Company:Turtle Wax

From HandWiki
Short description: American automotive appearance products company
Turtle Wax, Inc.
TypePrivately Held
Founded1941; 83 years ago (1941) (as Plastone)
FounderBenjamin Hirsch
Headquarters
Addison, Illinois
Key people
Mark E. Leopold (Chief Executive Officer and President)
Tom Healy (Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing)
Number of employees
51-200[1]
WebsiteTurtleWax.com
Benjamin Hirsch

Turtle Wax is an American manufacturer of automotive appearance products. The company was founded by Benjamin Hirsch in Chicago in 1941[2] and is currently headquartered in Addison, Illinois, having relocated from Willowbrook, Illinois in 2016.[3]

Hirsch's main product, a liquid car wax, was initially called Plastone, until Hirsch changed the product name to create the association with a turtle's hard shell. Hirsch died in 1966 and successive generations of his family have remained involved with the company.[4][5] Its advertising jingle ("Turtle Wax gives that hard shell finish"), created early in its history by the Doner Company, was very well known.[6] The Turtle Wax brand became strongly identified with television game shows, as it was often given to losing contestants as a parting gift.[7]

Turtle Wax is the largest automotive appearance products company in the world and distributes its products in more than 90 countries.[8]

Products

The company's primary product lines include cleaning and polishing products for cars including glass, painted surfaces, uncoated metals, leather, wheels, and tires. As of 2017, Turtle Wax primarily serves the retail consumer market; the company sold its Professional Products arm focused on professional detailer and commercial car wash customers to Cambridge, Ontario based Transchem Inc. in 2013.[9] Turtle Wax has marketed its cleaning products for non-automotive applications, as well.[10]

Turtle Wax also offers Automotive industry performance chemicals such as engine treatment products and formula oils under the Marvel Mystery Oil and CD-2 brands. Additionally, the company operates full-service car wash facilities in the Chicago Metropolitan area.[11]

The Turtle Wax Pro brand is now separately operated by Transchem Group based in Cambridge, ON, Canada.[12]

References

Further reading


External links