70 YEARS OF GRIT AND PERSEVERANCE
1953-2023
1953-2023
70 YEARS OF GRIT AND PERSEVERANCE
WD-40
Brand’s iconic blue and yellow can with the red top is a staple in factories, garages and workshops around the globe –and the story behind it is one of a kind. The original WD-40 Multi-Use Product was invented 70 years ago and represents a story of grit, perseverance and tenacity for solving the world’s toughest challenges. Today, WD-40 Brand continues to innovate with more than X dozen products sold in 176 countries around the globe. The Original WD-40 Formula has endeared itself to millions of men and women who rely upon it on the job, at home and at play for thousands of uses from the ordinary to the jaw dropping. Along its journey, the brand is creating positive lasting memories to pave the way for the next 70 years.
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History: Born from Rocket Science ..................................................... 6 True Grit: The Men and Women Who Rely Upon WD-40 Brand .............................. 18 It Sells Itself: Advertisements Then and Now ........................................... 40 What Dirty Hairy Said: WD-40 Brand as Part of Pop Culture ............................... 58 The Multi-Purpose Problem Solver: Uses to Get You Thinking and Doing ................... 70 A Purpose-Driven Company: A Look into WD-40 Company Culture ......................... 88 CONTENTS
BORN FROM ROCKET SCIENCE
In 1953, San Diego was more than just a sunny beachside town. It was a bustling coastal community that served – as it still does today – as the portside home to critical military operations. Because of this, the region attracted top aerospace companies that saw opportunity to meet the needs of the military and attract employees to the picturesque region. During the 1950s, many of those companies, began to shift money and efforts away from military fighters and bombers to missile and rockets, as the world entered a new era: the space age.
In 1953, space was uncharted territory and optimism was high that through science, ingenuity and determination, man could conquer the moon and stars. WD-40 Multi-Use Formula was developed and used on the Atlas Missile, forever leaving its mark on the world.
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Space was uncharted territory, astronauts were heroes and optimism was high that through science, ingenuity and determination, man could conquer the moon and stars. And while San Diego’s large installation of military operations made it an ideal place for aerospace companies to set up shop, the seaside air posed a problem, causing corrosion on important and costly aircraft.
Convair, which served a crucial role in building military flight eqiptment during World War II, was experiencing first-hand the crippling effects of the salty air as it was ramping up its missile development program. A small, fledgling company called Rocket
Chemical Company and its staff of three set out to solve the challenge by creating a line of rustprevention solvents and degreasers. The team got to work in a small laboratory where after 40 attempts, the secret formula – which stands for water displacement perfected on the 40th try –was born. Today, The Original WD-40 Formula remains in use and is only known by a handful of people across the globe.
Convair was the first big contractor to give the formula a shot, using it to protect the outer skin of the Atlas Missile, which would go onto play a significant role in the early years of the U.S. space exploration program. And while the Original WD-40 Formula rose to the occasion
for which it was designed — both degreasing parts and providing a rust inhibitor to withstand the damp ocean ear — employees at Convair discovered the powerful formula could be used for a variety of other uses from removing gunk from tools to lubricating moving parts and loosening bolts and nuts. Convair employees began sneaking the formula out of the factory in their lunchboxes for use at home, and when rumor of the smuggling made its way back to the Rocket Chemical Company, inspiration struck yet again for founder and president Norm Larsen.
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Larsen saw opportunity for the WD-40 MultiUse Formula to move beyond the aerospace industry to help solve problems and make things work smoothly at home and in other industries. He began experimenting with putting the product into aerosol cans, and WD-40 Multi-Use Product first made its appearance on store shelves in San Diego in 1958. By 1960, the company nearly doubled in size, growing to seven people,
selling an average of 45 cases per day from the trunks of their cars, hardware stores and sporting goods stores throughout San Diego. A year later, in 1961, the first full truckload order was made for the WD-40 Multi-Use Product following Hurricane Carla hitting the Gulf Coast of Mexico.
The disaster brought water damage of all types and rust and corrosion was waiting in the
wings. Good word of the miracle product from San Diego had spread East, and those leading disaster relief efforts ordered a truckload with high hopes. Rocket Chemical Company employees came in over the weekend to ramp up production of the product, which proved valuable in reconditioning flood and rain damaged vehicles and equipment.
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Flooding in North Shore caused by Hurricane Carla, 1961. Photo coutesy of Houston Public Library.
As word of the multi-purpose problem solver spread, the Original WD-40 Formula made its way to relief efforts for Hurricane Carla and in goodwill kits to soldiers in Vietnam.
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The brand’s cult-like following continued to grow, and during the 1960s it became ubiquitous among carpenters, machinists, construction professionals and other tradespeople. In 1969, John S. Barry was appointed president and chief executive officer of Rocket Chemical Company and renamed it WD-40 Company after its only product at the time. On January 16 1973, WD40 Company went public and was listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Stock prices increased by 61% on the first day of trading. By 1983 sales
reached $50.2 million and by 1993, the company broke the $100 million sales mark and was listed among the Top Ten Profitable companies on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The company was expanding across the globe and by the 1990s had offices in Toronto, Canada; London, England; Sydney Australia; Madrid, Spain; Kuala Lumpur Malaysia; Lyon, France and Bad Homburg, Germany. Today, the company has more than XX offices on every continent.
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In 1993, WD-40 Company was names among the Top Ten Profitable companies on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
The late 90s and early 2000s was a time of growth for the company, which – under the leadership of Gerald Schlief who was chief executive officer between YEAR and YEAR and Garry Ridge who was chief executive officer between 1997 and 2022 – began expanding its product portfolio beyond its flagship product. In 1995 the company acquired the 3-IN-ONE Oil brand from Reckitt & Coleman in a move that grew the company’s foothold in the lubrication business. In 1999 the company acquired Lava soap, the most famous brand of heavy-duty hand cleaner in the United States and in 2000 the company acquired Solvo, the leading heavy duty hand cleaner brand in Australia. The newly acquired soaps represented strategic acquisitions as the products appeal to many of the same end users as WD-40 Company’s lubricants. WD40 Company’s portfolio of brands continued to expand with the addition of X-14®, 2000 Flushes® and Carpet Fresh® in 2002 and 1001 (the leading brand of carpet cleaning products in the United Kingdom) in 2004, making WD-40 Company a leader in household cleaning and maintenance products.
TOUGH SOLUTIONS FOR TOUGH JOBS
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