Document xz8Y9vy91apoYBwYnJ6v3nvwg

Joining the Coatings Revolution 1920-1939 Th* arm's ntwcmmdnp rmphmmrd sptrd afdrying andamra /apylicmrian. Pictured: aprmmtticmfrom tha mid-1920sfar Ragan Brushing Imegnar, a SharmiraWiUutmi hand. s . *? a;- *. ;S*-i'/* : -. e > '.*\tV-iXfMf*.,. l * ..iwidsu * * . 1 4 jrvi .. Mtul // v.x. N23365 Ch a p t e r 3 F MHarly in 1920, the stockholders ofSherwin-Williams voted to raise the authorized capitalization of the company from $21 million to $60 million, including si? million in preferred stock to be sold to the public. This move represented the company's first major public financing. The times seemed favorable for such an act. After two decades of furious expansion under Corringham. the company enjoyed a commanding lead as the laigest manufacturer ofcoatings in the United States. Sherwin-Williams and its affiliates and subsidiaries, including Lewis Beiger, Martin-Senour, and Hemingway, owned and operated 36 manufacturing plants, 90 warehouses, and 30 retail stores. The company refined its own raw materials, blended them into products ofmany types and hues, packaged them for a wide variety of markets, and distributed them for sale throughout North America and the British Commonwealth. And it was about to post an astonishing 67 per cent sales increase to a record total ofS57.1 million. The company's expanded earnings and capital base provided financing for another bunt ofgrowth. In 1920, Sherwin-Williams negotiated its largest acquisition to date, purchasing Acme Quality Paints, Inc. of Detroit for about *6 million. Founded in 1884 by William L. Davies, his brother-in-law Thomas Neal, and two minor partners, Acme had grown to become the laigest paint-maker in Detroit. It was a multimillion dollar business specializing in coatings for the carriage and automobile industries. Acme had dose relations with automakers, including General Motors, Ford, and the Dodge Brothers. For a briefperiod prior to World War 1. Neal had served as president of General Moron. Acme's properties included the Lincoln Paint Company in Nebraska and the Peninsular Paint Company in Michigan, as well as other manufacturing plants in Dallas and Los Angeles. Sherwin-Williams also invested heavily in upgrading and enlarging its own facilities. During 1920 and 1921, for example, the Oakland plant added substantial capacity to make paint and varnish, while at Bound Brook, the company erected a plane to make acetic acid. Chicago was the site ofmajor investments, including a new lacquer manufacturing department, and a container plant to replace the original plant dosed in Cleveland. In 1922, ill health caused Cottingham to retire as president, although he remained chairman of the board until his death in 1930. He spent his last years at Woolley Hall, an English country estate, where he followed the company's continuing growth from a distance. He remained pareiculariy interested in the affairs of Berger & Sons, the London associate firm. Although the two companies subsequently continued their affiliation, the relationship withered after Cottinghams death, and 3D 0007-SWP-000128469 Intensified research and development, heavy advertising, givtvth m industrialcoatings, and expansion ofmailoutlets characterised theprrtidmey of George A Martin (bottom left) from 1922 to 1940. During thereyears. the company movedinto new heasUptarten in the MidlandBuilding in Cleveland (toy left) andpromoted itself vigorously, sponsoring radio broadaatt ofthe ClevelandIndium (tup right) andasuiitiontfor the Metropolitan Opera (bottom right). w i i :i;i$ A ?>:i 0007-SWP-000128470 Ch a p t e r 3: Jo in in g h ie Co a t in g s Re v o l u t io n Sherwin-Williams lost its former ability to market its products in Europe or in the British Commonwealth, apart from Canada. The new president ofSherwin-Williams, George A. Martin, was 36 years of age, and amply prepared for the job. A Cleveland journalist drew a memorable portrait of Martin as being: tall, spate built and angular, slightly stooped. He has a husky voice; deep-set, dark piercing eyes under shaggy brows which seem to be hungrily reaching our to grasp his entire environment; a triangular face wirh narrow chin sloping up to a broad forehead, a full head ofwhite hair; long arms, long nose, long fingers. He would make a perfect El Greco subject or with cloak, staffand bell hat, would pass for a Pilgrim. Martin was much admired by his colleagues. A teetotaler, he loved to smoke, although never in the office, where be instituted a ban. He lacked pretension, greeting employees at every level on a fust-name basis and describing his own job as peddling paint. Like his predecessors, Martin was a self-made man whose education had been cut short by economic necessity. Bom in Monteilo, Wisconsin, in 1865. Martin's family moved to Chicago during his early childhood years. He left school after completing the seventh