Type:Subsidiary
Industry:Paint
Founded:Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.(1875)
Founder(s):Francis Harrington Glidden, Levi Brackett and Thomas Bolles
Headquarters:Strongsville, Ohio, U.S.
Area served:North America
Products:Paint, Home improvement products
Revenue:$1.5 billion
Parent:PPG Industries
Website:glidden.com
 

The Glidden Company is a division of PPG Industries, which is one of the largest paint manufacturers in North America. Its products are marketed under the brands "Glidden" for professional and consumer paints, "Flood" for wood stains, and "Liquid Nails," which is a contact adhesive. It is the third largest maker of paint in the United States.

Glidden was purchased by British conglomerate ICI in 1986, which in turn was later acquired by Dutch conglomerate AkzoNobel in 2008. PPG Industriesannounced an agreement to acquire Glidden from AkzoNobel for $1.05 billion on December 14, 2012. The transaction closed April 1, 2013. Following the deal, PPG will be the second largest paint manufacturer in North American, behind Sherwin-Williams. The Glidden subsidiary is headquartered inStrongsville, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland.

Glidden was started in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1875 by Francis Harrington Glidden, Levi Brackett and Thomas Bolles. It began making varnishes for furniture, pianos, carriages, and wagons. It expanded greatly, opening a 17-acre varnish factory in 1908 which was claimed to be the largest in the world.

It was initially named the Glidden, Brackett & Company and was renamed later to the Glidden & Joy Company, and in 1890 incorporated as The Glidden Varnish Company. Francis Glidden retired from the business at the age of 85, turning the company over to Adrian D. Joyce and his associates after a public sale. Joyce became president when Glidden was incorporated in 1917, a title he would retain until 1950, when his son, Dwight P. Joyce, succeeded him. Joyce rolled up ten paint and varnish competitors in his first two years at the helm.

During the Roaring Twenties, Joyce greatly expanded the company by integrating vertically through the acquisition of chemical and pigment companies, and creating The Glidden Food Products Co. in 1920.