Waterlox Donates Product to Virginia Tech University for its Farmer's Market Community Project

At Virginia Tech University, the School of Architecture + Design’s design/buildLAB is designed to give students a real-world experience by developing and carrying out projects that literally are a part of the community.

Professor Keith Zawistowski, along with his wife Marie, also a professor at Virginia Tech, led the students in 2011 on a magnificent journey of community restoration and invigoration.

According to Zawistowski, the goal of the course is “to teach students the skills necessary to confront the design and realization of architecture projects, with a consciousness for social and environmental issues. By removing the abstraction from the making of architecture, the course engages students’ initiative and encourages them to ask fundamental questions about the nature of practice and the role of the architect.”

The students studied farmers markets all around the areas near their university and found one in Covington that could truly use a rehab.

“The neighboring town to Covington is Clifton Forge and there was an old sawmill converted to tire retreading facility and the local organizations got together with county government to move the facility out to an industrial park,” he said. “Then they bought it out and they wanted to develop it to a park, so our students dismantled the old saw mill and that wood became the ceiling of the farmer’s market.”

In a town where the residents are dominantly employed by one local manufacturer, new buildings and architectural projects are rare, to say the least. But the new farmers market gave the entire community a new 150-foot-wide by 30-foot-wide overhang under which they could gather each week.

“It’s the most prominent building in town and the first new one in town, so it stands out,” he said. “It’s a very agrarian material palate, it’s designed with the materials you’d expect in a barn so it’s great for a farmer’s market because while aesthetic its agrarian look appeals to everything in the area.”

The entire project depended on donations and grants to make it happen. With a budget of $150,000, products and services were both donated. To seal the wood ceiling on the project, Waterlox donated several gallons of Waterlox Original Sealer / Finish to the university.

“The students donated their time to make it happen for the community and it relied very heavily from donations from companies like Waterlox,” he said. “We’re extremely happy with the Waterlox because it will allow the wood to age naturally as it’s already an antique project.

“If you put polyurethane on it then it would’ve had a plastic look but Waterlox allows it to age natural and get more beautiful with age. It reveals the nature color of the wood instead of a high sheen. It lets the wood be wood.”

In addition to the quality of the project being solidified by using Waterlox, Zawistowski says the students involved in the project learned about the corporate citizenship aspect of public projects as well as they were able to use a product that had no learning curve.

“Beyond the quality there’s the idea of Waterlox being a good corporate citizen, which helped make the project happen,” he said. “They just gave it to us and that’s awesome. The other thing about Waterlox is that it’s very easy to use because it’s a self-leveling product. You don’t need to be careful putting it on you can roll it on and go. There’s no special training needed so it was definitely easy for the students to apply.”

Waterlox resin-modified Tung oil-based finishes are different from other types of wood finishes on the market and offer a “best of both worlds” alternative. For example, raw oils penetrate into the wood but will not provide any real protection to the substrate and will need to be recoated often due to oxidation.

Surface finishes such as urethanes (either water or oil-based) will lie on top of the surface, look more like plastic, can be brittle and once breached will fail. The reason we are the best of both worlds is because Waterlox’s resin-modified Tung oil formation penetrates like raw oil, but protects and nurtures the wood without being brittle and having the plastic look of surface finishes.

Waterlox finishes penetrate into the pores of the wood and build up to a film that protects and nurtures the wood; and on top of all that are easier to restore and re-coat.

For more information about Waterlox, please visit www.waterlox.com or call (800) 321.0377. To visit Waterlox on Facebook, click HERE, or you can follow Waterlox on Twitter at @tungoilfinishes.

PHOTO: © Jeff Goldberg / ESTO

Media Contact:
Ed DeMask / DeMask Marketing
630-768-1404, cell
630-389-0572, office
ed@demaskmarketing.com

U.S. Department of State Building “Protected” by Waterlox as Universal Floors Brings Out the Natural Look in its Historic Floor

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Only a few blocks from The White House in the nation’s capitol, the U.S. Department of State is headquarters for the country’s diplomatic missions abroad and for implementing foreign policy.

