Rodda Paint History

Rodda Paint, along with its Parent company, the Cloverdale Group, is the Largest Family Owned & Operated Coatings company in North America. Our Roots & Traditions date back to the 1930s. For over 90 years, we have continued to MANUFACTURE the Highest Quality Paints & Coatings while CONDUCTING Ourselves in an Ethical manner.

We stay dedicated to PARTNERING with our Professional Customers and our Independent Dealer network, SUPPORTING Homeowner and DIYer needs, and CONTINUING to positively impact our Environment and the Local communities.

QUALITY, TRADITION, TRUST SINCE 1932

HOW IT ALL STARTED...

1930 witnessed the meeting of Art Rodda met Morey Braden while working at the Rasmussen Paint Company. Art was the Superintendent, while Morey worked in the factory.

In 1931, Rasmussen Paint combined with two other companies to become General Paint Co.

In 1932, Art Rodda left General Paint to join Chet Peterson and began the Peterson/Rodda Paint Co. selling Preservative and Murphy Paint. Chet oversaw the Sales while Art managed the Technical side of the business. Shortly thereafter Morey Braden left Rasmussen Paint as well and joined the Peterson/Rodda Paint Co. as an employee.

In 1934, Chet Peterson sold his stake in the company to Art Rodda, when the company dropped Peterson from its name and became known exclusively as the Rodda Paint company.

The war economy created many opportunities for Rodda Paint, providing the environment to undertake what would be the first of many expansions for Rodda Paint with the purchase of Fisher Paint in 1938 and CDM Paint in 1940.

Before 1941, Morey Braden was not receiving a steady salary but was advised by Art to take whatever he needed. When Morey decided to buy a house for his family, he approached Art Rodda about receiving a steady salary, at which time Art responded by making Morey an equal partner and a Vice President in the company.

In 1946, Wayne Cupper was hired as a partner in the company as well.

THE COMPANY STARTS TO GROW…

In 1948, to accommodate its growing business, Rodda Paint purchased the Macadam Avenue Paint factory which remained the sole manufacturing facility for 32 years, manufacturing Paints & Coatings for the expanding number of Corporate Stores and Toll manufacturing.

By 1952, Rodda Paint had opened its first Store on Portland’s Eastside and hired John McIntyre on a temporary basis. John would later go on to become a partner and the Vice President of Sales.

In 1958, Ken Peterson was hired and moved to Medford in 1960 to open Rodda Paint’s third store there.

As the war ended in 1965, Tom Braden, Morey’s son, returned from the Army and started working in the Rodda Eastside Store as a clerk.

1967 saw Art Rodda and Wayne Cupper sell their interests to Morey and Tom Braden.

GROWTH & MILESTONES CONTINUE…

By 1970, Rodda Paint had three Stores with over $1.5 million in Sales.

1974 saw Rodda Paint open their fourth Store in Glisan, OR, and a changing of the guard with Morey Braden’s retirement. Morey’s son, Tom Braden, took over as President, while John McIntyre and Ken Peterson became Vice Presidents and stockholders of the company.

By 1975 Rodda Paint had four stores in Oregon and had doubled its sales to over $3 million. By 1979, they had added a fifth Store location and sales to over $6 million.

In 1980, Tom Braden hired Steve Zimmer as the VP of Retail Marketing to oversee the growing Retail side of the business. That same year, Rodda Paint moved to its New State-Of-The-Art factory in the Rivergate commercial area of Portland, tripling the production capacity.

With this new Leadership team at the helm, Rodda Paint grew exponentially over the next two decades, opening several more stores in Oregon and driving a major expansion of Rodda Paint Stores into the Seattle and Washington market, in addition to some other milestones, such as:

  • Production of Private Label paint started in 1984
  • Commercial Wall-Covering Division Started in 1985
  • Todd Braden joins Rodda Paint in 1986
  • Purchased assets from Air Tech to start an Industrial Spray Division and Purchased & installed a Retail computer system in 1988
  • Expansion of the Rivergate manufacturing Facility in 1990

By 1996, Rodda Paint had 33 stores with over $60 million in sales.

