Our History

The company that was founded on a blue and yellow can with a little red top

Our History

The company that was founded on a blue and yellow can with a little red top

Take a trip through WD-40 Company history

In 1953, in a small lab in San Diego, California, the fledgling Rocket Chemical Company and its staff of three set out to create a line of rust-prevention solvents and degreasers for use in the aerospace industry.

It took them 40 attempts to get their water displacing formula to work, but on the 40th attempt, they got it right in a big way. WD-40 Multi Use Product was born. WD-40 stands for Water Displacement, 40th formula. That’s the name straight out of the lab book used by the chemist who developed the product.

The first company to use WD-40 Multi-Use Product commercially was Convair, an aerospace contractor, to protect the outer skin of the Atlas Missile from rust and corrosion. The product worked so well that several employees snuck cans of WD-40 Multi-Use Product out of the plant in their lunchboxes to use at home.

A few years later, Rocket Chemical Company founder and president Norm Larsen experimented with putting WD-40 into aerosol cans, reasoning consumers might also find a use for the product in their home workshops and garages.

WD-40 Company
Collage of photos from WD-40 history
Collage of photos from WD-40 history

WD-40 Company Timeline

1950
1953
Rocket Chemical Company is founded September 23, 1953, by Norman B. Larsen, Gordon Dawson and John B. Gregory.
1957
Cy Irving assumes role of president of Rocket Chemical Company.
1958
WD-40 Multi-Use Product makes its first appearance on store shelves in San Diego, California.
1960
1960
The company nearly doubles in size, growing to seven people who sell an average of 45 cases per day from the trunks of their cars to hardware and sporting goods stores throughout the San Diego area. Selling a few things, many places, becomes strategic focus.
1961
The first full truckload order for WD-40 Multi-Use Product is filled to meet the disaster needs of the victims of Hurricane Carla along the U.S. Gulf coast. It is used to recondition flood and rain damaged vehicles and equipment. Rocket Chemical Company signs first international license agreement for Europe and other areas.
1968
Kits containing WD-40 Multi-Use Product sent to soldiers in Vietnam.
1970
1970
John S. Barry is appointed president and chief executive officer of WD-40 Company and renames the company after its only product, WD-40 Multi-Use Product.
1971
1971
WD-40 Company opens its first international office in Toronto, Canada.
1973
1973
WD-40 Company goes public and is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange on January 16, 1973. Stock price increases by 61% on the first day of trading.
1980
1983
Sales reach $50.2 million. Many companies attempt to introduce imitation products, even going so far as to copy the distinctive blue and yellow can with the little red top.
1985
WD-40 Company opens its first European office in Milton Keynes, England.
1987
WD-40 Company opens office in Sydney, Australia.
1990
1990
Gerald Schlief is appointed president and chief operating officer of WD-40 Company. He is later appointed to chief executive officer.
1992
Total sales surpass $100M. WD-40 Company opens office in Madrid, Spain.
1993
WD-40 Company celebrates its 40th anniversary by breaking the $100 million sales mark. The company is also listed among the Top Ten Most Profitable companies on the NASDAQ exchange.
1994
WD-40 Company opens office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
1995
WD-40 Company acquires the 3-IN-ONE® Oil brand from Reckitt & Coleman. 3-IN-ONE, with its precise applicator spout, is a wonderful addition to the Company’s portfolio of products. 3-IN-ONE was developed in 1894 by George W. Cole of New Jersey. WD-40 Company opens office in Bad Homburg, Germany.
1996
WD-40 Company opens office in Lyon, France.
1999
WD-40 Company acquires Lava® from Block Drug Company. Lava is the most famous brand of heavy-duty hand cleaner in the United States. More importantly, people who use Lava are many of the same consumer and industrial users as WD-40 Company’s other multi-purpose products. Lava was first developed in 1893, in St. Louis, Missouri, making it the oldest brand in the Company’s portfolio. WD-40 Company opens office in Bologna, Italy.
1997
Garry O. Ridge is appointed president and chief executive officer of WD-40 Company. WD-40 Company opens office in Miami, Florida.
2000
2000
WD-40 Company acquires Solvol®, the leading heavy-duty hand cleaner brand in Australia. Solvol was developed in Australia in 1915.
2001
WD-40 Company adds Global Household Brands to its portfolio of brands. The addition of X-14®, 2000 Flushes® and Carpet Fresh® makes WD-40 Company a leader in household cleaning and maintenance products. WD-40 Company opens office in Summit, New Jersey.
2003
