It all began during the Great Depression. In 1935, a curious visitor walked into George Daubert’s gas station with a problem: How do you prevent steel coils from rusting during storage?
With that question, Daubert Chemical Company was unofficially born.
George Daubert wasn’t aware of a product that could solve this person’s problem. So, he made the solution himself. That petroleum formulation sparked Daubert’s legacy of innovation.
That chance encounter at the gas station is just the beginning of our company story. Read on to see how Daubert evolved into the company it is today.
The Early Days of Daubert: 1940s to 1960s
After George Daubert’s initial development, he continued mixing rust preventatives with oil blends near his truck stop in Chicago, Illinois. Daubert Chemical Company wasn’t the initial name, however. George Daubert originally marketed the products under the name Nox-Rust Chemical Company, with steel companies being his first clients.
Nox-Rust Chemical Company also played a role in World War II, providing rust preventatives to the U.S. Navy to better protect ships and guns. After the war, the company was renamed Daubert Chemical Company. And with a new name came a change in focus.
Daubert Chemical Company started developing longer-term undercoatings for the growing U.S. automotive industry. The company began working with Volatile Corrosion Inhibitors (VCIs), which were commonly applied in liquid format to a piece of cloth or small sponge and co-packaged with the bearing in an enclosed environment (box or wrapper). But George Daubert found a way to infuse this liquid into paper packaging material, which could be sold and applied without the need to add the VCI liquid during the packaging step.
This development paved the way for additional advances in VCI technology, and the company ventured into thicker and longer-lasting coatings. Sound-dampening coatings and sealants were created, and Daubert began exploring adhesive technologies in the late 1950s.
During the 1960s, the VCI paper product line was split off from the chemical product line into its own business unit. Around the same time, another new business unit was formed called Entire Car Protection. This new segment was dedicated to selling rust-proofing coatings to car dealers along with other complementary products that helped dealers improve value-added services to their customers. This resulted in a strategic partnership with Parker Industries (now known as Nihon Parkerizing) in Japan, an alliance that opened the door to many opportunities for Daubert to partner with Japanese automakers.
Daubert Evolves: 1980s to 2000s
The 1980s were a time of expansion for Daubert, as a holding company was established under the name of Daubert Industries, Inc., turning the company’s three divisions into wholly owned subsidiaries. The decade also represented a time of transition for the company.
Founder George Daubert retired and tabbed his son-in-law, Harry Fischer, as Chairman of the Board (while also serving as CEO for several years). Additionally, George’s grandchildren were appointed to board seats to provide a younger perspective for the company’s vision. To this day, they provide valuable ongoing guidance to foster the growth of the various Daubert enterprises.
With Fischer at the helm, Daubert entered the 1990s seeking to grow its leadership position in the corrosion preventives and thermo-forming adhesives markets. That led to select acquisitions, the most notable being the acquisition of Tectyl Industrial Products in 1999. Tectyl is now one of the company’s flagship products, delivering superior corrosion resistance and sound-dampening solutions for a variety of industries.
Daubert began the new millennium with new innovations. The company strengthened its relationships with furniture manufacturers by addressing an industry-wide need for more versatile and fast-setting adhesives for profile wrapping, edge banding and composite panel lamination. This led to the development of the Daubond PUR (polyurethane reactive) adhesive line.
Advancements in Automotive
One of Daubert’s most significant developments for the automotive industry came during the 2000s. Due to supply chain difficulties, the company decided to reverse integrate into the production of sulfonated hydrocarbons. This new process solidified Daubert’s leadership in the production of Hot-Melt Wax coatings. These coatings have long been used to protect large structural frames and components from corrosion for some of the largest automotive and truck trailer OEMs in the world. Daubert Hot-Melt Wax coatings have some of the longest rust protection capabilities of any coating in the world.
As the 2010s began, the company developed another breakthrough for the automotive industry. Daubert had successfully expanded its internally developed gelled sulfonate technology, and further innovations led to the launch of TecPlex calcium sulfonate greases. This new product line featured favorable properties resisting water wash, heavy loads and high temperatures. TecPlex became the premium lubricant for automakers operating in extreme conditions.
Daubert Today
Nearly a century since its founding, Daubert continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible to develop products that solve our customers’ problems and address their needs. Problem solving is embedded in our company’s DNA, and it’s helped us become a world leader in corrosion prevention, adhesives and specialty coatings.
Daubert continues to develop unique solutions for the automotive industry with the launch of Nox-Rust ChipShield, the ultimate overcoat for rust and corrosion prevention. ChipShield is a top coat that can be applied over existing coatings like eCoat and galvanized steel, providing tremendous durability and an extra level of defense against damage from corrosion and road debris.
Click here to learn more about this latest innovation from Daubert Chemical Company.