Sounds of silence are not a racket.

• Position: Marpac Corp. sound conditioners

Sounds of silence are not a racket

North Carolina has long claimed champion titles in textiles, tobacco and furniture. Now, add white-noise generators to that list.

Marpac Corp. in Wilmington claims to be the world's largest manufacturer of electronic sound conditioners. "We are generally thought of as the world leader," says Henry Alaksa, the company's marketing director. "There are a number of off-shore producers, primarily in Hong Kong. But, candidly, they generally do not meet the quality of Marpac sound conditioners."

If that's news to you, blame it on Marpac's specialty -- the sounds of silence.

Sound maskers, or white-noise machines, as they are sometimes called, are to the ear what Airwick solids are to the nose. Turn one on and the airport traffic, the noisy neighbors or the amorous couple in the next motel room fade into the background.

Marpac makes four models. The two on the lower end run about $44 and are similar to the unit Marpac founder James Buckwalter came up with. An engineer with Rubbermaid Corp., Buckwalter traveled a lot and had trouble sleeping in motels. He discovered that a tiny fan produced a soothing sound that drowned out other noises without creating an unpleasant disturbance of its own.

Buckwalter left his Rubbermaid job in Indiana and set up operations in...