185:, one of WD-40's creators, saw that Convair employees had found uses in their homes and started marketing the product in stores starting in 1958. Barry had no involvement in the company until he was hired in 1969 to succeed his father-in-law, Cy Irving, as its chief executive office and president, with one of his first actions being to rename the company
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Barry stepped down as president and CEO in
September 1990 and was succeeded by Gerald C. Schleif. Barry left his role as chairman of the board in September 2000, and was followed in the post by Daniel W. Derbes. Sales grew from $ 2 million in 1970, his first full year at the company, to $ 90 million
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and growing distribution from 1,200 wholesalers when he was hired to 14,000 within a decade in the United States and internationally. Barry was fond of using free product samples as a promotional tool, including 10,000 that were sent monthly to soldiers fighting in the
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Through creative marketing, Barry was able to significantly increase the product's market through additional advertising spending, improving the design of the product and its distinctive blue and yellow aerosol can, expanding sales into supermarkets to tap into
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Though Barry acknowledged that other companies had products that were similar to his, he ensured that the firm jealously protected its trademark and that it never fully revealed the components used in its manufacture to the public. He refused to produce a
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to help maintain their weapons in the difficult climate. Barry steadfastly resisted the received wisdom that
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that had been created in the 1950s for use in the space program and spread its use in the consumer market.
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coming from "water displacement, formulation successful in 40th attempt". One of its earliest users was
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after its best-known product, reasoning that the company was not in the rocket business, after all.
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99:(August 31, 1924 – July 3, 2009) was an American business executive who popularized
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after graduation, but was called to active duty in the Navy during the
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370:"John Barry dies at 84; former executive made WD-40 a household name"
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University of
Minnesota College of Science and Engineering alumni
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in 1953 as a degreasing and rust-preventing spray, with the name
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in 1990 and $ 317 million in the year before his death.
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and Randy P. Barry of San Diego, and four grandsons.
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287:"John S. Barry, Main Force Behind WD-40, Dies at 84"
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234:Barry died at age 84 on July 3, 2009, due to
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351:"WD-40 Company Announces New Board Chairman"
325:"Schleif Named to Two WD-40 Executive Posts"
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165:The product had originally been created by
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238:in a skilled nursing center in
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410:Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis
145:MIT Sloan School of Management
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425:Businesspeople from San Diego
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220:Sears, Roebuck and Company
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125:University of Minnesota
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129:mechanical engineering
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137:Columbia University
330:2012-10-21 at the
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236:pulmonary fibrosis
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141:Harvard University
133:United States Navy
123:. He attended the
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311:Los Angeles Times
285:Martin, Douglas.
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183:Norm Larsen
179:SM-65 Atlas
117:Minneapolis
90:Businessman
68:3 July 2009
54:Minneapolis
389:Categories
262:References
248:California
181:missiles.
153:Korean War
87:Occupation
46:1924-08-31
30:John Barry
256:Escondido
252:Camarillo
244:San Diego
121:Minnesota
77:Education
58:Minnesota
328:Archived
240:La Jolla
230:Personal
349:Staff.
323:Staff.
175:Convair
105:solvent
171:WD-40
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101:WD-40
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