Document 2ROZvmnKVDMo9JgX1JvvMxQn7

Marching to War 1940-1945 Ch a p t e r 4 in 1940, George Martin retired as president of Sherwin-Williams at the age of 79. To succeed him, the board of directors elected Arthur WI Steudel, then 49 years old. Steudel had joined the company in 1908 as an office boy. He earned his first promotion within two weeks, and then rose through a series of clerical positions in the Trade Sales Division, in 1912, he attracted the attention ofEdward M. Williams, son of the founder and head of the Railway Sales Department. From there, Sreudels climb was swift. In 1914, he was a department head in the Chemical and Dye Division, which he eventually led as manager. In 1923, he became assistant to the president, supervising development of the company's lacquer business. In 1937, he became vice president and general manager, and the heir apparent. Steudel was a very popular leader, remembered affectionately as a short, "roly-poly" man who played a whole round of golf with just two five irons (in case one broke) and a putter. He was also active in business and community affairs in Cleveland. Steudel took charge of Sherwin-Williams at a favorable time. In 1940, the company had earned the industry's admiration for a marketing first, introducing the Sherwin-Williams "Paint and Color Style Guide." The company printed 45,000 copies of this handsome, oversized book for its distributors and retailers, k featured color photographs of many types of houses, including interior scenes, to help customers choose appropriate colors for many different settings. "Never before has such an array of actual homes from all over the United States been displayed in color photography," boasted the Style Guide, which noted that the photographs were "on a scale that makes you feel you arc almost stepping into the rooms--scanding right before the houses." Capitalizing on the Style Guides success, Sherwin-Williams posted a record year for sales, topping Sioo million for the first time. The outbreak ofWorld War II had an immediate, positive effect on the paint industry, and manufacturers geared up for defense production on a massive scale. Thousands of vital military items required paints, including camouflage paint for ranks and supplies; blackout paint; aircraft, boat, and truck finishes; and coatings for grenades, bullets, and bombs. Every soldier was equipped with eighty-five separate items, each with its own special finish. Moreover, the road building, construction machinery, water supply, and electrical lighting systems necessary ro a military campaign also required paint. As the war continued, the U.S. government became Sherwin-Williams's biggest customer. Convening Sherwin-Williams to massive defense manufacture was a challenge that engaged everyone. Production personnel devised ways to distribute work loads evenly between plants. Plant engineers converted old equipment to new 55 0007-SWP-000128485 "We Have Aunt. in Oar Plants " thr World reported in I94.i. "Month after mouth, shoalder to shoulder with the men on the production line, the women have steadily stepped up the pare. .. There is no question hut that they are indispensable to t-'n warprogram in this country and tin scope oftheir mniribultan is nothing short qfdazt/ing. " 0007-SWP- Ch a p t e r 4: Ma r c h in g t o Wa r manufacturing uses. Purchasing agents combed the country for raw materials, even minor ingredients, so that shortages would not halt production and delivery. Chemists experimented with old, almost forgotten oils and resins and treated them with modem processing equipment. Salesmen tolled up their sleeves and worked in the factories, adjusting spray guns and checking thinners. Ultimately, some plants devoted 80 per cent of their capacity to war work. As more and more male employees were called to active duty, women became indispensable to Sherwin-Williams operations. By 1943, female employees comprised one third ofdie company's work force and were found in factories, labs, and retail stores. And, as the Sberwin-WiUuBns WorU, the employee newspaper ofthe rime acknowledged, "Some of the jobs the women are doing axe, in truth, being handled just a little bit better than a man would do them.'' In all, 1,756 Sherwin-Williams men and women entered the armed forces, and 90 per cent were welcomed back at the end ofthe war. In 1941, Sherwin-Williams became involved more directly in the wax effort. The company was drafted to construct and manage an enormous shell-loading plant in Carbondale, Illinois, as part ofa program whereby such facilities were built by well-known manufacturers. A team ofdo Sherwin-Williams employees oversaw the construction of the plant, hiring 15,000 workers to construct the 23,000-acre facility in less than a yean Sherwin-Williams also subsequently managed the plants operations. Staffed by 6,000 workers, the Carbondale plant produced