Our History
In 1953, in a small lab in San Diego, California, the fledgeling 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 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 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 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.
1953
Rocket Chemical Company is founded September 23, 1953, by Norman B. Larsen, Gordon Dawson and John B. Gregory.
1957
Cy Irving assumes the role of president of Rocket Chemical Company.
1958
WD-40 makes its first appearance on store shelves in San Diego, California.
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.
1961
The first full truckload order for WD-40 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.
1969
John S. Barry is appointed president and chief executive officer of WD-40 Company and renames the company after its only product, WD-40.
1973
WD-40 Company goes public and is listed Over-The-Counter. Stock price increases by 61% on the first day of listing.
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. Tribe Members: 38
1990
Gerald Schlief is appointed president and chief operating officer of WD-40 Company. He is later appointed to chief executive officer.
1993
In 1993, WD-40 Multi-Use Product was found to be in 4 out of 5 American households (it seems everyone has a can or two) and was used by 81 percent of professionals at work. Sales had grown to more than one million cans each week.
1997
Garry O. Ridge is appointed president and chief executive officer of WD-40 Company.
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. Tribe Members: 227
2003
The 3-IN-ONE Professional line is launched. The WD-40 Big Blast® can is introduced in the USA, featuring a wide-area spray nozzle that delivers WD-40 Multi-Use Product quickly and efficiently over large areas.
2004
WD-40 Company acquires 1001®, the leading brand of carpet cleaning products in the United Kingdom. It also expands its 3-IN-ONE Professional line with the introduction of a heavy-duty cleaner degreaser, an engine starter and a high-performance lubricant.
2005
WD-40 Company introduces the WD-40 Smart Straw®, which features a permanently attached straw. This new Smart Straw Sprays 2 Ways™: as a wide spray with the straw down and a stream with the straw up. The Smart Straw also solves the number one complaint about WD-40 products: losing the little red straw. The 3-IN-ONE Professional line expands with the introduction of a dry lube to help lubricate and protect all types of surfaces without leaving an oily residue behind. Spot Shot Instant Carpet Stain Remover is released in a convenient trigger spray bottle.
2006
In 2006, WD-40 Company introduced the WD-40 No-Mess Pen® to provide millions of WD-40 Multi-Use Product users a portable, precision-application delivery system of the famous multi-purpose problem solver. The WD-40 Fan Club reached an astonishing 100,000 members & a tribute to WD-40 Brand’s fanatical fan base around the globe.
2008
WD-40 Company converts its most popular-sized WD-40 Multi-Use Product cans to the Smart Straw delivery system. 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. Spot Shot introduces two new trigger products: Spot Shot Instant Carpet Stain and Odor Eliminator and Spot Shot Pet.
2009
WD-40 Company introduces WD-40 Trigger Pro®, a non-aerosol product with the same WD-40 formula for industrial consumers. WD-40 Company launches the BLUE WORKS® brand. BLUE WORKS is a line of specialty maintenance products designed exclusively for industrial users, with formulas that surpass industry standard testing.
2011
Capitalising on insights from the BLUE WORKS brand launch, WD-40 Company introduces WD-40 Specialist, a line of best-in-class speciality 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. Tribe Members: 334
2012
WD-40 Company founds WD-40 BIKE Company, 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.
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. With the success of WD-40 Specialist, WD-40 Company decides to discontinue production of the BLUE WORKS brand, taking advantage of key learnings and applying them.
2014
WD-40 Company acquires GT85, a multi-purpose bike maintenance product sold primarily in the United Kingdom.
2015
In 2015, WD-40 Company introduced WD-40 EZ-REACH®. 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.
2017
In 2017, WD-40 Company launches its first non-aerosol Industrial-Strength Cleaner & Degreaser under the WD-40 Specialist brand. This water-based formula has an unique bio-solvent that is engineered and proven to be more powerful, safer and easier to use than other degreasers on the market.
2020
In 2020, new packaging is introduced for WD-40 Specialist aligning WD-40 Multi-Use Product, WD-40 Specialist and WD-40 BIKE to showcase the brand’s iconic blue and yellow colors.
Over the years…
Over the years, thousands of WD-40® users have written testimonial letters to the company sharing their often unique, if sometimes just plain weird, uses for the product—many of which are shared in other parts of this Website. Some of the most interesting stories include the bus driver in Asia who used WD-40® to remove a python snake which had coiled itself around the undercarriage of his bus. Or when police officers used WD-40® to remove a naked burglar trapped in an air conditioning vent.
Very few brands will ever match the popularity of WD-40®. In fact, the variety and uniqueness of uses for WD-40® proved so popular that The WD-40® Book, featuring many user testimonials and the wacky humor of the Duct Tape Guys, was published in 1997.
But WD-40®‘s literary legend doesn’t end there. The familiar blue and yellow can has been featured in other books ranging from The Big Damn Book of Sheer Manliness (General Publishing, 1997), Polish Your Furniture With Panty Hose (Hyperion, 1995), WD-40® for the Soul: The Guide to Fixing Everything (TV Books, 1999), and Talking Dirty With the Queen of Clean.
However, WD-40® was starting to get a bit lonely as the only product, so in 1995, WD-40 Company acquired the 100-year-old brand 3-IN-ONE® Oil from Reckitt & Coleman.
3-IN-ONE®, with its precise applicator spout, made a wonderful match for WD-40®.
A History of your favourite “Can-do” Can
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