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Out whore Madison Avenue oroeses Berea Road is the site of one of the world's largest manufacturers of Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers and Enamels* It is the home office of The Glidden Company, originators of Jap-a-lao, -Y Laoq, Zino-O-Lith, Ripolin, and many other paint and varnish specialties that are today household by-words* The history of this mammoth organisa tion is as interesting as fiction - its phenomenal growth and development has been carefully recorded year to year and no Horatio Alger novel can , carry more thrilling chapters*
It was In 1850 that Mr. Francis H. Glidden, a youth with a vision, obtained two 150 gallon kettles and a tiny one story plant, in whioh he began the manufacture of varnish* This business started with an output of approxi mately 1,000 gallons a week* . A one horse and wagon delivery system was the first addition made to the organization, but its sales and growth continued^ steadily*
Today The Glidden Company has -fcjSOO employees* It owns 12 factories located
in strat^gi^ positions in every section of the country, operating dir* addition 58 j
separate caejPed in all principal cities end utilizes 1,858,800 gHHdan^mi r
of storage space for row materials and 2,920,006 g&Tffcaas of storaga apaqa__ *
for finished products* In addition, the company owns its own vegetable oil
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refineries, dry color and ohemio&l plants, zino mines and smelters^ a white
lead unit and three lithopone plants* It has 1,052 paint mixing and grind
ing machines, 145 varnish fires, 9 power houses, 7 printing plants, 7 ohemi-
oal laboratories, 11 testing departments, all occupying 1,431,466 ft* of
floor space.
The company supplies finishing materials to the automobile industry, for the original finishing and refinishing of automobiles; to tbs furniture industry for all types of finishes; in fact, there is not an pro duot made requiring a finish for either protection or beauty thdl
Glidden' does not make* In addition to this tremendous industrial business The Glidden Company is supplying Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers and Enamels for every home use to over 25^000 paint and varnish dealers in United States and Canada*
In the Cleveland Plant has been formed a Club known as the "Old Timers* Club" and this organization now boasts of 180 members who have served for five or more years* On the Ciub's roster will be found 30 members who have served in important capacities in the organization anywhere from 10 to 56 years*
It is thru the aggressive activities and wonderful development of The . Glidden Company that a large portion of the oredit can be attributed in making Cleveland the paint center of the world*
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In 1898 it introduced Jap-a-lac Household Finishes to the world and with what at that time was the largest advertising program that had ever been spent on a single product Jap-a-lac beoame famous all over the world almost over night. The Glidden Varnish company was the first advertiser in American business to use oolor in advertising and also to use more than one page of advertising in a single paper. It is claimed that the phenomenal suocess of the then unheard of ad vertising expenditures on Jap-a-lao were directly responsible for the rapid progress that has taken place in the advertising profession since that date. With the introduction of Jap-a-lao The Glidden Varnish Company almost immediately grew to be leaders in the paint and varnish industry and this growrth and expansion has continued on to this date.
In 1917 there were many important changes made in the official line-up
and personnel. It was in 1917 that Adrian D. Joyce became president
and & new organization took over the entire control of the company.
The name was changed to The Glidden Company and has remained so ever
since. ^Today the company as 2,500 employees, 11 factories and direct ^
branches, in Chicago, fading, St. Paul, St. Louis, Hew Orleans, San , i''
Francisoo and Toronto, Canada.
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In addition the company ows ite o t q i'vegetable oil refinery, dry color and chemical plants, zinc mineg^md smelters, a white lead and corroding unit and a lithopone plant.-' 'ihe facilities have grown to 159 separate buildings, 58 warehouses, 1,431,465 square feet floor space, 65,000 square feet of office space, 1,858,800 gallons of storage capacity for raw materials, 2,920,005 gallons of storage capacity for finished products, 1,032 paint-mixing and grinding machines, 143 varnish fires, 9 power houses, 7 printing plants, 7 chemical laboratories, 11 testing depart ments, and 7,260 feet of railroad switch.
The present home offioe of The Glidden Company at Madison Ave. & Berea Road is now one of the finest and larges paint, varnish and lacquer manufacturers in -the world.
In 1921 Mr- Joyce, the president, secured the selling rights on Ripolin, lha Original Holland Enamel Paint, in North America from The Ripolin Company, Ltd., Amsterdam, Holland, This ensmel, while little known in America is practically universally used in all European countries. Ripolin today has been accepted in America as the- finest enamel made for general home finishing.
in 1924, after testing for four years^ The Glidden Company were able to introduce to -the American public a new kind of house paint known as "Zinc-O-LIth". In ^hiropean countries where the use of white lead in paint is prohibited,it was found that a product similar to Zino-0-LIth gave the sane painting result at a lower cost. ftiththe introduction of Zino-0-Lith The Glidden Company again were fortunate in finding a product whose sales grew by leaps and bounds, and which has found a real service in the repainting of American homes.
Practically about tlxa same time that Zinc-O-Lith was being introduced to
the! public drastic changes were being made in the refinishing of manu factured products, sue, as automobiles, furniture, etc* A new type of
pyroxylin lacquers were being developed and The Glidden Company were one of the leaders in the development of these new products. Today many of the largest automobile manufacturers, and practically all of the larger furniture manufacturers are using Glidden Lacquers in the finishing of GLD
their products. In July 1925 The Giidden Company vrere successful in perfecting Laoq, a distinctly new type of household finish that dried in less than thirty minutes and could be applied with a brush. This new product, Lacq, was the first finish of this kind that ever had been offered to the American public and, as in the old days with Jap-a-lao, Laoq became known all over the country practically over
nij^it.
Today the Glidden chemists are working towards the development of still better and newer types of finishing materials to meet the ever changing sdemands of the public.
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