grade, taking a job with a meat-packing company. Three years later, at age 15, he started his awn specialty meat-shipping business with a friend. This enterprise began with promise, but its success attracted the attention of larger competitors which quickly put Martin our ofbusiness. He then took a job with the Union Brass Manufacturing Company, makers of railway car trimmings, where he remained for 7 years in various clerical assignments. In 1887, the itch to start his own business returned, and Martin established a paint company which specialized in railway paints. The business proved a success though he was frustrated by "failure to sell to one of the Railroads, who continued to refer to The Sherwin-Williams Company." A resourceful man. Martin approached Sherwin-Williams in 1891 with an offer to sell that company's products. The offer was not only approved, but Sherwin was so impressed with Martin that he offered him a job as general manager of the Chicago factory. Martin distinguished himselfnor only in chat post, but as manager of the company's Western Sales Division from 1898 to 1905, where he presided over a quadrupling of business, partly as a result of intense promotion and advertising. His next assignment came in Cleveland, as manager ofvarious manufacturing departments. Elected a vice president in 1916, he was promoted to vice president and general manager of the company five years hirer. Martin assumed leadership ofSherwin-Williams during a difficult period. A sharp recession had resulted in a two-year decline in revenues, and the company did nor surpass its 1920 sales record until the lare 1920s. Revenues crested at $82.3 million in 1929, then they plunged again during the Great Depression, bottoming out at $51.8 million in 1933. In that year, Martin carried out the unhappy task ofcutting the payroll 41 0007-SWP-000128471 The hottestgrowth market ofthe 1920* mu quick-dryingfinishesfir industrialproducts, especially automobiles. In 1922, hherminWilluems emmet thefield with Opex lacquers, developed by a re search teetm tedby Dr. Nathan mar Stone (picturedin 1934 seatedeet the haulofthe table ntith members ofthe Lacquer Department). Opex lacquers and coatings mannfactnred by the company s Detroit subsidiary. Acme Quality Points, adornedmany ofthefinest automobiles ofthe era. 0007-SWP-000128472 Ch a p t e r j : Jo in in g t iif . (.Jo a u n c s Ke v o mt io k and slashing employment, although the company continued to pay dividends. Not until the late 1930s could management (eel reasonably confident that the worst was over. This economic roller-coaster was only one of several challenges to the company during the interwar years. The pace of technological innovation quickened with a great change sweeping across the economy in this period: the "chemicalization'' ofAmerican industry. During the 1920s and 1930s, the advantages of synthetic materials in terms ofuniformity, standardization, reliability, controlled availability, and lower cost, became apparent everywhere. Man-made products replaced "natural" products, and chemically controlled processes supplanted customary methods in textiles, materials, paper, printing, adhesives, perfumes, rubber, glass, cement, asphalt, and. of course, paints and varnishes. The chemicalization of the coatings industry created both problems and opportunities for Sherwin-Williams. Prosperity in a world of technological complexity required the company to remain abreast ofthe latest scientific developments and to continue upgrading its technical capabilities. It was also necessary to wield marketing clout to fend off competition from new and unexpected rivals such as the chemical giant, Du Pont. As the leading supplier ofpaints and varnishes in North America, however, Sherwin-WIUianu was poised to profit from the transformation of the industiy. New competition was keenest in markets for industrial finishes, especially those applied to the eras most cyc-catching product, the automobile. Between 1918 and 1929, production ofcars in the United States soared from less than 1 million to nearly % million per year. Two factors accounted for this explosive growth: Henry Fold's demonstration of the power of mass production, and General Motors' demonstration of the power of mass marketing. Fords manufacturing advances drove prices steadily downward; in the 1920s, a new Model T sold lor less than S2$o. The "Tin Lizzie" had a significant drawback, however. As Fold himself put it, customer* could have a Model T in any color they wanted--so long as it was black. The reason: black baking enamel, which could be oven-dried quickly, was by far the most efficient finish available at the time. General Motors could nor compere with Ford on price, so it sought instead to segment the market by offering "a car for every purse and purpose.' A key element ofthis plan was an ability to offer low-priced automobiles in a variety ofstyles and colors. During the early 1920s, researchers at General Motors and Du Pont developed a sprayable. quick-drying, low-viscosity lacquer made from nitrocellulose. Not only did the new lacquer dty much faster than the old enamel--in 2 hours, as apposed to 24--but it also permitted finishing in a wide array ofcolors. Introduced in 1923, the new lacquer scored an immediate hit, and within three years. General Motors overtook Fold as the world's largest automaker. 