enough bombs each day to supply a nightly RAF raid on Germany. Sherwin-Williams demonstrated leadership in product innovation, as welL The company's research chemists, led by van Stone, began experimenting with new coatings concepts. They took casein, a white milk and cheese protein used by die ancient Egyptians for making paint, and emulsified, or suspended, varnish into it. They then added a number ofcomponents of traditional oil print as a base. The new formulation consisted of28 different ingredients. In 1941, Sherwin-Wdliamj put this new paint, called Kem-Tone, on the market. At die same rime, the company embarked on a major sales and advertising campaign--die most ambitious in the history of die entire industry--spending $1 million on selling the new product. Kem-Tone was marketed as the "modem miracle wall finish," described as so easy to use that it was ideal for homemakers and for those who had never used a prim brush before. Demonstraron around the country showed that, thinned only with tap water, it completely covered wallpaper, plaster, and painted walls, without requiring messy primers, sealers or thinners. Only a single coat was necessary and the paint dried in one hour. Advertisements also stressed that Kem-Tone was more washable than oil print, and like the finest washable wallpaper, it could withstand "500 rubs with a doth under a two pound weight." 57 0007-SWP *' npAi* moist 1 VA# Aa PLASTIC PATCH 'T Fruttfi ci.rimoc.--ks owd b *o*t'e * qukkty od wUb Iwfeatete-mr--oa--rn-v-d-o*tao--po--*p--l-xy-w-. --vNrop-Jlua--wstU'ic-rcf*ailMlitte--tar.qiJ)oomotcitjroamaahbkkcftteeteq* old plotter raqidrod. Dite <pd iy. WUI not *9U ir 00/hrmk, crack at fait out. ^p9| Zy(f ROUERKOATER sb^tkmawXkf otibnuiin wkon yw apply XiaToatl tei uu tho KomTo m ftotir4Koai*t. tt roXS* fcTa tipkt w you*walteoadeoilmqcqaiekly.oocPy, ameothfy n/ m TRIMS iCmw iimI r--0y I* nyfyi Giro Xoro-ToMKfixdobod rnnwia tho dtomtei touch- with KoOHTeM Trim*1. ChuMto-t, roody te epp*?'*b*7 m "ctOlta9 oat pasting ' 19. }a*t dtp ia water and tnoofa on wall M- , * WW /fm&et! HKAOQUARTIRS \ he modern miracle wail finish 72^ ^ 4Hh/ V8,- '"'v, ^ *s, A 007. Oo Ch a p t e r 4: Ma r c h in g t o Wa r The company look unprecedented measures in distributing Kem-Tone, as well. For the first time, it went outside its closely knit dealer and franchise organization, supplementing traditional practices with direct selling and distribution. Any retailer in good standing, including filling stations, grocery stoics, and drug stores, could handle the new product and become a special Kent dealer. Ultimately, SherwinWilliams secured 65,000 new outlets for Kem-Tone. The new paint was sensationally successful and quickly outsold its competition in the interior paint market. Continuing war shortages forced Sherwin-Williams to respond creatively. Japans blockade ofChina resulted in shortages ofpig bristles, which were used to make paint brushes. In 1941, Richard C. Adams, a Sherwin-Williams engineer and a descendant ofPresidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, invented a revolu tionary new device called the Roller-Kbater. Devised in Adams's basement, and constructed simply ofjure and wood, the Roller-Koatcr was designed for Kem-Toning only. Inexperienced painters found it easy to use. Adams, an inveterate tinkerer and inventor, also made miniature RoUcr-Kbatcrs for charm bracelets and lapel pins. Sherwin-Williams devised innovative paint packaging, as well. At first, shortages in steel and tin required die company to sell Kem-Tone in glass jars with cardboard carton overcoats. In 1942, in a plant with secondhand and homemade machines, Sherwin-Williams began producing cans made of paper. Carrying the company's Graphic Arts Division label. "War Emergency Container--Handle with Care," the new cans were slighdy larger and more fragile chan the standard metal cans. Sherwin-Williams chemists applied their ingenuity in a number of other important ways to support the war efibre. They produced vital war materials char had been Gentian monopolies and unobtainable in the United States 25 yean earlier. At its New Jersey chemical plant, the company made 8$ per cent ofthe nation's total supply ofacetanilid. This basic ingredient in the manufacture of infection-fighting sulfa drugs was pan ofa pocket provided to each soldicc. These sulfa drugs were considered a miracle; a record-breaking number ofAmerican wounded recovered from their injuries. At the end ofthe war, Sherwin-Williams could look bode over five successful years. Despite shortage* ofraw materials and personnel, its wartime program achieved its goals. On the domestic side, Kem-Tone hit the 37 million gallon mark in 1945, filing out ofstores just as fast as it was stocked. Having already secured a such a large portion of the domestic paint market, the company's conversion to peacetime work was not difficult.