Highland Park's Edward Polen Receives Chicago Paint & Coatings Association's Lifetime Achievement Award

In 1971, Edward launched E-M Company, which eventually became EMCO Chemical Distributors, Inc. Today, EMCO is a $425 million + company, employing more than 500 people, and in 2020, delivered more than 350,000,000 pounds of specialty and industrial chemicals.

For his many contributions to the paint and coatings industry, the Chicago Paint & Coatings Association presented Edward with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

Edward grew up in Massachusetts, where his father operated a couple of drug stores. The plan was for Edward to go to pharmacy school and then run one of his father's drug stores. But during a trip to visit his sister in Northbrook, IL, Edward decided to relocate and took a job with Walgreens as a pharmacist, which paid more that his father could offer.

He didn't enjoy the new job and when his sister's neighbor told him about a sales opening at the company he was working at, he interviewed and was hired. Edward worked for Big Ben Chemicals & Solvents for four years until it was sold to Ashland. That's when Edward decided to start his own business. Working out of his garage, Edward put in long hours creating his own line of packaged chemical products. Soon, Edward began creating and personally delivering his EMCO chemicals to hardware stores and other locations. This evolved into the distribution business that it is today.

"I love this industry and love coming into the office very day. I've made some great friends and am proud of my role as a pioneer in this great industry. I'm very proud of our entire EMCO team, especially my brother, my son, and my nephew, who are carrying on our tradition of exceptional customer service.", said Edward upon accepting his award.

The Chicago Paint & Coatings Association is a non-profit trade association made up of member companies who are manufacturers, raw material suppliers and distributors for the paint and coatings industry.