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Sherwin-Williams history
Sherwin-Williams company history timeline
The first patent for ready-mixed paint was taken out in 1867 by D.R. Averill of Newburg, Ohio, improving upon the existing mixing processes.
In 1869, Truman Dunham & Co. opened a new factory to produce linseed oil, which formed the base of most paints.
After the partnership dissolved in 1870, he formed Sherwin, Williams, & Co. with Edward Williams and A.T. Osborn.
In 1871, the one-year-old company began making its own paints.
Sherwin's group bought the Standard Oil Co. cooperage building at 601 Canal St in 1873; which became the company's first factory for the manufacture of paste paints, oil colors, and putty.
For its first factory, in 1873 the company acquired a cooperage in Cleveland from Standard Oil.
In 1875, Sherwin-Williams started selling ready-mixed paint.
In 1877, Sherwin-Williams & Company developed the first patented reclosable paint can.
The company grew quickly, especially after creating ready-mixed paint in 1880.
In 1882, Osborn sold his interest in the company, but retained ownership of the retail operations, leaving Sherwin, Williams, & Co. to focus solely on the manufacturing and wholesale distribution of its paint and paint products, which it did through a network of exclusive dealers and agents.
The firm was incorporated as Sherwin-Williams in 1884.
In 1888 it bought the Calumet Paint Co. in Chicago.
In 1888, Sherwin-Williams purchased the Calumet Paint Company near Chicago, Illinois.
Seeing the need to make people aware of its products, in 1890 the company formed a department devoted exclusively to advertising and to publicizing Sherwin-Williams and its products.
In 1890, long before competitors fully comprehended the value of advertising, it established an advertising department.
By 1905, the Sherwin-Williams Company sold paint across the United States as well as in Canada, South America, and Europe.
A year later, a sales agency was opened in Worcester, Massachusetts, which was the model for the company's successful concept of the "company store." In 1905, the "Cover the Earth" trademark was first introduced.
Fifteen years later, in 1905, the department created the "Cover the Earth" trademark, depicting paint being poured over the globe.
Walter H. Cottingham became the second president of the company in 1909.
The following year, the company purchased the Cuprinol brand name of premium stains, liquid sealers, and other coatings products from the Darworth Company of Connecticut, as well as two coatings business units from Cook Paint and Varnish Company. It paid $67 million for the business, which traced its roots back to 1910 and eventually became as one of the largest paint manufacturers in the country, supplying private label paints for such chains as Sears and Home Depot.
Henry Sherwin continued as the key person, first as President and then Chairman of the Board, until his death in 1916. (Sherwin was also responsible for the first use of the “Covers the Earth” logo, one of the most recognized in the world.)
In 1917, Sherwin-Williams acquired Chicago’s Martin-Senour Paint Company, a brand still in use today.
In 1917, under Cottingham's guidance, the company bought the Martin-Senour Company, of Chicago.
The first sale of stock to the public took place in 1920.
Three years later, in 1920, the company went public, selling $15 million in preferred stock.
In 1929 Sherwin-Williams bought the Bredell Paint Company of Havana and enlarged it.
In 1930, Sherwin-Williams moved its headquarters to Cleveland's Midland Building, where it would stay for over 75 years.
Yet by 1939, when company revenues reached $95.8 million, business had bounced back.
In 1940, Arthur W. Steudel, a Cleveland native, succeeded Martin as president.
The Story of Sherwin-Williams (1955).
The company operated a large printing plant, which in 1959 produced 500,000 “Color Harmony Guides” and 12 million copies of the company’s Home Decorator magazine.
He served as president until 1961, at which time he became chairman and chief executive officer.
By 1964, when Sherwin-Williams stock was listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the company had 1,850 branch offices and 33,000 dealers.
In 1966, Sprayon Products was acquired.
In 1971 Sherwin-Williams introduced POLANE, a coating designed to efficiently cover metal surfaces but found to work exceedingly well on plastics as well.
In 1977, however, the company entered a dark period due to a heavy debt load incurred while expanding and modernizing its stores.
Sales tripled and after-tax profits increased 36 times since 1978.
In the first half of 1980, Breen's policies yielded a 57 percent improvement in earnings over the same period the year before.
In 1980, Dutch Boy was acquired by the company, substantially increasing its sales.
In 1980, the company purchased the well-known Dutch Boy brand.
To reach markets outside the continental United States, the company formed in 1984, BAPCO, an equal partnership, with C-I-L, Inc. of Canada, a subsidiary of Imperial Chemical Industries PLC of England.
During 1985 Sherwin Williams chemical operations were sold to PMC Specialties Group.
Breen served as president until 1986, when he became chairman, retaining the office of CEO. Thomas A. Commes became president.
________, “Cleveland, Part II: Sherwin, Williams and Fenn,” American Paint & Coatings Journal, January 19, 1987.
In 1987 the company acquired the Lyons Group.
In 1988 the company sold its interest in the BAPCO partnership to C-I-L, Inc.
