was opened in Beachwood, Ohio, under the direction of Professor Efim Y. Lyublinski, former head of corrosion research in the Soviet Union.
By early 2020, the technology development and application engineering efforts of the ZERUST® EXCOR® units had expanded further to include Shanghai, China, Chennai, India and Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The R&D department has historically had a broad base within the group. ZERUST® EXCOR® technical service engineers are present in virtually every country where the group operates. Their efforts are supported by 12 regional technical service laboratories, including those in the United States, Germany and China, which also have fully equipped analytical laboratories to help solve the most complex cases.In early 2020, the ZERUST®/ EXCOR® groups' technology development and application engineering efforts expanded further to include Shanghai, China, Chennai, India and Sao Paulo, Brazil.