Its offices at the Harry S. Truman Building are adorned with beautiful hardwood floors that are a welcome to visiting dignitaries and are home to numerous meetings every month to ensure our policies overseas are carried out as planned.

Sprigg Lynn, principal officer for Washington, D.C.-based Universal Floors, was the one responsible for restoring the floors of the Diplomatic Reception rooms and bringing them back to their natural, beautiful appeal.

“We had a tremendous opportunity to work with the government at the State Department’s facility and we chose to use Waterlox to protect the floors because it provides a strong natural bond that becomes a part of the wood floor,” said Lynn. “The pictures really are a thousand words in this case, the before and after images tell the entire story.”

Waterlox Original Sealer/Finish was used, both for its drying abilities and the fact that Tung oil brings out a remarkable appearance that other products cannot match.

“It was truly a tremendous honor to be working on these floors, knowing how many foreign and domestic dignitaries will see the work we did for years to come,” Lynn added. “The floors are beautifully crafted and over time, like any floor, they needed to be restored. Waterlox was the perfect product because it delivers long-lasting protection while enhancing the wood’s appeal.”

Waterlox resin-modified Tung oil-based finishes are different from other types of wood finishes on the market and offer a “best of both worlds” alternative. For example, raw oils penetrate into the wood but will not provide any real protection to the substrate and will need to be recoated often due to oxidation.

Surface finishes such as urethanes (either water or oil-based) will lie on top of the surface, look more like plastic, can be brittle and once breached will fail. The reason we are the best of both worlds is because Waterlox’s resin-modified Tung oil formation penetrates like raw oil, but protects and nurtures the wood without being brittle and having the plastic look of surface finishes.

About Waterlox
Founded in 1910, Waterlox Coatings Corporation, based in Cleveland, Ohio, is the nation’s leading manufacturer of premium wood finishes, handmade from resin-modified Tung oil. A fourth-generation, family-owned company, now run by Chief Executive Officer Jay Hawkins and Vice President Kellie Hawkins Schaffner, Waterlox continues to manufacture products using the finest ingredients, combining Tung oil, resins, mineral spirits and other ingredients to produce a complete wood finish that gives the look and feel of naturally oiled wood. Waterlox products represent the flooring industry’s highest level of quality protection for both interior and exterior wood finishing projects and also supply tools for application.

For more information about Waterlox, please visit www.waterlox.com or call (800) 321.0377. To visit Waterlox on Facebook, click HERE, or you can follow Waterlox on Twitter at @tungoilfinishes.

Media Contact:
Ed DeMask / DeMask Marketing
630-768-1404, cell
630-389-0572, office
ed@demaskmarketing.com

Universal Floors Restores Historic Floor using Waterlox at Virginia’s National Sporting Library & Museum

MIDDLEBURG, Virginia – In the heart of beautiful Virginia horse country sits a legendary facility dedicated to equestrians, field sports and the arts.

The National Sporting Library & Museum, founded in 1954, is dedicated to preserving, promoting, and sharing the literature, art, and culture of equestrian and field sports. The not-for-profit Museum recently expanded with an addition and overall they have expanded to become an important research facility and art museum with over 17,000 books and works of art in the collections.

A major part of the renovation was taking the floors and making sure they were restored to meet the aesthetic needs of the facility, overall. According to Sprigg Lynn, principal officer for Washington, D.C.-based Universal Floors, the project was truly “historic” in every way.

“They had a beautiful museum that they expanded as well as another old historic building, and basically the expansion quadrupled the size of it,” Lynn said. “But it was all done to look like it was from the 1700s and since we had the original floors we had to do a lot of hand scraping and light sanding before we finished it.”

Once the floor was ready to be finished, the only product that Lynn would consider for such an important application was Waterlox Original Sealer/Finish.

“Waterlox brings out the original character of the wood and when it dries it literally becomes a part of the wood, rather than a surface on top of it. That’s why we use it whenever possible. It takes the rich appearance that Tung oil brings out by using Waterlox to protect and showcase floors like these,” Lynn added.

The institution, open to the public, offers free lectures on equestrian and field sports and the John H. Daniels Fellowship program supports scholarships and shares information through exhibits, seminars, publications and special events.

