Thoro History

In 1931, in alignment with the young company’s core values, Canon made the pivotal decision to incorporate his operations, form Standard Dry Wall Products, Inc., and to take his product to market through distributors. After almost two decades of solid growth through selling direct, Canon ventured that the most effective way for taking his company’s problem-solving technology to people was through a network of strategically located building supply yards. In 1936, five years after having made the decision to market Standard Dry Wall’s products through distributors, Canon reiterated his commitment to his distributors: "I am a dealer myself and I believe that what is in the best interests of the dealer is in the best interests of the manufacturer." Canon’s decision became company policy in 1931 and has been pursued with equal conviction by all subsequent administrations--right through to the present. With Canon’s network of distributors in place for just three years, Standard Dry Wall Products, Inc. experienced such accelerated growth that he had to expand his manufacturing facility.

In 1939, Canon moved his operations from West Elizabeth to New Eagle, Pennsylvania. Here, Canon’s growing company would have more space available for production as well as for product research and development. Canon did not subscribe to complacency nor allow it in his staff. "Problem-solving" had made Standard Dry Wall Products a vital company with strong brand equity in just under 30 years and Canon was determined to preserve and expand this focus. Hence, his strong investment in R & D at the New Eagle plant. Another key indicator of Standard Dry Wall’s commitment to excellence was manifest in 1949. Canon decided to put in place a network of factory sales representatives in response to his desire to offer his customers superior technical and marketing service. Canon believe that only a factory trained sales staff could effectively introduce Standard Dry Wall’s progressively expanding product line to architects and engineers as well as communicate the essential technical information to distributors and applicators. 

By far the most revolutionary product introduced in the ’40’s was Thorite. A fast-setting, non-shrink, factory-formulated repair mortar, Thorite set new standards for concrete and masonry repair. Until Thorite was developed, repair mortars were concoctions developed by contractors, mixed on the job and hence lacked consistency in performance. With Thorite, repairs were no longer subject to product failure. In addition, Thorite saved time; workman could complete work in one operation since no temporary forming was required while placing the mortar in both vertical and over-head applications. Twenty years later, when acrylic admixture technology became available, Thorite repairs were effectively rendered "bullet-proof’ with the addition of Acryl 60 as an admixture to the repair mortar mix. In order to accommodate the strong growth in sales in the South, West and Midwest generated by Canon’s growing factory sales force, Standard Dry Wall Products constructed an even larger and more modem facility in 1955 in Centerville, Indiana. On October 24, 1958, Edward H. Canon died. In Standard Dry Wall Products, Canon left behind a vibrant organization with a clear understanding of its core values and its envisioned future. Schuyler C. Begg succeeded Canon and was named General Manager of the firm.Under Begg’s apt leadership, more efficient manufacturing procedures were introduced in the plants. Simultaneously, Begg launched an aggressive advertising program promoting Standard Dry Wall’s full range of products. 

In support of the promotional, training and service objectives Canon had established for the company, Begg introduced Standard Dry Wall Product’s first demo-vans. Factory technicians travelled to job sites to train contractors in proper application techniques. They also travelled to distributors’ and dealers’ facilities to conduct product clinics. The demo-vans proved to so effective in promoting Standard Dry Wall and its products that for over thirty years they travelled to cities of all North America, including Canada and Mexico. Only in the early ’90’s were they discontinued. This was due to austerity measures imposed by ICI Chemicals who owned the company at that time and was preparing to sell it. By 1962, fifty years from its founding, Standard Dry Wall Products was manufacturing 24 products for waterproofing, restoring and decorating concrete and masonry. Many of the products introduced by Standard Dry Wall in the 1960’s were developed in response to the emerging above grade market and its unique aesthetic needs.As CMU became more prevalent, Standard Dry Wall’s R & D expanded the Thoroseal line to include a variety of decorative colors. Thoroseal Plastermix was also introduced at this time as a super-duty waterproofer and as an aesthetic plaster finish. Trowel-applied, Thoroseal Plastermix was effective in hiding mortar joints in CMU walls and rendering the wall uniform in color and texture.Also in the ’60’s, with the advent of silicone and acrylic polymer technology, Standard Dry Wall Products introduced its first water repellents with silicone-based Thoroclear 777 and acrylic-based Thoroglaze. Tapping the latest in acrylic polymer technology, the New Eagle and Centerville plants began producing two new products: Thorosheen, a 100% acrylic paint and Acryl 60, a acrylic admixture which enhanced the performance of all Standard Dry Wall’s cement-base products—from Thoroseal, Thoroseal Plastermix and Quickseal to its  expanding line of repair mortars. Beside Waterplug and Thoroseal, Thorosheen, Thorite and Acryl 60 soon established themselves as three additional flagships within the elite fleet of Standard Dry Wall products. The combination of these five products set a new course for Standard Dry Wall Products and marked its full-fledged entry into the concrete and masonry restoration market.

