Turtle Wax stays viable after more than 70 years

Sondra A. Healy was a little girl when she watched how her father, Ben Hirsch, would make and sell what would become an iconic wax product for car owners worldwide.

Hirsch made batches of the liquid polish in the bathtub of his Chicago home, while his wife, Marie, helped bottle it. Hirsch would then hop on a streetcar and sell the product, called Plastone, directly to gas stations in the 1940s. It was from a formula he had worked on since the 1930s, when cars were emerging as a popular form of transportation. During a stop in Turtle Creek, Wisconsin, in 1946, he altered the course of his product and his company. He changed the name to Turtle Wax, because of the turtle's hard shell and his wax provided a hard-shell finish.

"It was exciting to be a part of someone's dream and vision at such an early age," said owner Sondra Healy, now 75. "To see how it was made and how he related to other people, it was incredible. It was made in the bathtub, but we moved the business into a tiny storefront on Chicago Avenue."

After more than seven decades, Addison-based Turtle Wax is keeping the shine alive by developing additional products, selling in more than 90 countries, and trying new ways to engage younger consumers with more than 1,200 products.

Besides car wax, Turtle Wax makes and sells products for carpet care, window cleaning, scratch removal, headlight restoration and others. Like many companies related to the auto industry, Turtle Wax has had its share of changes. In the last three years alone, the company has had just as many CEOs: Steve Knoop, Mark Leopold and now Gary Walrath, who took over in February.

The company also reduced its workforce from about 200 in 2013 to about 60 now and moved from Willowbrook to Addison in August. And the number of its company-owned carwashes has dwindled from 25 to three in Crystal Lake, Bloomingdale and Skokie.

Still, the company remains optimistic about future growth as it seeks to develop additional products and reach new, younger consumers via the internet and social media.

"The company has a long, proud heritage and we try to keep it resilient with a generation that may not have grown up working on their car," said Walrath, 63.

Turtle Wax's research shows that Millennials are just as engaged in the care of their car as previous generations, but in different ways. Today's car lovers want more than showroom-only shine. They want to experience the thrill of driving.

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Consumers today also are looking for quicker solutions to car care. That's why the company has developed many other products, including the Turtle Wax Quick & Easy line, which offers products that combine multiple jobs and surfaces in one step.

In addition to the new products, Turtle Wax leaders realize they needed a boost in the digital age, Walrath said.

As part of that effort, Turtle Wax has tapped 10 individuals nationwide who are leaders in their social media circles. These individuals are unrelated to each other but were put together as a group by Turtle Wax and christened the Shine Squad. As part of the Shine Squad, each person talks about Turtle Wax on their social media sites.

In addition, Turtle Wax has partnered with OpTic Gaming, lead by Hector Rodriguez of Schaumburg, who has different teams that play Call of Duty and other e-games in competitions for prizes nationwide. As part of their gaming efforts, they also talk about Turtle Wax products and their personal cars, wear the company logo on their shirts and engage their 15 million social media fans in conversations about Turtle Wax.

"Optic Gaming, is one of the fastest growing e-gamers and we're targeting the 16- to 25-year-old demographics. ... It (gaming) is transportable to every culture. It's truly global," Walrath said.

Still, the company doesn't forget its past. And it was old-fashioned hard work in the 1930s and 1940s that laid the ground work to keep Turtle Wax viable today against increasing competition worldwide. That's why Sondra Healy credits her father as a "visionary."

Hirsch could be found sleeping at the table at home while working late at night.

"When I got up in the middle of the night, he was working on a new concept and said, 'Let's have some chocolate and talk about it,'" she recalls.

Sondra began her career in the insurance industry and then worked as a teacher. She joined the family business, focusing on public relations in 1966, following the death of her father, who suffered a heart attach in 1966. Hirsch was 55.

While moving up the ladder, Sondra met Denis Healy in 1969 while standing in a buffet line during an industry convention in Miami. The two later married in 1970.

Denis, a chemist, had earned eight patents while working in research and development at Colgate, Mennen Co. and Barr Co. before joining Turtle Wax. The Healys eventually worked their way up to leading the company as co-chairmen. They grew the business while raising three children. They now have 11 grandchildren.

While the company has survived through some tough economic times, it has remained consistent with its core car wax products.

"They've done this while maintaining their family environment," Walrath said.

Walrath said he's worked at companies that didn't have such a strong family tie as Turtle Wax.

He added, "For a company to remain closely affiliated with the family that started it, and walks the walk, and makes family a high priority, and not an after thought, that's the key. That's why this company has survived so long."

Business: Car care products sold in 90 countries; car washes in Bloomingdale, Crystal Lake and Skokie.

Owners, co-chairmen: Sondra A. Healy and Denis J. Healy

Leadership: Gary Walrath

Headquarters: Addison

Employees: About 60

Website: www.turtlewax.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/turtlewax