Waterlox resin-modified Tung oil-based finishes are different from other types of wood finishes on the market and offer a “best of both worlds” alternative. For example, raw oils penetrate into the wood but will not provide any real protection to the substrate and will need to be recoated often due to oxidation.

Surface finishes such as urethanes (either water or oil-based) will lie on top of the surface, look more like plastic, can be brittle and once breached will fail. The reason we are the best of both worlds is because Waterlox’s resin-modified Tung oil formation penetrates like raw oil, but protects and nurtures the wood without being brittle and having the plastic look of surface finishes.

Waterlox finishes penetrate into the pores of the wood and build up to a film that protects and nurtures the wood; and on top of all that are easier to restore and re-coat.

About Waterlox
Founded in 1910, Waterlox Coatings Corporation, based in Cleveland, Ohio, is the nation’s leading manufacturer of premium wood finishes, handmade from resin-modified Tung oil. A fourth-generation, family-owned company, now run by Chief Executive Officer Jay Hawkins and Vice President Kellie Hawkins Schaffner, Waterlox continues to manufacture products using the finest ingredients, combining Tung oil, resins, mineral spirits and other ingredients to produce a complete wood finish that gives the look and feel of naturally oiled wood. Waterlox products represent the flooring industry’s highest level of quality protection for both interior and exterior wood finishing projects and also supply tools for application.

For more information about Waterlox, please visit www.waterlox.com or call (800) 321.0377. To visit Waterlox on Facebook, click HERE, or you can follow Waterlox on Twitter at @tungoilfinishes.

To learn more about the National Sporting Library & Museum, visit www.nsl.org.

Media Contact:
Ed DeMask / DeMask Marketing
630-768-1404, cell
630-389-0572, office
ed@demaskmarketing.com

Contest: Send Us Your Unique Upcoming Project and We'll Donate a Gallon of Waterlox Original Sealer / Finish!

SPECIAL NOTE: Contest deadline has been extended to Sept. 10th!

Our "fans" and clients have been so generous in sharing their completed project photos with us throughout the years that we decided to offer a different type of "contest."

Contest details: Please submit a description of your upcoming unique project (30-50 words or more), including photos, by September 10, 2011. Waterlox will judge the submissions based upon the following characteristics (not necessarily in this order): 1. Project use; 2. Species of wood; 3. Design elements; 4. Green Build elements 5. Historical / Special Story elements.

First place winner will receive 1 gallon of our Waterlox Original Sealer/Finish (or the value thereof toward other Waterlox products) and a Waterlox T-shirt in their size; Second and Third place winners will receive a Waterlox T-shirt in their size. All winners will be expected to document the use of Waterlox in their project throughout the length of the project, which should be completed by November 30, 2011.

We are excited to offer this contest to our clients; creativity will be rewarded! E-mail Kellie Hawkins Schaffner at khawkins@waterlox.com today! All entries due by September 10, 2011.

The Peery Family Discovers a Piece of Italy in East Texas

In his search for the perfect Italian home, Terry Peery found the ultimately imperfect wood floor.

For two years Peery and his wife Donna had been designing and building their dream home in Tyler, Texas, a suburb about halfway between Dallas, TX and Shreveport, Louisiana.

Peery said it was their dream to not only make the home feel Italian but feel rustic and lived-in. Altogether; they have 2,600 square feet of wood floors in the home.

“It’s our personal home and we love Italy so we wanted to build an authentic Italian farm house with old stone, stucco, etc. and so we designed it that way,” he said. “We wanted this to really be authentic so we wanted the wood floors to match.”

According to Peery, they couldn’t get a contractor in Texas to offer them the same type of lived-in look that they wanted. Many offered to scrub the surface of the wood planks they were using but that wasn’t to his liking.

“I was online searching for some type of way to finish the floors. We wanted that old, hand-rubbed lustery look that comes with time and age on the floors and we couldn’t get anyone in Texas to apply anything but traditional products; and that’s not the look we wanted,” Peery said.

“I looked at several gallery photos on the Waterlox.com website and knew instantly that that’s what I wanted. We used the Waterlox Original traditional finishing system and it turned out great, and exactly like we wanted.

