Company History

The Savogran Story

In 1875, Charles F. Stodder founded the India Alkali Works on Boston's historic India Wharf. The company manufactured a granulated soap called “Savogran” which was sold in bulk to hotels, railroads, textile mills and public institutions. Clem Stodder, Charles' son, saw potential for “Savogran” as a consumer product and began creating smaller packages for retail sale. It was soon discovered that consumers could easily remember the popular “Savogran” name but not the identity of the company which manufactured it. So, in 1926 the India Alkali Works became the Savogran Company.

Today: Savogran is an employee owned company, focused on retail and industrial cleaning and paint preparation products. Products include removers, packaged solvents, cleaners, and patching materials branded under the Savogran and SCL Sterling labels. Savogran also contract blends and packages products for a variety of industries. The employee-owners of Savogran are committed to developing and producing consistently high quality products. In 2018 the company introduced a line of paint removal products formulated without methylene chloride and NMP. The products have similar characteristics of the traditional products.

The Savogran Company purchased the assets of the Sterling-Clark-Lurton Corporation in 2004 to capitalize on the synergies of these two historic companies. SCL was incorporated in 1922 as the Plymouth Rock Paint Company. In 1924, the name was changed to the Sterling Paint & Varnish Company. The product line consisted of a full line of exterior, interior and marine paints, as well as putty for wood and steel sash windows. Over time the product line expanded to include artist oil colors, caulking and glazing compounds and paint removers.

In the 1950's, with paint sundry products outselling paint, the company name was changed to Sterling Quality Products to reflect the success of their trade name “Sterling Quality.” In 1961, Sterling bought out the Clark Lurton Corporation. Both companies sold solvents and served the same customer base. SCL serves the paint and hardware trade, glass industry, marine trade and automotive aftermarket.