SHW Group history

He served as chief executive officer until 1961, at which time he added the title of chairman.

Born: 1964 Date of first appointment: 02.

In 1966, Sprayon Products was acquired.

SHW starts manufacturing sintered moulded parts with the operation relocated in 1968 from Friedrichstal near Baiersbronn to Aalen–Wasseralfingen.

In 1971 Sherwin-Williams introduced POLANE, a coating designed to efficiently cover metal surfaces but found to work exceedingly well on plastics as well.

Born: 1972 Date of first appointment: 11.

Born: 1973 Date of first appointment: 11.

In 1977, on revenues of $1 billion, Sherwin-Williams reported a loss of $8.2 million.

In addition, by 1978 Gulf + Western Industries held 13.47 percent of Sherwin-Williams’ outstanding stock, and rumors of a takeover loomed.

John G. Breen became the chairman in 1979, and instituted a program of cuts and restructuring that soon made the company profitable again.

In the first half of 1980, Breen’s policies yielded a 57 percent improvement in earnings over the same period the year before.

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.

________, “Cleveland, Part II: Sherwin, Williams and Fenn,” American Paint & Coatings Journal, January 19, 1987.

In 1988 the company sold its interest in the BAPCO partnership to C-I-L, Inc.

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.

From first concept in 1993, SHW brings what was originally a motorsport derived product to the road car market.

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.

Both segments of the company, Paint Stores and Coatings, reported a 1997 sales gain of 8.1 percent and 32.5 percent, respectively.

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.

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.

Thanks to the Duron purchase, the chain’s size swelled in 2004, increasing by 297 units.

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.

Since September 2018, SHW AG and Pankl Racing Systems GmbH have been part of the newly formed Pankl AG (until 06/20 Pankl SHW Industries AG), which is also the majority shareholder.

In June 2019, SHW AG switched to the free market segment of the Munich stock exchange, m:access.