With its complement of waterproof coatings and repair mortars, Standard Dry Wall product systems became the preferred choice for such prestigious restoration projects as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water in Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania, the Oakridge Atomic Energy Plant in Oakridge, Tennessee, Florida Southern University in Miami, Florida, and the Cleveland Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.In the mid 60’s, Standard Dry Wall Products began introducing its key products into foreign markets. At first, sales were concentrated in South America but soon expanded to Canada, Japan, and the Caribbean. Soon afterwards, strong demand emerged in Europe.As sales gre~v nationally and abroad, so did the need for expanding facilities. In 1968, Standard Dry Wall Products opened a plant in Bristol, Pennsylvania. Located outside of Philadelphia, the new plant would be able to service the entire east coast. In 1969, the firm moved its main office from New Eagle to Miami, Florida in order to establish a worldwide, centrally located corporate headquarters.1970 was an important year in the evolution of Standard Dry Wall Products’ above-grade decorative coatings.

The company’s first, high-build, 100% acrylic coating was introduced. Thorocoat, as it was appropriately named, introduced all new performance criteria for protective masonry "paints." By virtue of its high dry film thickness, Thorocoat was not a paint but an architectural coating. Due to the nature of its resins and high DFT (dry film thickness), Thorocoat was capable of waterproofing against wind-driven rain and of reducing the deleterious process of carbonation in concrete substrates.Over the decades, Thorocoat’s unique combination of decorative and protective properties have led to its continued use on a wide range of projects, e.g., from the world-famous Houston Astrodome and the luxurious Phoenician Resort in Phoenix; to cast-in-place concrete bridges in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Denver and New Orleans; to slip-formed concrete grain elevators throughout Canada and the U.S.; to the historic landmark, Aloha Tower in downtown Honolulu; as well as on CMU and flit-up commercial buildings such as those owned by national chains as Walmart, Cinemark, Albertsons Foods and Office Depot. In 1971 Schuyler C. Begg retired. During his 12-year tenure as General Manager, Standard Dry Wall Products prospered. Begg had been successful in promoting change while keeping the organization focused on its strengths. The problem-solving initiative first displayed by Canon was further woven in the fabric of the organization by Begg. Emanating from this culture, state-of-the-art technologies were explored and exploited, leading to new products and expansion into new markets both in North American and abroad. Phil Donnelly, one of the first salesmen hired by Begg, was selected to replace Begg. Imbued with the core values and corporate vision as a salesman, Dormelly skillfully charted the course of the company over the next decade. In 1973, the Beatrice Foods Company purchased Standard Dry Wall Products, which became an independent business unit within Beatrice’s Specialty Chemicals Division. Later that year, Standard Dry Wall Products changed its name to Thoro System Products in order to avoid confusion with drywall or sheetrock--a popular building product designed for sheathing interiors. With the entry of drywall into the construction industry, Standard Dry Wall became increasingly swamped with inquiries from people wanting to buy sheets of
drywall. Encouraged and aided by the management of Beatrice’s Specialty Chemicals Division, Thoro System Products expanded its foreign markets to new levels. In 1974, in an effort to meet the production needs of the western United States and Asian markets, Thoro System Products opened a third manufacturing plant in Newark, Califomia, between San Jose and Oakland. Three years later, in 1977, Thoro’s Mol, Belgium plant came on stream, manufacturing products for all of western Europe.

In 1981, Phil Donnelly retired and Donald J. Saunders was promoted from the post of office manager to President/General Manager. Beatrice acquiesced to Donnelly’s desire to promote from within. Donnelly wanted to ensure that the core values infused into the company by Canon and fostered by Begg and himself were perpetuated by his successor.Under Saunders’ direction as President, and with the assistance of his brother, Bob Saunders as Director of Marketing, important new products were developed and introduced into the waterproofing and concrete repair market. Such repair mortars as Roadpath II and Thoro Selfleveling Underlayment were launched in the early ’80’s and rounded out Thoro’s concrete repair offerings. With the desire to expand its coatings offerings and exploit state- of-the-art technologies, Thoro System Products’ R & D group under the direction of Mike Kalandiak teamed up with Rohm & Haas chemists to develop a coating capable of bridging dynamic cracks in stucco, concrete and masonry. The result of this joint endeavor was Thorolastic, a 100% acrylic, high-build coating with elastomeric properties. Introduced in 1983, Thorolastic immediately became another premier, problem-solving product. During the next few years, Thorolastic established its reputation along side those of Waterplug, Thoroseal, Thorite and Thorocoat. Within 5 years, Thorolastic had positioned itself as the standard by which all other elastomeric coatings would be measured. For 13 years, Thorolastic has maintained its dominant position for this category of coating and continues to garner such impressive projects as a few of those mentioned below.

