“It Makes a Difference,” proclaimed Havoline’s earliest ad slogan. And indeed, Havoline® has made a difference ever since its introduction at the turn of the 20th century. Until that time, automobiles often sat idle in the barn during the winter because cold weather frequently caused waxy motor oils to thicken into a sluggish mass around the engine. Havoline, one of the first motor oils manufactured with the automobile exclusively in mind, changed all of this.
The “Havoline” name was first coined in 1904 by The Havemeyer Oil Company of New York. As a company founded to produce and distribute “lubricating and all other oils of every kind and nature,” Havemeyer’s immediate challenge was to develop a product that facilitated cold-weather starting by reducing the wax content in motor oil. Havemeyer engineers overcame this problem by inventing an exclusive filtration process that helped to rid the oil of its waxiness.
In December 1906, the “Havoline” name was registered as a company trademark for use as a brand name on oils and greases. A month later, Havoline Oil Company spun off from Havemeyer, fashioned for itself a winged Havoline logo, and became a company concerned solely with the production, refining and sales of animal oils and fats as well as mineral oils.
The early success of Havoline Motor Oil attracted attention within the oil industry, and in May 1909, Indian Refining Company purchased the Havoline Oil Company as well as Havoline’s founder, The Havemeyer Oil Company. Indian registered “Havoline” as a brand name for lubricating oils, retained the winged Havoline logo and introduced the slogan: “It Makes a Difference.”
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