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Turtle Wax

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Turtle Wax, Inc.
Company typePrivately Held
Founded1941 (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, became very well known.[6]

Turtle Wax is the largest automotive appearance products company in the world and distributes its products in more than 90 countries.[7]

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.[8] Turtle Wax has marketed its cleaning products for non-automotive applications, as well.[9]

Turtle Wax also offers automotive 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.[10]

References

  1. ^ Turtle Wax, Inc. businessweek.com
  2. ^ "Turtle Wax, Inc. - Company History". 1996.
  3. ^ "Turtle Wax to relocate headquarters to Addison", Daily Herald, May 10, 2016
  4. ^ Wilma Randle, "Strong Family Histories Help Turtle Wax Shine", Chicago Tribune, April 11, 1993.
  5. ^ Ted Pincus, "Turtle Wax going like 60 to make prospects shine", Chicago Sun-Times, May 2, 2006  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) .
  6. ^ John McDonough; Karen Egolf (18 June 2015). The Advertising Age Encyclopedia of Advertising. Taylor & Francis. p. 979. ISBN 978-1-135-94913-6.
  7. ^ "TURTLE WAX, INC. Company Profile". Hoover's. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  8. ^ International Carwash Association, "Turtle Wax to sell professional car care business", Car Wash News, December 21, 2012.
  9. ^ Elva Ramirez, "It's Not Just a Car Wax ...", The Wall Street Journal, February 8, 2008.
  10. ^ John Schmeltzer, "Chicago-based car care firm gets new chief, looks to grow", Chicago Tribune, November 2, 2005  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) .

Further reading

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