company :: history

The Wooster Brush Company was established in 1851. We are one of the oldest manufacturers of paint applicators in the USA. Our company founder Adam Foss traveled from Pennsylvania to Ohio to set up shop. He began producing handmade bristle paintbrushes in a small, two-story building in Wooster, Ohio, then sold the brushes door-to-door throughout the state.

The Wooster Brush Company acquired land on Madison Avenue in 1909, and a new factory was built. The structure was 70-feet wide and 200-feet long, providing three times as much floor space as before. The Madison Avenue site in Wooster, Ohio is still the location of company headquarters today.

Since Adam's time, the company has elected only eight presidents in its history. Allan Rodd became president and treasurer on May 1, 1998. He has 38 years of service with Wooster Brush.

During 155 years in business, Wooster has contributed many milestones in the industry:
      Invention of popular paintbrush styles such as the angle sash and the Shasta®
      Development of the Foss-set® process to cement bristle into paintbrushes
      First to use nylon filaments to create brushes that performed in latex paints
      Creation of the Exploded-Tip® process to make soft flags on filament ends
      First to introduce synthetic fabrics for roller covers, now an industry standard

Wooster has continued this tradition of ground-breaking development and today is known as the applicator innovator. Some of the most popular brands of painting equipment on the market are made by The Wooster Brush Company. Each year, we design more new products than any other high-quality applicator manufacturer.