Red Devil is a manufacturer of caulking, glazing, sealants and related surface preparation tools for glaziers, painters and masons. They are a privately owned family business with manufacturing facilities in Pryor, Oklahoma.[1] The company is currently headquartered in Pryor, Oklahoma.[2]

History

The company was founded as Smith & Hemenway Company, in 1872 by Landon P. Smith and John Francis Hemenway in Hill, New Hampshire.[1][3] The company manufactured the "Woodward Wizard", patented by Frank R. Woodward in 1875, for cutting glass.[3][4] During a trip to Sweden, Smith heard a blacksmith call sparks "those little red devils" and he named the tool after that phrase.[1]

In 1926 Landon P. Smith bought John Francis Hemenway's shares in the company and Hemenway retired.[5]

In 1932, general manager George Ludlow Lee, Sr. acquired Vesco Tools Company's line of wood scrapers.[1]

In the 1950s George Ludlow Lee, Sr. became chairman of the board.[2]

In 1963 George Ludlow Lee, Jr. acquired Schalk Chemical Company adding adhesives and cleaners to the companies product line.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "About Red Devil". Red Devil, Inc. Retrieved 2010-11-24. 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. ... 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 trademark. By the late 19th century, do-it-yourselfers as well as professionals were depending on our top-performing products.
  2. 1 2 "George Ludlow Lee Dead; Headed Red Devil Company". New York Times. August 10, 1966. Retrieved 2010-11-24. George Ludlow Lee of Chapin Road, chairman of the board of Red Devil, Inc., of Union, manufacturers of tools and paints, died yesterday in Portland, Me., while on vacation. He was 65 years old.
  3. 1 2 "Red Devil". Bullworks. Retrieved 2010-11-27. The first steel glass cutters were produced at the Red Devil plant of Hill, N. H. by the late F. R. Woodward, inventor. Like many other important inventions, the idea was almost too revolutionary for immediate acceptance by the trade and Mr. Woodward accordingly joined forces with the Smith and Hemenway Co. owners of the Red Devil trademark who contributed the marketing facilities with the engineering for development of the tool. From this beginning Red Devil has been The Standard for Steel Wheel Glass Cutters throughout the world. In 1926 Mr. Landon P. Smith, one of the founders and President of the Smith Hemenway Co. succeeded to the glass cutter business of that firm. Soon afterward, his new company, Landon P. Smith, Inc., merged with the Woodward Glass Cutter Co. of Hill, N. H. and continued to develop the Red Devil glass cutter business.
  4. ↑ Janice Hugron Harvey (September 2001). Around Newfound Lake. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738509600. In 1875, Woodward had patented his Wizard, an inexpensive glass-cutter. A later invention was a diverse tool that performed six ... The Novelty Works employed 30 to 50 people and became Red Devil Incorporated in the late 1920s
  5. ↑ "Change in Smith & Hemenway Co., Manufacturer of "Red Devil" Tools". Engineering world. 1926. Retrieved 2010-11-24. The retirement of JF Hemenway is announced by Smith & Hemenway. His entire interests have been purchased by Landon P. Smith, president. Mr. Smith will continue in the ...
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