43 0007-SWP-000128473 0007-SWP-000128474 Ch a p t e r 3: Jo in in c : t h e Co a i-in c ;s Re v o mt io n By the mid-i92os, automotive finishes accounted for nearly a tenth of all painr sales in the United States. This spectacular growth was mirrored in other industrial finishes, as quick-drying lacquers rendered mass-produced items, such as appliances and furniture, more attractive and appealing. In 1922, Sherwin-Williams entered this fast-paced field with the first of a new line oflacquers under the trade name Opex. Developed by a team of researchers led by van Stone. Opex lacquers adorned Packard cars and eventually found their way into other industrial uses. In the mid-i920sl the company pioneered a brushablc lacquer for household use called Rogers Brushing Lacquer. One of the best-selling products of its subsidiary Acme, during the 1920s, was a iron-oxide primer that served as the base coating before the application ofsprayable lacquers. Sherwin-Williams renewed its claim to technological leadership in this period by developing synthetic resins which made varnishes and enamels competitive with quick-diying lacquers. In 1929, the company introduced its first synthetic finishes, a line of Kem-cnamels. In subsequent yean, research and development spawned many other advanced coatings and finishes chat used the Kcm trademark: Kent Air Drying Enamels, Kem Railway Surfacets. Kcm Art Metal Finish, Kem Bulletin Colors. Kcm Store Front Finishes, and Kcm White Appliance Enamels. Research also focused on improving dry colors. In 1929, the company developed a process for making "dispersed colors" directly from dry color pulp without resorting to the time-consuming traditional method ofevaporating the water; breaking up the lumps into powdered dry color, and then mixing in oil or varnish. The new process entailed flushing out the water and mixing and grinding the panicles with oil or varnish to get a smooth paste offine and brilliant texture. The resulting colors consisted ofsmaller particles that could be wetted more thoroughly, thus producing higher gloss. The new process eliminated "bloom'* in reds, reduced bronze in blues, and increased film durability. These characteristics yielded superior results in paints, enamels, lacquers, and printing inks. The interwar years witnessed a proliferation ofcoatings and finishes for specialized uses in industry, commerce, architecture, and consumer markets. Advanced technology and chemically controlled manufacturing processes made it possible to engineer products for a wide variety ofapplication methods and circumstances. Sherwin-Williams could tailor its coatings according to customers* specifications for drying-rime, temperature, climate, exposure to hazardous conditions, and ocher situations. One of the most promising new markets with unusual requirements was the aircraft industry. Before the advent of aluminum-skinned aircraft during the late 1930s. most airplanes were covered with fabric that was treated with a lacquer for protection and decoration. The rapid growth of the aircraft industry after Charles Lindberghs successful flighr across the Atlantic led Sherwin-Williams to create an Aeronautical 45 0007-SWP-1 gcurn the magic key of color EVERY FINISH CORRECT, 05 specified on the Household Painting Quide m ihi* ktv 'hi iH unlm k flu Ian in i*r luaury in >Hir Iv h ik . Ui iitnromcnil char yuu nnmil rhtr riiiv fnl ok nf tin \\illiatiift ilniiriirivvi^pi.'itv r* hi* luiitul at tlu u j v u h Uiv paint st>iv Uivi; *> /*''/Rivmnj>r i!n .inv b\ ih>smn ami In i Ik -Hh u mIf 'U Pj iw - The HouseholdPainting Guideproved apopularstid to help comuattrs match specializedcoatings andspecific applications. 