Both wood working professionals and do-it-yourselfers have used Waterlox products because Waterlox produces a unique wood finishes line even amongst others who use Tung oil in their formulations. Waterlox Original Tung oil finishes are resin-modified Tung oil based wood finishes; and, because they are resin-modified Tung oil finishes, they penetrate into the pores of the wood and form a film that is water-resistant, elastic and stands up to foot traffic and common household spills.

The difference between standard products and Waterlox Original Sealer / Finish can be found simply be walking on it, according to Peery.

“You can tell the difference just by walking on the different finishing systems in bare feet,” he said. “When you walk on a urethane finished surface, it’s like walking on a plastic hard surface, but with Waterlox Original, it’s like walking on the wood; it has a totally different feeling to it. You can tell it has soaked into that wood because it’s softer and more natural.”

Waterlox finishes are different from other types of wood finishes on the market and offer a “best of both worlds” alternative. For example, raw oils penetrate into the wood but will not provide any real protection to the substrate and will need to be recoated often. Surface finishes such as urethanes (either water or oil-based) will lie on top of the surface, look more like plastic, can be brittle and once breached will fail. The reason we are the best of both worlds is because Waterlox penetrates like raw oil, but protects and nurtures the wood without being brittle and having the plastic look of surface finishes.

Waterlox finishes penetrate into the pores of the wood and build up to a film that protects and nurtures the wood; and on top of all that are easier to restore and re-coat.

About Waterlox
Founded in 1910, Waterlox Coatings Corporation, based in Cleveland, Ohio, is the nation’s leading manufacturer of premium wood finishes, handmade from natural Tung oil. A fourth-generation, family-owned company, now run by Chief Executive Officer Jay Hawkins and Vice President Kellie Hawkins Schaffner, Waterlox continues to manufacture products using the finest ingredients, combining Tung oil, resins, mineral spirits and other ingredients to produce a complete wood finish that gives the look and feel of naturally oiled wood. Waterlox products represent the flooring industry’s highest level of quality protection for both interior and exterior wood finishing projects and also supply tools for application.

For more information about Waterlox, please visit www.waterlox.com or call (800) 321.0377. To visit Waterlox on Facebook, click HERE, or you can follow Waterlox on Twitter at @tungoilfinishes.

Woodworker Frank Klausz Depends on Waterlox for Quality, Protection

In the world of woodworking, Frank Klausz is a legend. The Pluckemin, New Jersey master woodworker has been a significant factor in the industry for more than 50 years.

Klausz writes articles for trade journals and travels throughout North America giving woodworking seminars to professionals looking to learn from the best. His clientele has included Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Christine Todd Whitman, Malcolm Forbes and Ester Johnson, of Johnson and Johnson, as well as the New Jersey State House, the Newark Museum, Zimmerly Art Museum and hundreds of private and public corporations and residences.

Educated in Hungary and a graduated journeyman in 1959, Klausz launched his own company in 1972, Frank’s Cabinet Shop, crafting everything from reception desks and conference tables to furniture reproductions including Queen Anne, Chippendale, Shaker and Egyptian pieces.

Regardless of the client or the piece, Klausz depends on one name to protect the quality, integrity and luster of his woodworking pieces – Waterlox.

“The Waterlox amber color brings out the beautiful color of the mahogany and that’s really one of the biggest reasons why I use it and why I suggest others do, as well,” Klausz said.

“Waterlox protects the quality of wood and I prefer to use it because of the Tung Oil finish,” he added. Images of Klausz’s woodwork are available for viewing on his web site at www.frankklausz.com.

Klausz shows off his jewelry box at his seminars, a great example of how Waterlox protects original, hand-crafted woodwork. The reception he gets from it is so positive that he has to touch up the top every two or three years from woodworkers handling it. (Touch ups are easy to do with Waterlox Original Sealer/Finish and sanding to bare wood to do so is not required.)

“I lean heavily on Waterlox because it really brings out the color in wood, many times I’m looking to enhance that beautiful amber color and that’s how I’m able to do it,” Klausz said. “Most of my furniture pieces are finished with Waterlox. Most of my personal residence, including my kitchen is also finished with Waterlox.”

