Turtle Wax is an American manufacturer of automotive appearance products. The company was founded by Benjamin Hirsch in

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in 1941 and is currently headquartered in

Addison, Illinois Addison is a village located in the Chicago Metropolitan Area, in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 36,942 at the 2010 census. History The community itself was originally named Dunkley's Grove after the settler Hezekia ...

, having relocated from Willowbrook, Illinois in 2016. 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.Wilma Randle
"Strong Family Histories Help Turtle Wax Shine"
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Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', April 11, 1993. Its advertising jingle ("Turtle Wax gives that hard shell finish"), created early in its history by the

Doner Company Doner Company (formerly W.B. Doner & Co.) is an American advertising agency headquartered in Southfield, Michigan. It was founded in 1937 by Wilfred Doner, better known as Brod Doner. The Doner Company also has a United Kingdom-based agency calle ...

, was very well known. The Turtle Wax brand became strongly identified with television

game shows A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, sh ...

, as it was often given to losing contestants as a parting gift. Turtle Wax is the largest automotive appearance products company in the world and distributes its products in more than 90 countries.

Products

The company's primary product lines include cleaning and

polishing Polishing is the process of creating a smooth and shiny surface by rubbing it or by applying a chemical treatment, leaving a clean surface with a significant specular reflection (still limited by the index of refraction of the material accordin ...

products for cars including

glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) of ...

, 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 Cambridge is a city in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, located at the confluence of the Grand River (Ontario), Grand and Speed River, Speed rivers. The city had a population of 138,479 as of the 2021 Canadian census, 202 ...

based Transchem Inc. in 2013. Turtle Wax has marketed its cleaning products for non-automotive applications, as well. Turtle Wax also offers automotive performance

chemicals A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wit ...

such as engine treatment products and formula oils under the

Marvel Mystery Oil Marvel Mystery Oil is an automotive product of the American Marvel Oil Company, founded by Burt Pierce in 1923. It is used as a fuel additive, oil additive, corrosion inhibitor, penetrating oil, and transmission leak stopper and seal relubricato ...

and CD-2 brands. Additionally, the company operates full-service

car wash A car wash, carwash, or auto wash is a facility used to clean the exterior, and in some cases the interior of motor vehicles. Car washes can be self-service, full-service (with attendants who wash the vehicle), or fully automated (possi ...

facilities in the

Chicago Metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hi ...

. The Turtle Wax Pro brand is now separately operated by Transchem Group based in Cambridge, ON, Canada.

References

External links

Turtle Wax Global homepage
Automotive chemicals Waxes Manufacturing companies based in Illinois Companies based in DuPage County, Illinois Chemical companies established in 1941 Addison, Illinois 1941 establishments in Illinois American brands

Products

References

Further reading

External links