0007-SWP-000128476 Ch a p t er 3: Jo in in c ; ih e Omt in o s Re v o l v iio n Sales Division. In 1928, Sherwin-Williams introduced its Aero Enamels, featuring a "velvet finish which give a plane a handsome appearance, good visibility and has the added advantage of being so elastic that vibration created by the plane rushing through the air will not crack the finish." In addition to growth into new, specialized applications, Martin guided expansion of Sherwin-Williams through more traditional means. In 1929, the company acquired two leading paint-makers, Lowe Brothers of Dayton, Ohio, and John Lucas of Gibbsboro, New jersey, one of the oldest and best-known manufacturers in the industry. These transactions included many established brands ofhigh-quality paints. Lucas, for example, had previously acquired W.W. Lawrence & Company of Pittsburgh, itself a well-known producer. Martin also pursued opportunities for Sherwin-Williams in Central and Latin America, where he saw the market for high quality paints flourishing and contributing to economic development. In 1930, the company opened a retail blanch in Mexico City and acquired a paint factory in Havana, which it expanded and operated as the Sherwin-Williams Company of Cuba. Later in rhe decade, spurred by the success of this venture, Sherwin-Williams builc a plant in Argentina, and established an affiliate company in Brazil. Under Martin's leadership, Sherwin-Williams expanded assertively in consumer markets. In 1923, to help increase public understanding of the dizzying variety ofcoating products on the marker, the company announced its "Household Guide for Painting, Varnishing, Staining and Enameling,'' calling it "the biggest idea that has hit die paint and varnish business in fifty years." The guide featured a matrix that listed types of products and surfaces along one axis and types ofcoating products along the other. The intersecting boxes specified the Sherwin-Williams product most suitable for the application. For example, to coat indoor furniture, the guide recommended Enameloid as its choice ofpaint; for other types ofapplications, the guide proposed Scar-Nor Varnish, Floor-lac stain, or Old Dutch Enamel. "For the first time," proclaimed company literature, "die public will have a handy reference guide to help them with their paint and varnish problems." The company spent heavily on advertising and promotion to strengthen the Sherwin-Williams brand and help establish the cover-the-earth logo as one of the best known in the world. As explained by C.M. Lcmperiy, advertising manager, the company's advertising budget was divided about equally between national and local media. "We use national advertising to keep our name before the public. Our outdoor cutouts and signs keep our `Cover the Earth' trade-mark before people constantly. When we use nanonal magazines we get into products a litrie more, but the style is still pretty general." In 1933, at the request ofMartin, an opera buff, the company began sponsoring Sunday afternoon broadcasts of audirions for die Metropolitan Opera. 47 I 0007-SWP-000128477 Yo u rani painl a houitrwilh APPLESAUCE ^4,aH|4 .b^fM <b V t- OTI M.tfula ~^L ku.^ * l*H < 1 m 1kV|01-aAi W U (>b la. tb* ikitt fjfci. 4 i<- Jkt I>rf> ia j i b*> ii !m4i C7 ti b ?> .& & During the fintntwynnt SberwinWillutms swtght topromt mnd protect inpremium imstgt through ofits retailoudta. The company't Homo Decorator and Color Gauls, inttadurtdi* 1910. pmidsJsopbatieatsalativkt ansi information to strthittctt, professionalpainters, touthomo ownersfir man than 50yean. 0007-SWP CllAPTF.il V JOININi: THF COATINCS Rf VOI I'TION "With netwoik radio we are entirely institutional," noted Lemperly. who added that commercials were kept to a minimum. "This restraint has brought us no end of compliments from listeners, although our sales department at time would like to have us pound away a little harder (or sales." This opportunity came later in the Cleveland area, when Martin, a director of the Cleveland Indians Baseball Club, arranged for Sherwin-Williams to sponsor game broadcasts. Advertising at the local level was far more aggressive. During the late 19209, for example, the company encountered stiffprice competition front makers of low-cost paints. A gallon of SWP sold for *4, while rival brands were available for as little as $2.30 per gallon, lo counter this threat. Sherwin-Williams launched a major campaign against "cheap paint.'' Proclaiming that "this will be no kid-glove affair," Lemperly announced the company's objective as "not a `draw,' but a real `knock-out.'" In essence, the campaign stressed that "cheap paint" was not at all cheap, because it covered less area per gallon, wore less well, and used inferior ingredients when compared to SWP Consumers were warned, "Don'r Be Fooled on House Paint!' and to watch for "a Joker in the Cheap Paint Can." This campaign, claimed Lemperly, was "the kind... that President Calvin Coolidge would endorse 100 per cent because it strikes at waste and false economy and emphasizes true values." The company's retail outlets also practiced aggressive selling tactics. During the 1910s, Sherwin-Williams began opening a handful of stores in major metropolitan areas in order to gain "satisfactory representation" in these areas, as well as, "to protect our interests" from competition. Starting in the late 1920s, the company accelerated the establishment of retail scores across the United States. Sherwin-Williams opened an average of between five and ten stores per year, and occasionally more. In 1936, for example, 14 retail stores were opened. The stores