Klausz and many other wood working professionals have used Waterlox products because Waterlox produces a unique wood finishes line even amongst others who use Tung oil in their formulations. Waterlox Original Tung oil finishes are resin-modified Tung oil based wood finishes; and, because they are resin-modified Tung oil finishes, they penetrate into the pores of the wood and form a film that is water-resistant, elastic and stands up to foot traffic and common household spills.

Further, Waterlox finishes are different from other types of wood finishes on the market and offer a “best of both worlds” alternative. For example, raw oils penetrate into the wood but will not provide any real protection to the substrate and will need to be recoated often. Surface finishes such as urethanes (either water or oil-based) will lie on top of the surface, look more like plastic, can be brittle and once breached will fail. The reason we are the best of both worlds is because Waterlox penetrates like raw oil, but protects and nurtures the wood without being brittle and having the plastic look of surface finishes.

Waterlox finishes penetrate into the pores of the wood and build up to a film that protects and nurtures the wood; and on top of all that are easier to restore and re-coat.

About Waterlox
Founded in 1910, Waterlox Coatings Corporation, based in Cleveland, Ohio, is the nation’s leading manufacturer of premium wood finishes, handmade from natural Tung oil. A fourth-generation, family-owned company, now run by Chief Executive Officer Jay Hawkins and Vice President Kellie Hawkins Schaffner, Waterlox continues to manufacture products using the finest ingredients, combining Tung oil, resins, mineral spirits and other ingredients to produce a complete wood finish that gives the look and feel of naturally oiled wood. Waterlox products represent the flooring industry’s highest level of quality protection for both interior and exterior wood finishing projects and also supply tools for application.

For more information about Waterlox, please visit www.waterlox.com or call (800) 321.0377. To visit Waterlox on Facebook, click HERE, or you can follow Waterlox on Twitter at @tungoilfinishes.

Media Contact:
Ed DeMask / DeMask Marketing
630-768-1404, cell
630-389-0572, office
ed@demaskmarketing.com

Robert L. Hawkins Jr., Retired President and CEO of Waterlox Coatings Corporation, Passes Away Leaving a Family Legacy Behind

Robert L. Hawkins Jr., the retired 2nd generation President and CEO of Waterlox Coatings Corporation and son of its founder, passed away at the age of 89 at home of natural causes early Saturday morning, June 11th leaving a strong family legacy behind.

RL Hawkins Jr. was the 2nd generation of family to own and manage Waterlox , which was started in 1910 by his father, R.L. Hawkins, Sr. Funeral services will be held Thursday, June 16 at 11 am at the McGorray-Hanna Funeral Home of Lakewood, 14133 Detroit Ave. where friends may call Wednesday 2-4 and 6-8 pm. Interment is at Lakeview Cemetery.

In recent years, Waterlox has been run by Chief Executive Officer, Jay Hawkins – the son of RL Hawkins, Jr. – and Vice President, Kellie Hawkins Schaffner, his grand-daughter.

“My father was not only a kind and generous man but he was a pioneer in this industry”, said Jay hawkins. RL Hawkins, Jr began working at the company when he was age 15 in the 1930’s, he became a member of the Board of Directors in 1948, acted as the Executive Vice President heading the research department in the 1960’s, and took over the company as President / CEO until his retirement in 1992. Since his retirement he continued as a technical consultant to Waterlox.

“My father continued his father’s legacy of developing coatings for the automotive industry”, said Jay. “He will be sorely missed by his colleagues, friends and especially our family.”

Waterlox’s founder, RL Hawkins, Sr., developed the black paint for the floor boards of Ford’s Model T and RL Hawkins, Jr., developed and held patents for a revolutionary coating and process used in the production of rubber mats used in automobiles and later in over-the-road trucks. This process allowed the color coat and mat to be cured together in a mold. Special care was taken by RL, Jr. in color matching the rubber to the latest automobile color trends.