And with the 1990 purchase of the architectural coatings business of DeSoto, Inc., Sherwin-Williams gained its biggest chunk of market share.
America's Paint Co.; A History of Sherwin-Williams (1991).
For the first two quarters of 1991, in fact, the company's profits climbed 23 percent to $68 million on sales of $1.37 billion.
By 1993, Sherwin-Williams was reporting earnings of $165 million on sales of $2.9 billion, and its balance sheet was almost debt-free.
feldman, amy. "the house that jack rebuilt." forbes, 25 april 1994.
The new paint was launched in 1994 as part of a national advertising campaign which was the largest in the company's history.
"forstmann little is selling minwax to sherwin-williams." the new york times, 23 november 1996.
Net income also rose, to $261 million from $229 million in 1996, or 13.7 percent.
HD Supply profile and corporate video HD Supply was formed in 1997 as the professional services division of Home Depot.
Both segments of the company, Paint Stores and Coatings, reported a 1997 sales gain of 8.1 percent and 32.5 percent, respectively.
In 1997, the company reported its nineteenth consecutive year of increased earnings and dividend growth.
In early 1997 the company, whose revenues had more than doubled since Breen became chairman 18 years earlier, announced a stock split.
In 1997, the company bought Sumare Industria Quimica, S.A. in Brazil, and Pinturas Andina, S.A. in Chile, both coatings manufacturers.
sherwin-williams co. home page, april 1998. available at http://www.sherwin-williams.com.
The company expected that the expansion of its product line, as well as acquisitions of other companies, would make up for the lost business in 1998.
Also in 1998, the division introduced a line of exterior paints, called Climate Guard.
Breen, who spearheaded tremendous financial growth during his leadership tenure, retired as chief executive officer in 1999, passing the reins of command to Christopher Connor, a 16-year Sherwin-Williams veteran who had headed the company’s retail operations for the previous two years.
In 2002, a prime example of the new orientation mandated by Connor was introduced, the Twist & Pour paint container, which was regarded as the most significant design change in a century.
Patalon, William, “Paint Retailer Sherwin-Williams to Buy Maryland-Based Rival Duron,” Baltimore Sun, May 19, 2004.
The magazine is created and published by Hanley Wood, LLC. The first issue was published in 2004.
In 2004, another innovative packing design was introduced by the company, the Dutch Boy Ready to Roll container, a plastic container with a built-in roller tray, providing another meaningful boost to the company’s consumer business.
Next, in the fall of 2004, the company reached an agreement to purchase Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based Paint Sundry Brands, the manufacturer of Purdy paint brushes and rollers.
In 2005, there were 95 stores opened, pushing the company tantalizingly close to the 3,000-unit mark.
After opening 117 stores in 2006, Sherwin-Williams hit the target it had hoped to reach at the decade’s end, presiding over chain of 3,046 stores in North America, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.
On August 28, 2007 Sherwin Williams purchased Columbia Paint & Coatings.
The Automotive Finishes segment opened their 200th automotive branch in Calumet Park, IL on September 21, 2007.
In 2007, the company introduced its first “Idea Center” in Shaker Heights, Ohio, in an effort to provide customers with aninterior design environment as contrasted with its conventional paint stores.
One such acquisition on July 5, 2011 was Leighs Paints based in Bolton UK, a manufacturer of intumescent paints and high performance coatings.
In late 2012, Sherwin Williams began the process of purchasing the Comex Group.
In 2016, the first paint registered as microbicidal with the United States Environmental Protection Agency was brought to market by Sherwin-Williams.
These efforts culminated in the 2017 acquisition of large coatings company Valspar for $9.3 billion.
In the year ended December 31, 2020, Sherwin-Williams’ 61,000 employees generated revenues of $18.4 billion in 120 countries and through 4,900 company-owned stores.
As of late April 2021, the company is valued (market capitalization) at about $72 billion, among the 250 most valuable public companies in the world.
Relative to other businesses of the era, that was a large figure, the equivalent of almost $9 million in 2021 dollars.
©2021 The Sherwin-Williams Company
©2022 The Sherwin-Williams Company
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Sherwin-Williams competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PPG | 1883 | $16.8B | 47,300 | 205 |
| Benjamin Moore | 1883 | $1.1B | 2,046 | 62 |
| Minwax | 1904 | $580.0M | 990 | - |
| Valspar | 1806 | $4.2B | 11,083 | - |
| Dunn-Edwards | 1925 | $880.0M | 1,500 | 58 |
| VF | 1899 | $10.5B | 50,000 | 1,030 |
| The Hershey Company | 1894 | $9.0B | 16,140 | 359 |
| Mondelēz International | 1923 | $36.4B | 80,000 | 1,338 |
| Kellogg | 1906 | $12.7B | 34,000 | 40 |
| US Foods | 1853 | $37.9B | 25,000 | 1,918 |
Sherwin-Williams history FAQs
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Sherwin-Williams may also be known as or be related to Sherwin Williams, Sherwin-Williams and The Sherwin-Williams Company.