About
First, we built our reputation: Founded as Smith & Hemenway Company, Inc. in 1872 in Hill, New Hampshire, our place in hardware history was established over 134 years ago with production of several types of glass cutters, one of which, the "Woodward Wizard", was patented. This unique tool, with its tiny wheel for scoring glass was among the first in the industry and could be used as a glass breaker, can opener, corkscrew, knife/scissor sharpener and tack hammer. Because of the "Woodward Wizard" and other unique and dependable tools, our reputation for quality and reliability grew. During a buying trip to Sweden, the company's founder, Landon P. Smith, heard a blacksmith remark "those little red devils" after sparks from a forge singed his arm. The name stuck in Smith's mind and upon his return to the States he began to label many of the tools he sold with the RED DEVIL trade name. By the late 19th century, do-it-yourselfers as well as professionals were depending on our top-performing products. Then, we built our company: In the early 1900s, the RED DEVIL® name became synonymous with quality tools for professional and DIY projects. In 1932, General Manager George L. Lee, Sr. acquired the Vesco Tools Company's like of wood scrapers - the first of nearly three dozen acquisitions designed to expand and improve the RED DEVIL line. These acquisitions included complementary lines of painters' tools, including wall scrapers, putty knives, glaziers' diamond points and automatic point drivers. In all, more than 30 different manufacturers' products began carrying the RED DEVIL brand, further popularizing our name. And the tradition continued. In 1963, under the direction of George L. Lee, Jr., RED DEVIL acquired the Schalk Chemical Company adding a line of adhesives, cleaners and sealants to its growing family of products. This chemical line would quickly become a major contributor to our business and later helped us to pioneer innovative, new products such as ONETIME® Lightweight Spackling, the first lightweight spackling on the market and LIFETIME® Adhesive Sealant, the first siliconized acrylic sealant guaranteed to last a lifetime. Today, we build America's most asked for tools and chemical products: Red Devil, Inc. is still a privately-owned family business with state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Pryor, Oklahoma. We're the only manufacturer to offer such a broad and diversified line of hand tools and chemical products for professional and home maintenance and improvement - more than 400 different products in all. In addition to producing caulks, sealants and tools under our own brand name, we also manufacture private label products for some of the nation's largest hardware and home center chains. And, just as we did from the start, we're still building on our reputation for quality, dependability and innovation - guaranteeing that America's latest generation of professional contractors and do-it-yourselfers will continue to depend on RED DEVIL products well into the next millennium.