RL Hawkins, Jr. was a long-time resident of Bratenahl, OH and a long-standing member of Mayfield Country Club participating in curling and golf, the Hermit Club participating in the men’s choir and acting as club photographer, Mentor Harbor Yacht Club participating in sailboat racing (Dragon and 40” Alden boats) and was a World War II Army Air Force Veteran where he served his country in aerial reconnaissance. He was a member of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and many Cleveland-based business consulting organizations including the Business Advisors of Cleveland. He held a Masters of Science Degree from the Case School of Applied Science in both chemical engineering and industrial chemistry and was a member of Beta Theta Pi.

RL Hawkins, Jr. was the beloved husband of Gloria (nee Merreck); loving father of Robert L. Hawkins III (Joan), Ann Stevens Rody (Harold), John W. “Jay” Hawkins (Dee) and step father of William (Mary) and James (Marie) Boswell, Brian (Gina), Paul Conor (Sharon) and Christopher W. (Cyd) Donohue; dear grandfather of 12 and great grandfather of 11; brother of the late Mary Kathryn Robertson and Betty Ann Stafford. The family suggests memorial contributions to The Hospice of the Western Reserve, 300 East 185th St., Cleveland, Ohio, 44119.

About Waterlox
Founded in 1910, Waterlox Coatings Corporation, based in Cleveland, Ohio, is the nation’s leading manufacturer of premium wood finishes handmade from natural Tung oil. A fourth-generation, family-owned company, now run by Chief Executive Officer, Jay Hawkins and Vice President Hawkins Schaffner, Waterlox continues to manufacture products using original family formulations, combining Tung oil, resins, mineral spirits and other ingredients to produce a complete wood finish that gives the look and feel of naturally oiled wood.

Waterlox products represent the flooring industry’s highest level of quality protection for both interior and exterior wood finishing projects and also supply tools for application. For more information about Waterlox, please visit www.waterlox.com or call (800) 321.0377.

Media Contact:
Ed DeMask / DeMask Marketing
630-768-1404, cell
ed@demaskmarketing.com

Featured Craftsman -- Universal Floors

When it comes to wood flooring in and around the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.-based Universal Floors, Inc., has quite the reputation.

Having worked inside iconic structures such as the White House and Library of Congress, Universal Floors recently refinished the floors of two historic D.C. area buildings – one, a residence turned commercial space, and the other, a private library. Each endeavor earned Universal Floors a 2009 Floor of the Year Award from the National Wood Flooring Association. Both also involved using Waterlox premium wood finish.

Sprigg Lynn, Principal Officer for Universal Floors, said, “choosing Waterlox was easy because we used it on several floors prior to these two. We had a library and a commercial space to refinish, and both owners wanted to maintain the original old-world feel the buildings still possessed,” Lynn said. The commercial space won Best Restoration – hand cut category in the 2009 Floor of the Year Contest.

“The owners of the property wanted the building to maintain the hand-rubbed look already seen in the space, which Waterlox products are known to achieve,” Lynn said. The original wood flooring featured in the library project, initially selected to be discarded and replaced, was beautifully restored using Waterlox, winning Universal Floors the award for Best Library/Office – hand cut category in the 2009 NWFA Contest.

Marine Case Study -- USS Constellation

When the United States Navy launched the USS Constellation in 1854, it carried a band of 325 sailors and crew. Today, the ship plays host to over 100,000 visitors annually, who come from around the world to experience the beautifully restored vessel at the USS Constellation Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

When Paul Powichroski, Marine Superintendent at the USS Constellation Museum, began working to restore the 156 year-old ship’s interior, he turned to the premium wood finish trusted by wood craftsmen for nearly a century.

“I first used Waterlox over 20 years ago,” Paul said. “I chose to use Waterlox on the USS Constellation restoration project because it allows the original appearance of the wood to be replicated accurately, giving it a true historic appearance.”

Paul, who is currently working on what he calls the “small boat restoration project,” says he plans to use Waterlox on all seven of the small watercrafts that will be constructed as part of the undertaking. “I enjoy using Waterlox because it is easy to use and maintain, along with the fact that it is very forgiving,” Paul said.

To learn more about the ship's history, visit Historic Ships.

THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND AS A PAINT AND VARNISH HUB

AN INDUSTRIAL LEADER ON LAKE ERIE

To a large degree, the growth of Cleveland and much of what exists here today can be attributed to its industrial base. The United States was an early leader and Cleveland a major center of industrialization. Strategically located, Cleveland developed because it offered one business benefit few other commerce centers at the time could – access to different transportation networks. The development of shipping on the Great Lakes and the completion of the Ohio and Erie Canal in 1832 gave the city a major advantage. In the 1850s, a growing network of railroads enhanced Cleveland’s potential as a transportation hub, giving it easy access to coal and oil from the east and south. These modes of transportation allowed Cleveland to receive a large flow of raw materials and to ship out finished products. As a result, Cleveland's paint and varnish industry began to develop after the Civil War, in response to the emerging shipbuilding, oil, iron-and-steel, machine-tool, and automobile industries.

STANDARD OIL CO. SPAWNS OTHER INDUSTRIES IN CLEVELAND

The success of Standard Oil had a profound impact on Cleveland. It all started when John D. Rockefeller bought into a small oil company in 1863. Seven years later, Rockefeller transformed it into the Standard Oil Co and quickly captured the bulk of the industry through aggressive acquisitions of smaller companies. Once Rockefeller established his company as an industry giant, other businesses that supplied and relied on oil flocked to Cleveland in the hopes of cashing in on Standard Oil’s dominance.  

Cleveland’s chemical industry arose in part out of the oil refiners’ need for sulfuric acid. In 1866, Eugene Ramiro Grasselli built a plant in Cleveland to manufacture the sulfuric acid needed by the city’s growing number of oil refineries. Grasselli’s new plant was conveniently located on the Cuyahoga River, adjacent to his major customer, Rockefeller’s refinery. 

Rockefeller built or purchased almost all of Cleveland’s refining capacity in the 1870s and made the city the center of the American refining industry. Relying on petroleum products for their raw materials, Cleveland’s large paint and varnish companies were founded.

By the time Rockefeller moved to New York in 1885, Cleveland had been transformed from a merchant village to a roaring industrial hub filled with steel, shipping and chemical companies. The presence of chemical manufacturing in Cleveland paved the way for local manufactures to start producing paints. So in part, the Cleveland paint and varnish industry can thank Rockefeller for its birth.  

THE PAINT AND VARNISH INDUSTRIES ARISE IN CLEVELAND

Two of Cleveland's important paint industries emerged to supply the growing construction, shipbuilding, machine tool, and automobile industries. Over the years, countless local companies contributed to Cleveland evolving as the center of the American paint and varnish industry, some of which are still here today, such as Waterlox Coatings Corporation. 

THE BIRTH OF WATERLOX COATINGS CORPORATION

Waterlox, a pioneer in the development of the coatings industry, was started in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1910 by R.L. Hawkins, Senior. He became involved in the industry as a Secretary and National Sales Manager of The Ohio Varnish Co. However, being an independent problem solver, he left that endeavor, and bought a small paint making operation named the Empire Varnish Company located on East 76^th and Woodland, which would later become Waterlox Coatings Corporation. His new business discovered the values of tung oil and used it to create the specific formulations necessary to produce a full line of interior and exterior paints, varnishes, enamels and stains.

The Waterlox name originated with a promotional group in Detroit. In the 1930s, Empire Varnish acquired “Waterlox” and its business plan from the group, including the philosophy behind the product, its applications and range of possibilities. Empire Varnish took all of this newly attained information and applied it to its existing formulas to mark a pivotal point in the company’s history, one that made its Waterlox product what it is today.

R.L.’s son, Bob, also joined the company in the 30’s when he began working in the plant during the summer at age 15. Bob, who would later earn degrees in both chemical engineering and in industrial chemistry, eventually took over the company in the 1940’s. In the 1960’s, the Empire Varnish Company became Waterlox Chemical and Coatings Corporation. This decision was made because Waterlox, the company’s star product, was what it was best known for. In fact, everyone had already been calling them Waterlox.

Over the years, Waterlox expanded its production to manufacture a variety of products, from interior house paint and paint for car running boards to a penetrating sealer, gym floor finish, marine finish and outdoor wood finish. Bob even invented coatings for the rubber mats used in automobiles, as well as a revolutionary process in which the color coat and mat were all cured together in a mold.

