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==Background and history==
==Background and history==
===1970s===
===Invention===
The company that became Armor All was started in 1976 by entrepreneur and marketer Alan Rypinski.<ref name="Communications1987">{{cite journal|author=Emmis Communications|title=Orange Coast Magazine|journal=Orange Coast|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R2EEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA140|date=Oct 1987|publisher=Emmis Communications|pages=140–|issn=0279-0483}}</ref><ref name="Ibid">[http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Armor-All-Products-Corp-Company-History.html Armor All company history] from Funding Universe company histories</ref> Rypinski purchased the marketing rights for the product ''Trid-on'' (a name derived from ''no dirt'' spelled backward) from inventor Joe Palcher. Along with Byron F. Quivey, a wheelwright in Santa Ana, he began selling the product on Main street at his shop in 1966. It quickly grew in popularity selling through periodicals like Hot Rod Magazine.<ref name="MSU"/> Rypinski then patented, rebranded, and marketed ''Trid-on'' as ''Armor All''. The first test products were called RT-10 and GT-10.<ref name="MSU">{{cite news |last= Ricker|first=Amanda |date=1 Apr 2010 |title=Armor All founder and Bozeman resident shares experience with MSU students |url=https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/armor-all-founder-and-bozeman-resident-shares-experience-with-msu/article_1b456532-3b73-11df-aae5-001cc4c002e0.html |work=[[Bozeman Daily Chronicle]] |location=Montana, USA |access-date= 19 May 2018}}</ref> In 1979, Rypinski sold all of the rights to the Armor All brand name and protectant to the San Francisco-based consumer products company [[McKesson Corporation]].<ref name="Ibid"/>
The chemical formula for Armor All was invented by polymer chemist Joe Palcher in 1962. He began selling it in 1966 under the name Trid-on (no dirt spelled backwards).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Armor All® History and Timeline |url=https://www.armorall.com/about-us/our-history/ |access-date=2024-11-23 |website=www.armorall.com}}</ref><ref name="MSU">{{cite news |last=Ricker |first=Amanda |date=1 Apr 2010 |title=Armor All founder and Bozeman resident shares experience with MSU students |url=https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/armor-all-founder-and-bozeman-resident-shares-experience-with-msu/article_1b456532-3b73-11df-aae5-001cc4c002e0.html |access-date=19 May 2018 |work=[[Bozeman Daily Chronicle]] |location=Montana, USA}}</ref> It was initially sold out of the [[Briggs Cunningham]] Automotive Museum in Costa Mesa, California.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brennan |first=Bryan |url=https://www.motortrend.com/magazines/street-rodder/issue/359357/ |title=I Drive On the Original Dragstrip |publisher=The Enthusiast Network |isbn= |edition= |volume=47 |location=New York, New York |publication-date=January 2018 |pages=10 |language=English |issue=1}}</ref>

It quickly grew in popularity selling through periodicals like Hot Rod Magazine.<ref name="MSU2">{{cite news |last=Ricker |first=Amanda |date=1 Apr 2010 |title=Armor All founder and Bozeman resident shares experience with MSU students |url=https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/armor-all-founder-and-bozeman-resident-shares-experience-with-msu/article_1b456532-3b73-11df-aae5-001cc4c002e0.html |access-date=19 May 2018 |work=[[Bozeman Daily Chronicle]] |location=Montana, USA}}</ref>

===Armor All===
Car enthusiast and salesman Alan Rypinski bought the rights to Trid-on in 1972 and renamed the product as Armor All Protectant.<ref name=":0" /> The first test products were called RT-10 and GT-10.<ref name="MSU3">{{cite news |last=Ricker |first=Amanda |date=1 Apr 2010 |title=Armor All founder and Bozeman resident shares experience with MSU students |url=https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/armor-all-founder-and-bozeman-resident-shares-experience-with-msu/article_1b456532-3b73-11df-aae5-001cc4c002e0.html |access-date=19 May 2018 |work=[[Bozeman Daily Chronicle]] |location=Montana, USA}}</ref> The following year, he launched Very Important Products Inc. to market it. Rypinski made $220,000 in sales the first year.<ref name="Communications1987">{{cite journal |author=Emmis Communications |date=Oct 1987 |title=Orange Coast Magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R2EEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA140 |journal=Orange Coast |publisher=Emmis Communications |pages=140– |issn=0279-0483}}</ref>

In 1979, Rypinski sold all of the rights to the Armor All brand name and protectant to the San Francisco-based consumer products company [[McKesson Corporation]].<ref name="Communications1987" />


[[File:RT-10.jpg|thumb|RT-10 Tire and Rubber Treatment]]
[[File:RT-10.jpg|thumb|RT-10 Tire and Rubber Treatment]]
Line 54: Line 61:


===1980s===
===1980s===
By 1987, Armor All's sales exceeded $100 million and company profits grew to $17 million, and in 1988 Armor All purchased [[Borden (company)|Borden, Inc.'s]] car care products line, which included well-known name brands such as Rain Dance, Rally, and No. 7.<ref name="Ibid"/> This acquisition significantly broadened the company's product line, which increased the company's gains through 1989.<ref name="Ibid"/> By 1990, the company's [[net income]] dropped to less than $20 million, and then sharply worsened to less than $7 million in 1991.<ref name="Ibid"/>
By 1987, Armor All's sales exceeded $100 million and company profits grew to $17 million, and in 1988 Armor All purchased [[Borden (company)|Borden, Inc.'s]] car care products line, which included well-known name brands such as Rain Dance, Rally, and No. 7.<ref name="Ibid">[http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Armor-All-Products-Corp-Company-History.html Armor All company history] from Funding Universe company histories</ref> This acquisition significantly broadened the company's product line, which increased the company's gains through 1989.<ref name="Ibid"/> By 1990, the company's [[net income]] dropped to less than $20 million, and then sharply worsened to less than $7 million in 1991.<ref name="Ibid"/>


===1990s===
===1990s===

Revision as of 12:41, 23 November 2024

Armor All
Armor All logo(2016).png
Product typeCar care products
OwnerEnergizer Holdings
Introduced1972; 52 years ago (1972)
Previous ownersClorox, McKesson Corporation, Spectrum Brands
TaglineRespect your car
Websitewww.armorall.com

Armor All is an American brand of car care products that is manufactured by Armored AutoGroup of Danbury, Connecticut, United States. The company markets sprays, gels, liquids, and wipes to clean, shine, and protect interior and exterior automobile surfaces.

According to patent documents, Armor All typically contains water, PDMS (silicone), diethylene glycol, glycerin, and various additional chemical compounds.[1]

Background and history

Invention

The chemical formula for Armor All was invented by polymer chemist Joe Palcher in 1962. He began selling it in 1966 under the name Trid-on (no dirt spelled backwards).[2][3] It was initially sold out of the Briggs Cunningham Automotive Museum in Costa Mesa, California.[4]

It quickly grew in popularity selling through periodicals like Hot Rod Magazine.[5]

Armor All

Car enthusiast and salesman Alan Rypinski bought the rights to Trid-on in 1972 and renamed the product as Armor All Protectant.[2] The first test products were called RT-10 and GT-10.[6] The following year, he launched Very Important Products Inc. to market it. Rypinski made $220,000 in sales the first year.[7]

In 1979, Rypinski sold all of the rights to the Armor All brand name and protectant to the San Francisco-based consumer products company McKesson Corporation.[7]

RT-10 Tire and Rubber Treatment
GT-10

1980s

By 1987, Armor All's sales exceeded $100 million and company profits grew to $17 million, and in 1988 Armor All purchased Borden, Inc.'s car care products line, which included well-known name brands such as Rain Dance, Rally, and No. 7.[8] This acquisition significantly broadened the company's product line, which increased the company's gains through 1989.[8] By 1990, the company's net income dropped to less than $20 million, and then sharply worsened to less than $7 million in 1991.[8]

1990s

Sales climbed from a 1990s low of $134 million in 1993 to $217 million in 1995 (fiscal year ended March 31, 1995), as net income climbed back toward $25 million.[8] For the remainder of the decade, Armor All developed the Armor All brand name with a focus on international growth and the introduction of new products.[8]

Nielsen CDG UK was appointed car care distributor for Armor All products by Clorox UK.[9] Nielsen CDG is part of the Convenience Distribution Group supplying petrol (gasoline) stations in the United Kingdom.[10]

Present

Previous logo

In 2010, Clorox sold Armor All and STP to Avista Capital Partners. It named the business Armored AutoGroup. In 2008, Armor All released a complete line of automotive vacuums. In April 2015, the Armored AutoGroup was acquired by Spectrum Brands.[11] Energizer bought the Spectrum Brands auto care business unit (including Armor All, STP and A/C Pro) for $1.25 billion in cash and stock in November 2018.[12]

References

  1. ^ USA patent US5518533A, Michael W. Howe, "Automotive protectant for use with cleaning compositions", published 21 May 1996 
  2. ^ a b "Armor All® History and Timeline". www.armorall.com. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
  3. ^ Ricker, Amanda (1 Apr 2010). "Armor All founder and Bozeman resident shares experience with MSU students". Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Montana, USA. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  4. ^ Brennan, Bryan (January 2018). I Drive On the Original Dragstrip. Vol. 47. New York, New York: The Enthusiast Network. p. 10.
  5. ^ Ricker, Amanda (1 Apr 2010). "Armor All founder and Bozeman resident shares experience with MSU students". Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Montana, USA. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  6. ^ Ricker, Amanda (1 Apr 2010). "Armor All founder and Bozeman resident shares experience with MSU students". Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Montana, USA. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  7. ^ a b Emmis Communications (Oct 1987). "Orange Coast Magazine". Orange Coast. Emmis Communications: 140–. ISSN 0279-0483.
  8. ^ a b c d e Armor All company history from Funding Universe company histories
  9. ^ "Nielsen CDG: Search Armor All". Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  10. ^ "Nielsen CDG: About Us". Archived from the original on September 25, 2009. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  11. ^ "HRG Group, Inc. Announces Armored AutoGroup Acquisition By Spectrum Brands". www.prnewswire.com. April 28, 2015. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
  12. ^ Balu, Nivedita (2018-11-15). "Energizer adds Armor All, STP brands in $1.25 billion Spectrum deal". Reuters. London. Archived from the original on 2019-04-25. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
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