1997 saw the Rivergate manufacturing facility further expand with the addition of a distribution warehouse. Steve Zimmer purchased the Décor & Decorating Division, leaving Rodda Paint. This allowed Rodda Paint to focus on its primary objective of Paints & Coatings.

In 1998, Rodda Paint acquired the Daniel Boone Paint Company of Seattle. Bill Boone, a dynamic and energetic young salesperson, joined the Rodda team and, in seven years, became Rodda Paint’s Executive VP and COO. That same year saw Rodda Paint:

  • Move its Corporate Headquarters to Tigard, OR
  • Expand its footprint in the Northwest by opening its first Store in Alaska
  • Consolidate its focus into a Coatings company by closing its Retail Wallcovering Department and the Air Tech Spray Division

In 2002, several corporate functions started moving from Tigard to the Rivergate complex and 2003 saw the retirement of John McIntyre.

MERGER WITH CLOVERDALE PAINT…

In August of 2004, with over 40 stores and Sales in excess of $70 million, Tom Braden and his long-time peer and friend Wink Vogel decided it would be in the best interest of both their companies and employees to merge Rodda Paint and Cloverdale Paint of Canada, another successful Family Owned & Operated company located in Surrey, British Columbia. With the ability to combine the Technical & Supply Chain resources, Production capacity, Distribution channels, Product brands, and more, this merger enabled both companies to enhance their business in each of their respective geographies with Rodda Paint continuing to operate as an independent subsidiary.

By 2006, Rodda Paint had grown to 43 stores, had Sales of over $84 million, had relocated its Corporate offices to the Rivergate facility, and was helmed by the leadership team of:

  • Chairman – Tom Braden
  • President – Al Mordy
  • V.P. Sales – Bill Boone
  • V.P. Marketing – Todd Braden
  • V.P. Operations – Mark Holcomb

After Rodda Paint’s 75th Anniversary celebration in 2007, Tom Braden retired. His retirement was followed by the departure of Todd Braden and Mark Holcomb, with Bill Boone then becoming the COO.

In 2009, while North America entered a recessionary time, Al Mordy became the CEO of the Cloverdale Group and Bill Boone took over as the President and COO of Rodda Paint. Despite the economic downturn, Rodda Paint and the Cloverdale Group continued to grow and expand, albeit at a slightly slower pace.

In 2012, Rodda Paint launched the Cascadia Color Palette inspired by the colors of the Northwest.

By 2014, as the economic downturn was abating in North America, Rodda Paint hired David Wolf as the VP of Industrial Protective Coatings and acquired the Kelly Moore Stores in Southern Idaho. This grew its overall footprint in the NW to 53 stores across five states with Sales of $95+ million.

With the passing of Al Mordy in 2015, Tim Vogel the son of Wink Vogel was named the CEO of the Cloverdale Paint Group with Wink Vogel continuing as the Chairman.

THE FUTURE…

With 54 Stores and Sales of over $100 million, Rodda Paint saw another changing of the guard with David Wolf named as the President and COO of Rodda Paint Co. on January 1st, 2016.

Further changes were made to Rodda Paint’s Leadership Team in 2017 with the addition of Brian Villa as VP of Sales and Jason Lawrence as Director of Marketing.

2019 saw Rodda Paint launch its new Corporate Branding, along with the Cascadia Color System, a collection of Color Palettes inspired by Nature, and the start of a major Refresh of all its company-owned Stores.

Celebrating its 90th Anniversary in 2022, Rodda Paint company continues to evolve and grow as a Family Owned & Operated Paint and Coatings company under the leadership of David Wolf. Rodda has successfully overcome various economic challenges with more than 250 employees, 60 company-owned Stores, 70 Authorized Dealer locations, and Sales of over $125 million focused across various customer segments of the industry.

Inspiration & Creativity are brewing at Rodda Paint company driving our Team’s Passion & Strategy about Future Opportunities…the Possibilities are Endless!