As the preeminent elastomeric coating, Thorolastic was selected by Marriott as the coating for its new Orlando World Center--a resort and convention center near Walt Disney World in Florida. 23,000 gallons of Thorolastic were applied on this project alone. On another high-profile resort, The Phoenician in Phoenix, Thorolastic was utilized extensively to protect, decorate and bridge dynamic cracks in the stucco portions of the new complex.Thorolastic was the sole elastomeric coating accepted by the owners of Alberta Wheat Pool, Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and United Grain Growers for decorating and waterproofing their grain elevators in Vancouver, B.C. in the mid-’90’. The total square footage of these elevators exceeded 2 million and required 45,000 gallons of Thorolastic.Also during the early ’80’s, Thoro System Products introduced its consumer line of products to the Do-It-Yourself market. Prior to this initiative, Thoro’s presence in this market was limited. With specially designed packaging and step-by-step application instructions on the container, such successful contractor-type products as Waterplug, Super Thoroseal and Thorocrete were now made accessible to the handyman through Home Centers and hardware stores. In 1985, Beatrice Foods decided to sell its Specialty Chemicals Division en masse. As one of the companies of that Division, Thoro System Products was acquired by ICI Chemicals and became a member of the ICI Performance Products. Group. Under the laissez faire management style of Beatrice Foods, Thoro System Products maintained the cores values on which Standard Dry Wall was founded and continued to pursue the vision first articulated by Edward Canon and perpetuated by Schuyler Begg, Phil Donnelly and D.J. Saunders. Guidedand inspired by those vales, Thoro System Products continued to pursue what had made it a great company over the years since its inception. In concert with its original mandate to "solve problems related to waterproofing and repair of concrete and masonry," Thoro System Products had kept its ear to the ground, ascertained industry needs, developed reliable problem-solving products, and in the process had produced excellent returns for its owners. Within the ICI Performance Group, Thoro System Products became an "orphan" company. That is, as a business unit, Thoro System Products did not fit with the strategic direction of its parent. As such, Thoro got just enough capital to exist, but not enough to pursue new markets nor create new products. Maximizing shareholder wealth, or profit maximization, became the dominant driving force and primary objective. In the past, Thoro had pursued its aims profitably; under ICI Thoro’s aims were superseded by ICC’s profitability targets.Wholesale cost cutting measures were imposed. Architectural representatives were the first to be laid off. Sales territories were consolidated to reduce staff. Product formulas were scrutinized for savings in raw materials. Funding for R & R was radically reduced. As early retirement was also encouraged by ICC, key managers embodying the traditional cores vales left within a short period of time. Thoro’s President, D.J. Saunders took early retirement and turned the direction of the company over to the first outsider the company had ever had in the top management position. The new General Manager was an ICC appointee with only a 2-year stint with Thoro before his promotion. Thoro System Products’ vision became clouded and individual agendas rather than the original core values took hold of the organization. Corporate resources were squandered in renaming products, in launching products which did not fit (to wit, Lumashield) and in capricious re-organization schemes. Product  bulletins were allowed to be re-written in a style that inhibited the sale and promotion of products in spite of distributor protest. New product development did not keep pace with the changes in the construction industry. New product introductions during this period were limited to primarily variants of existing, e.g., Thorite 400, Thorocoat 200.The new products offered small improvements over their existing counterparts but not provide the engine that would contribute to significant new business, such as Thorolastic and Thoro Underlayments had done in the ’80’s and ’90’s. Distributors looked elsewhere to fill technological gaps in the Thoro line with products from other manufacturers.When Harris Specialty Chemicals purchased the company in 1995, Thoro System Products had lost track of its core purpose and was fraught with internal misalignments in terms of its mission. Fortunately, brand equity and loyal distribution were so strong that these two forces were able to carry the organization during these years of internal turmoil and loss of direction.

As a core business unit within Harris Specialty Chemicals, Thoro System Products now fits with the strategic direction set for the Harris Group as whole. Thoro System Products is now poised to "reinvent" itself. Through revitalization of Standard Dry Wall’s original core values, and through the pursuit of its original core purpose (i.e., to solve problems related to the construction industry through reliable products and effective systems), Thoro System Products is poised to re-capture its leadership position and regenerate its mystique. All levels of the Thoro unit--from management to sales staff, to support personnel--are in rigorous pursuit of new mechanisms, processes, and strategies to bring life to the core values and purpose. Simultaneously, all are determined to eliminate internal misalignments that might drive the company away from the core ideology.

The future envisioned for the unit as part of Harris Specialty Chemicals has been and will continue to be communicated to serve as a guide as well as inspiration for taking on take on big audacious goals.