With over 100 Years of Paint Manufacturing, Whitlam leads the industry in Turf Marking Paints and Quality Specialty Coatings. J.C. Whitlam Manufacturing has a proud history of over 100 years in business, always under the ownership and management of the same family, with operating responsibility now in the hands of its third and fourth generations.  Established in 1900, J.C. Whitlam Manufacturing Company is one of those classic independent family businesses of the coatings industry, a breed whose numbers, alas, have sorely decreased over the past thirty years, especially among the manufacturers.  Whitlam's past history, present health and dynamic condition well illustrates that it doesn't necessarily have to be that way.  The company has enjoyed over 45 consecutive years of increased sales and over 50 consecutive years without a drop of red ink.

In the beginning
The history of J.C. Whitlam Manufacturing Company began in 1894, when an eighteen year old Canadian farm boy, John C. Whitlam II, with only 14 cents in his pocket, immigrated to the United States to seek his fortune.  He arrived in Cleveland, Ohio where he worked for several paint companies over the next six years. While there, he became quite knowledgeable about paints and their formulations.  At the time, painters used white or red lead paste as a pigment for their paints.  Plumbers and pipe fitters also used lead paste as a thread sealant and lubricant in joining pipe and their fittings.  This method was not very satisfactory, since this lead mixture was both poisonous and expensive.

In the great American tradition, seeing a need for a better way, Mr. Whitlam developed the first "lead-free" thread sealing compound he called Tyte-Unyte (pronounced "tite unite").  The product had three times the bulk value of lead, which made it more efficient and economical.  It was also safe for human consumption (To demonstrate to plumbers and wholesalers that it was not poisonous, Mr. Whitlam would open a can of Tyte-Unyte and actually eat some of it - to their dismay, but also to their conviction.).

The company started in Cleveland manufacturing both paint coatings and his unique thread sealant. Then in 1912, Mr. Whitlam moved the business to Wadsworth, Ohio, where it is still located. (Wadsworth is a town of 16,500, located 35 miles south of Cleveland and 12 miles west of Akron.)

The company grew steadily in architectural coatings and its Tyte-Unyte product became the standard for threaded joints and the plumbing industry.  In World War I, the armed forces, principally the U. S. Navy, pre-empted virtually the companies entire production, which also was the case in World War II, when this modest firm, operated under an A-1 priority, right along with the largest defense plants.  But that's getting ahead of the story.

With the collapse of the construction industry in the late 1920's, the company's fortunes started to deteriorate.  The Great Depression was starting to take its toll. The company was falling into dire straits, being heavily in debt to the bank.  The situation was so bad it could hardly get worse.  But it did!  Mr. Whitlam died in 1931 at the absolute bottom of the depression, with nobody to carry on but his sixteen year old son, J.C. Whitlam III.  And carry on he did, making him one of the youngest presidents there ever was in this industry.