earned not only SherwinWilliams coatings, but also paint brushes and other materials. The company stressed that its retail stores were not intended to replace but rather to supplement its network ofwholesale distributors. As described by an official policy manual, "Our Stores act as rhe Company's service stations, and everything should be done in them to cement closer the relation between the agents and dealers served through beStore in addition to securing a greater market through your Store for our materials." Store managers, who were Sherwin-Williams employees, were encouraged to be "as obliging" to wholesalers as they were to their own customers. As the official policy noted. "Increased profits From such quartets helps you in your profits, helps the factory in its output and lowers the cost of manufacture by which all benefit." Sherwin-Williams approached retail management with a consistent business philosophy. Cottingham's "Code of Principles" was prominently featured in the Retail Stare Handbook, which passed through many editions. 49 0007-SWP-000128479 Evolution efa trademark: the font lego eftbe Sbenem-WiBiams Company--a chameleon ended mptu apemtiir'i paints-- torn adapted in 1884, theyear ofthe companyt mearparatbm (up left). In 1890, Shenoin-Wilhams adtortitingmanager George Ford dedpteda logoforafled&ng manufacturer efa cleaning compoundin winch he badan interest (top center). When the small company dumbed, Ford began topbay with istemfor adapting the imagefor SbenoinWUUams (tap rrftet), trtdmgflnaBy an the concept ofa earn petering SWP tepam agfabe tiltedin at ta make Cleveland, Okie, thepaint foam which the rest afthe earth earn catered (hattwm left). Pint weedanpackingdipt at the Worcester, Maesashantte stare, by 1905the Ceaer the Earth image hadbeen simplified (hettem center) and registeredas the company's trademark. Ihnngft heaey adrertuing, each at the hitthaard cut-outfoam the 1930a (bottom right), it became ant eftthe hestbnaum trademarks in American basinets. I i i rt PWw1fljFP,l"1 'TTSf1 > : 1*1 r : "&&4 : i 0007-SWP-000128480 Ch a p t e r j : Jo in in g ih f Co a t in g s Rf v o u it io n More specific advice in the Handbook bespoke the company's traditional values: "Nothing looks so bad as a dirty, mussed up Score, bur a well kept, neat and orderly Store is a wholesome place in which to do business. People like to come in as well as to recommend the place to their friends." "Stories or jokes of an unclean character will not be permitted. It's a good plan to put this rule into effect even outside the Store and business hours." "A Store may have the best of everything in merchandise, delivery or anything else, but if politeness combined with kindness is lacking, the Store will not progress, nor in face last very long." Other advice reflected the rimes: "It's not in keeping with good manners to walk around the Store wearing your hat, and certainly not polite to wait on a lady customer wearing your hat or without wearing your coat." Like its counterpart for sales representatives, the Retail Store Handbook provided a wealth of tips to increase sales and profits: "Never greet a woman customer with 'Can I show you something,' or 'Yes, ma'am.' Rather begin with 'Good morning' or `Splendid weather for painting, is it not?' Get her in a cheery, receptive mood and show by your manner you arc there for service as well as sales." `Remember eight out often people who are going to do a little job of painting need a brush." "Sell the customers something besides what they ask for. It's no trick to sell them something they want--that's simply waiting on them." "Give the same attention and treatment to the shabbily dressed as you do to the well dressed. They may have their money tied up in houses, which need painting, instead of clothes." "The real test of die paint and varnish merchant is to get the money in the cash drawer--have this constantly in your mind." Sherwin-Williams marketing tactics proved effective, and the company's recovery from the Great Depression was rapid and strong. A maker ofdiverse products that controlled the production of its raw materials and its channels ofdistribu tion, Sherwin-Williams was a fundamentally healthy entetprise. In 1939, the company maintained 15,000 active paint formulas, produced 15 million gallons of paint, and recorded sales ofS95.8 million. It remained the laigrst coatings manufacturer in the world, despite formidable technological and competitive challenges. Bigger challenges and greater rewards were soon to come. 51 0007-SWP-000128481 Paint goes to war: an illustrationfrom a 1944 Sherwin-Williams World depicts some surprising uses ofpaints in America's defense. n Special Enamel on All Military Hardware Pack: Anti-Mold Coating Food Ralion Containers Pack Straps Tropic Matches Hand Grenades Shoe Linings 0007-SWP-000128482 Hw fiW frottttt Mw toWirt EflpwwH 0007-SWP-000128483