Proud to own a Cleveland-based business, the Hawkins family could not see any advantage in doing business anywhere else. “The best part of doing business in Cleveland is location, location, location,” said Bob. The city is fairly central in the country making it ideal for receiving raw materials and shipping final products. However, in 1963 Waterlox did move to the Passonno Hutcheson building on Meech Avenue, which remains its location today.

In the 90’s the company’s name changed again, from Waterlox Chemical and Coatings Corporation to Waterlox Coatings Corporation, as it remains today.

Still based in Cleveland, Waterlox is the nation’s leading manufacturer of premium wood finishes, handmade from natural tung oil. A fourth-generation, family-owned company, now run by Chief Executive Officer Jay Hawkins and Vice President Kellie Hawkins Schaffner, Waterlox continues to manufacture products using the finest ingredients, combining tung oil, resins, mineral spirits and other ingredients to produce a complete wood finish that gives the look and feel of naturally oiled wood. Waterlox products represent the flooring industry’s highest level of quality protection for both interior and exterior wood finishing products and supply tools for application. For the most part, the company still makes its hand-made wood finishes the exact same way it did 100 years ago.

PAINT AND CHEMICAL COMPANIES EMERGE: SHERWIN-WILLIAMS, GLIDDEN PAINT, AND HARSHAW CHEMICAL CO.

In addition to Waterlox Coatings Corporation, other significant paint and chemical companies emerged in Cleveland – companies that made major contributions to shaping the industry as well as the city itself.

Henry Sherwin, Edward Williams and A.T. Osborn partnered in 1870 to form a paint manufacturing company, in Cleveland, called Sherwin Williams, & Co. Today, the Sherwin-Williams Company is the largest producer of paints, varnishes, and specialty coatings in the United States. Its corporate headquarters are still located here in Cleveland.

America's third largest paint brand also began in Cleveland and still bears the name of one of its founders, Francis Harrington Glidden. It all started in 1870 with the formation of the Glidden Varnish Co., which supplied coatings to the growing railroad car-building industry. While AkzoNobel owns the Glidden name today, the paint brand still dominates the American household consumer market.

Harshaw Chemical Co. was founded by William Harshaw as the Cleveland Commercial Co. in 1892 to deal in chemicals, oils, pigments and dry colors - many of which were consumed by paint and varnish manufacturers. After a few name changes, the firm became the Harshaw Chemical Co. in 1919. The company remained in Cleveland until 1988, when a specialty chemical and metallurgical maker from Oakland, CA purchased it.

A CLEVEALND-BASED INDUSTRY EVOLVES

In 1927, a Cleveland Trust (local bank) billboard located in downtown Cleveland proclaimed that it financed “Paint and Varnish, Cleveland’s Leading Industries.” But Cleveland’s paint and varnish industry grew to be far more than that. This industry in Cleveland evolved from a homegrown one serving local manufacturing industries to an internationally diverse enterprise. Over time, the paint and varnish industry’s viability in Cleveland went from being based on proximity to natural resources and areas of product demand to that of availability of a skilled research workforce and viable facilities. Over the years, countless local companies contributed to Cleveland being the center of the American paint and varnish industry, some of which are still here today, such as Waterlox Coatings Corporation. These companies not only defined an industry, but they helped make Cleveland what it is today. 

Waterlox Interviewed on "The Money Pit" Radio Show

Waterlox Coatings Corporation (www.waterlox.com) was featured in January on the nationally syndicated radio program “The Money Pit,” as Vice President Kellie Hawkins Schaffner is interviewed about the company’s commitment as the nation’s leading provider of premium wood finish handmade from natural Tung oil.

To listen to the interview, click on the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbR90y_QWgY

The Money Pit (www.themoneypit.com) is a nationally syndicated, call-in radio show that helps listeners with their home repair and improvement problems. The show, hosted by Tom Kraeutler and Leslie Segrete, has consistently been named among “America's 100 Most Important Radio Shows” by Talkers magazine. It's been on the air for over ten years, and is now carried on over 250 radio affiliates across the nation, as well as on XM satellite radio.