Red Devil Inc
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 140
years
ago
with
the
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
1900's,
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
line
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.