The Rutland Fire Clay Company was formally organized under their Articles of Association filed in Montpelier on Nov.13, 1883.
Rutland Stove Lining became the first marketed product of the fledgling Company. If the Company was to grow, it was necessary to have more products. Stove Polish seemed logical to go with Stove Lining, and two polishes were developed. While the formulas have been improved over the years, Rutland still makes stove polishes.
The first catalog was produced in 1923 and shows the complete line of 26 products. It states: “To those who are considering the trial of ‘Rutland Good Goods’, we would say that we have been making some of these articles for thirty-seven years and, during that time, have endeavored to make them just as good as we know how.”
The Company survived the Great Depression of the 1930’s and World War II, and in spite of the economic difficulties of those years, the Company was beginning to make progress. As the Company grew, the firm maintained the desire to furnish quality goods for the customers. The mainstay of this period was home repair products such as Patching Plaster, with many of the ingredients found locally. War shortages prompted people to go back to using their old wood stoves, and Rutland supplied many maintenance products for stoves.
After expanding the manufacturing to other parts of the country, the manufacturing was consolidated in 1996 at our newly constructed plant in Jacksonville, IL. From this location, we supply products nationally and internationally.
Over the years, management has changed, but our goal remains simple: We will continue to manufacture the best possible products at the most competitive price, ship quickly, and maintain unequaled customer service and technical support. Customer satisfaction is the key to our success.
