The Eastwood Company is an

automotive restoration Conservation and restoration of road vehicles is the process of restoring a vehicle back to its original working condition, whether the car is partially scrapped or completely totaled. Automotive restoration can be applied to many different eras of ...

solution provider, headquartered in Pennsylvania,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Founded in 1978, the company was started by Curt Stroker. "Do-It-Yourself" and "Do the Jobs Right" are the mottos of the company.

History

Eastwood started in a garage in suburban

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in 1978, with the founder, Curt Strohacker, selling buffing wheels and compounds with tiny 1/4-page ads in automotive magazines. Today, the company staff works out of a distribution and headquarters facility in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, mailing millions of full-color catalogs annually, and running the Eastwood.com

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain managem ...

website. In 2019, Kian Capital acquired Eastwood Company.

Expansion and growth

The first Eastwood

catalog Catalog or catalogue may refer to: *Cataloging **'emmy on the 'og **in science and technology ***Library catalog, a catalog of books and other media ****Union catalog, a combined library catalog describing the collections of a number of libraries ...

featured eight black and white pages of metal finishing equipment. By the early 1980s, the continued success took the catalog mailing operation into a professional list house. It reached 5,000 names by 1981 and kept growing. In addition to catalog marketing, Eastwood sold its products directly at selected car shows. By 1984 and 1985, company ads would appear in more than fifty publications, including '' Hot Rod'', ''

Car Craft ''Car Craft'' was a magazine devoted to automobiles, hot rodding, and drag racing. It was published by the Motor Trend Group. It was established in 1953. The magazine published articles directed at inexperienced and expert car mechanics, such as ...

'', and ''

Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (sometimes PM or PopMech) is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do-it-yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation and transportation o ...

''. The catalog prospered as well, growing to 96 pages with a four-color cover by 1986. Circulation reached more than 100,000 auto restorers, who received six issues per year. By the end of the 1980s, the Eastwood customer file for custom and automotive restoration enthusiasts easily passed the half-million mark.

Products

Eastwood's assortment has grown to include over 5,000 products, including rust preventatives, specialty coatings, paints, chemicals,

powder coating Powder coating is a type of coating that is applied as a free-flowing, dry Powder (substance), powder. Unlike conventional liquid paint which is delivered via an evaporating solvent, powder coating is typically applied electrostatically and then P ...

welding Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing fusion. Welding is distinct from lower temperature techniques such as bra ...

and

metal fabrication Metal fabrication is the creation of metal structures by cutting, bending and assembling processes. It is a value-added process involving the creation of machines, parts, and structures from various raw materials. Typically, a fabrication sh ...

equipment, pressure blasters, and more.

Awards and recognition

* 1998: The Pennsylvania Governor's award for "Environmental Excellence * 1999: Automotive Restoration Market Organization's "Best New Product" * 2011: Winner of Popular Mechanic's™ Magazine Editor's Choice Award for Product Innovation and Design * 2012: Winner of Popular Mechanic's Magazine Editor's Choice Award for MIG Spot Weld Kit

References

{{Reflist Companies based in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania American companies established in 1978 1978 establishments in Pennsylvania Privately held companies based in Pennsylvania