In the first half of , Breen's policies yielded a 57 percent improvement in earnings over the same period the year before. Breen served as president until , when he became chairman, retaining the office of CEO. Thomas A. Commes became president. Acquisitions in the s included the popular Dutch Boy line of paints and its manufacturing facilities, as well as Dupli-Color Products Company, which specialized in automotive paints. The new concern was eventually acquired in its entirety by C-I-L, as Sherwin-Williams gradually divested its chemical operations.
During this time, sales of house paints decreased, due largely to the use of alternative surface finishes, such as pre-finished aluminum and plastic surfaces, in the construction of homes. This strategy was well-timed, as increasingly popular discount and home decorating chains that catered to the do-it-yourself market preferred to rely on one or two major suppliers that sold national brands and provided national distribution, rather than hundreds of smaller, local paint companies.
Moreover, in Sherwin-Williams added the well-known Krylon and Illinois Bronze lines of aerosol paints to its holdings. And with the purchase of the architectural coatings business of DeSoto, Inc. The addition of DeSoto made Sherwin-Williams the world's largest supplier of custom paints for the private-label market. 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.
The acquisitions paid off well for Sherwin-Williams. According to a article in Business Week, industry sales fell 0. As Sherwin-Williams celebrated its th anniversary that year, it had become one of only a few companies to lead its chosen industry for more than a century. Indeed, in the 15 years since Breen took over, revenues more than doubled, while profits increased almost tenfold. In new product development, the company introduced Ever-Clean, a premium latex interior wall paint with superior stain resistance and washability characteristics.
The new paint was launched in as part of a national advertising campaign which was the largest in the company's history. This purchase brought Sherwin-Williams into the residential construction market of southern California. To support the company's growth and keep its operations running at top performance, Sherwin-Williams had a software designer help develop an automated control system for its distribution centers.
Using bar-code technology and portable radio frequency, it significantly improved the efficiency and accuracy of processing orders. For example, workers received electronic orders via a hand-held machine incorporating a radio, a computer terminal, and a scanner.
The computer sent orders ranking each tasks priority and recalculated the list each time a task was completed. When trucks were unloading at the warehouse, the computer determined where to put the goods based on what space was free at that moment, eliminating the need to hold a particular slot empty until a truck was unloaded. The early and mids saw a decline in new housing starts and thus proved challenging to the construction and building materials industries.
Sherwin-Williams, along with most companies competing in that business sector, felt the effects in the form of reduced stock prices. Nevertheless, Sherwin-Williams remained in a strong financial position; having avoided long-term debt and gained market share, the company was able to respond effectively to the shifting economic environment and was still intent on serving as "America's Paint Company.
Grand Cayman. James Press, As consumers, we often take for granted all the hard work that goes into building a great company. We see them around but we don't know what goes on behind the scenes. Finally, we can read about how these great companies came about with Company Histories.
Copyright c Company-Histories. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy. Telephone: Fax: Quick search. Company Histories As consumers, we often take for granted all the hard work that goes into building a great company. Share This Story - Share. Maarten and Jamaica. This segment markets and sells Sherwin-Williams branded architectural paint and coatings, industrial and marine products, original equipment manufacturer product finishes and related items.
The Consumer Group segment develops, manufactures and distributes a variety of paint, coatings and related products to third party customers primarily in the United States and Canada. The Global Finishes Group segment develops, licenses, manufactures, distributes and sells a variety of architectural paint and coatings, industrial and marine products, and automotive finishes and refinishes products, OEM coatings and related products in North and South America, Europe and Asia.
The Latin America Coatings Group segment develops, licenses, manufactures, distributes and sells a variety of architectural paint and coatings, protective and marine products, OEM product finishes and related products in North and South America. The Paint Stores Group, known as Sherwin-Williams Paints, was the first section of the company to be established, in These stores market and sell Sherwin-Williams branded architectural paints and coatings, industrial and marine products, and original equipment manufacturer product finishes and similar items.
As of January 1, , the Paint Stores Group operated 3, individual paint stores. Sherwin-Williams also makes its own paints under the Easy Living and Weatherbeater brand names; those paint brands are used exclusively for Sears and Kmart stores. In late , Sherwin Williams began the process of purchasing the Comex Group.
Comex, currently private owned, is the 4th largest paint manufacturer in North America. The Automotive Finishes segment develops, manufactures, and distributes various motor vehicle finish, refinish, and touch-up products. Starting in , the business led a successful campaign to make school buses yellow.
Yet Sherwin-Williams has had just nine presidents in all its years. It still uses the same site on Canal Road where it bought a cooperage from Standard Oil in And, so far, its headquarters have stayed at the nearby Midland Building of the Terminal Tower complex since the building opened in Previts says the paint business was one of the first big clients of the now-huge accounting company.
Both Standard and Ernst eventually left town. It sells the Sherwin-William brand in more than 4, company stores, opening new ones at the rate of one every three days. It sells other brands in independent stores.
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