WD-40 Company embarks on its premiumization strategy with the launch of WD-40 Big Blast®.
2002
WD-40 Company acquires Heartland Corporation, complementing its line of household products with Spot Shot® Instant Carpet Stain Remover. Spot Shot’s proprietary formulation has a high level of customer satisfaction and loyalty. Later that year, WD-40 Company launches no vac® to its portfolio in Australia. No vac is a foam carpet deodorizer developed by WD-40 Company to solve everyday house and car odors.
2005
WD-40 Company introduces WD-40 Smart Straw®, which features a permanently attached straw. Smart Straw solves the number one complaint about WD-40 Multi-Use Product: losing the little red straw.
2004
WD-40 Company acquires 1001®, the leading brand of carpet cleaning products in the United Kingdom.
2008
The official list of 2,000 uses for WD-40 Multi-Use Product appears for the first time, thanks to the help of WD-40 Fan Club members. For the first time ever, more than 50% of revenues are generated outside of United States.
2006
WD-40 Company opens office in Shanghai, China.
2009
WD-40 Company introduces WD-40 Trigger Pro®, a non-aerosol product with the same formula for industrial consumers.
2010
2011
WD-40 Company introduces WD-40® Specialist®, a line of best-in-class specialty products under the WD-40 brand geared toward trade professionals. The initial product line includes a Water Resistant Silicone Lubricant, Protective White Lithium Grease, and Rust Release Penetrant Spray, containing Blu Torch™ Technology, a proprietary blend of synthetic additives.
2012
WD-40 Company founds WD-40 BIKE®, a brand focused exclusively on cycling-specific maintenance products. The WD-40 BIKE high-performance maintenance product line offers a range of products including wet and dry chain lubricants, a heavy-duty degreaser, a foaming bike wash, and a frame protectant. WD-40 Company opens office in Lisbon, Portugal.
2013
The WD-40 Company celebrates its 60th Anniversary. The WD-40 Specialist product line has grown to eight products. Five additional products have been added, including Rust Remover Soak, Long-Term Corrosion Inhibitor, Dirt & Dust Resistant Dry Lube, Machine & Engine Degreaser, and Electrical Contact Cleaner Spray. WD-40 Company opens office in Venlo, Netherlands.
2014
WD-40 Company acquires GT85, a multi-purpose bike maintenance product sold primarily in the United Kingdom.
2015
WD-40 Company introduces WD-40 EZ-REACH® in the United States. With an attached 8” flexible straw that bends and keeps its shape, it can reach the unreachable: tight plumbing spaces, behind engine blocks, hard-to-reach hinges, rollers and more.
2016
In 2016, WD-40 Company sticks it to gravity with WD-40® Specialist® Spray & Stay Gel Lubricant. With a no-drip formula that stays where it’s sprayed, it provides 12x longer-lasting lubrication on vertical surfaces and moving parts.
2017
WD-40 Company opens new office in San Diego and relocates its US-based employees to a new work home.
2018
WD-40 Company celebrates its 65th anniversary. WD-40 Company moves its top-secret formula to a new secure location in San Diego. Total company sales surpass $400M. China becomes third largest WD-40 Multi-Use Product market in the world.
2019
WD-40 Company opens technology center in Pine Brook, New Jersey where we conduct laboratory-based research and development in-house. WD-40 Company opens new office in Milton Keynes and relocates its UK-based employees to a new work home. Garry Ridge named Chairman in addition to being CEO.
2020
2020
New packaging introduced for WD-40 Specialist aligning WD-40 Multi-Use Product and WD-40 Specialist as the blue and yellow brand with the little red top. Next Generation Smart Straw introduced. WD-40 Company opens new office in Mexico City, Mexico.
2022
2022
Steve Brass is appointed president and chief executive officer of WD-40 Company.
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wd-40 company today

WD-40 Company Today

Since the early days of the space race when workers snuck WD-40 Multi-Use Product out of the shop in their lunchboxes, WD-40 Company has grown to nearly 600 employees worldwide.

WD-40 Company’s global corporate headquarters, brand support center, research and development center and its Latin America office are all located in the United States. Outside the United States, WD-40 Company has wholly owned subsidiaries in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia and China, as well as several offices and brand support centers throughout Europe. WD-40 Company products are marketed and sold in more than 176 countries and territories around the world.

WD-40 Multi-Use Product is a household name, used in numerous consumer and industrial markets such as automotive, manufacturing, sporting goods, aviation, hardware and home improvement, construction, and farming.

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