The Flood Company

The Flood Company has served the Paint Industry for more than 160 years. Established in Cleveland, Ohio in 1841 as a paint contracting firm, the company quickly achieved a reputation for outstanding quality and craftsmanship. Back then, services included lettering canal barges for $2.50 a boat, decorating buggies for $11, or a wagon for half that much.

The business later expanded into hardwood finishing, exterior and interior house as well as commercial architectural painting. For the next 87 years, the company was responsible for the painting and custom wood finishing on many historical homes, churches, and commercial buildings in the city of Cleveland, Ohio.

In 1934, under the leadership of Earl D. Flood, the company expanded into manufacturing and distribution with the introduction of Penetrol®, a high solids, durable paint oil used alone as a protective coating for wood and metal or as a paint additive, to assure smooth and easy application of oil based paints and varnishes. So outstanding was its performance that today, Penetrol* has a worldwide reputation for quality and performance among painting contractors and marine and industrial firms. Today, some 170 years later, Penetrol is still recognised as the best additive for oil and alkyd based paint, where it is used in place of conventional thinners. Over the years other specialty products, such as E-B Emulsabond and Floetrol, have been developed by Flood as well as a whole range of innovative wood care products.

Flood products are unique in every way. They make painting easier, let the handyman get a professional finish, save money and time and can solve almost any painting problem.

We take pride in the quality of our products and our orientation towards our customers' needs and demands. It is our aim to help with your painting problems, regardless if our products are used or not.

Today, Flood products stocked by thousands of retailers in Australia and New Zealand. See the 'Where to Buy' page for the contact in your area. In Europe Penetrol is sold under the Owatrol brand.

In 2006 the Flood Company Inc. was acquired by Akzo Nobel, the world's largest paint company. With the backing of their huge resources, research continues at Flood headquarters in Ohio to produce paint additives and wood finishes with the aim to make life easier for both the professional paint contractor as well as the home handyman.

In Australia the Flood Company Australia P/L is independently owned and is the sole licensed manufacturer of Flood products for the Australasian region. Our plant is located in Sydney with warehouses and distributors in every state as well as in New Zealand.