Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, February 15, 1994                   TAG: 9402150091
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: C10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS  staff writer
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SMALL SALEM COMPANY GETS TO HIT THE DECK WITH ARMOR ALL

Armor All, of Aliso Viejo, Calif., has contracted with Sewell Products Inc. of Salem to manufacture and package its E-Z DECK Wash for distribution along the East Coast.

A private-label bleach manufacturer, Sewell has operated for the past five years in the former Dial-Purex plant on Mill Lane across from Spartan Square Shopping Center.

Sewell, which has 35 employees, makes and bottles bleach for grocery chains such as Kroger and Food Lion, company President Steve Sewell said.

He said no additional hiring is planned for the deck-wash contract until he sees how much new business it will mean for his company

The main ingredients in the deck wash are sodium hypochlorite, a bleach, and certain surface-active chemicals. Armor All obtained the deck wash and another product from Agri-Products Special Markets Inc. of Tallahassee, Fla., a maker of products that clean wood and other surfaces.

Agri-Products had just begun talking to Sewell when Armor All bought the company. Armor All operations managers visited the Salem company and liked it so well they decided on an expanded role for Sewell.

Armor All expects its home products business to grow as big as its automotive business within five to seven years, said Kenneth Evans, Armor All president and chief executive officer.

Armor All thinks the deck wash has a sales potential of up to $60 million annually, he said.

Armor All's total sales in the fiscal year ended March 31, 1993, were $168.4 million, with net income of $19.2 million.

Best known for its Armor All Protectant, Armor All also markets automotive waxes, polishes and car wash products.

Evans, 52, lived in the Roanoke Valley from 1977 to 1985, when he was president of Evans Paint Inc., a former subsidiary of Moore's Lumber and Building Supplies Co.

He said Armor All subcontracts the production of its products to companies such as Sewell.

The deck wash will clean and restore a wooden deck to its original appearance, removing algae and fungus, the company claims, so people who like the gray appearance of an aged deck shouldn't buy it, Evans said.

The company intends to sell the wash in 1-gallon and 5-gallon containers at home-center and hardware stores.

The deck wash was put on the market in 1990. "It's really just in its infancy; we think it can be several times its current size," Evans said.