It all began in the Bahamas when W.J. Armaly produced natural ocean sponges for export around the world. The company flourished in the early twentieth century when his son John W. Armaly immigrated to the United States, opened a packing plant on Iron Street in Detroit, Michigan and began selling natural sponges. His efforts gained nationwide distribution in variety, and hardware stores as well as gas stations and with automobile manufacturers. In 1926, the Ford Motor Company and the S.S. Kresge Company were added to the company’s growing list of customers. As stories go, John and Henry Ford, who referred to John as “Spongy”, traded bales of natural sponges for cars at Ford's Highland Park plant; and a lunch with Sebastian S. Kresge at the local hamburger grill usually resulted in a scolding on “Why spend an extra penny for a slice of cheese?” During the depression, the company accepted K-Script from Kresge as payment for goods shipped to Kresge stores. Armaly’s employees received the script as part of their pay and would in turn shop at Kresge stores, paying for goods and services with K-Script. During World War II, John received a reserve commission in the U.S. Navy, where he supervised the building of harbor security skiffs at the company’s Riverside packing plant turned boat yard in Florida. Support during the war years came in many forms including the sales of Lofah sponges for use as filters on submarines. The end of the war brought with it change. E.I. Dupont introduced the cellulose sponge as an incentive for consumers to buy its “No.7 Car Wax,” while the famous red tide hit the sponge beds in the Caribbean virtually wiping out raw material supply for the sponge industry in the United States. Buffeted by these events, the company retracted its business and serviced the closest and best customers for many years. In the early sixties, Armaly Sponge Company began distribution of a new type of sponge developed by the Simonize Company at their Benton Harbor, Michigan plant. Formulated from polyester resins to clean like a natural ocean sponge, the product soon ranked No.1 in institutional markets, and when Simonize began distribution in grocery stores under the brand “SaniSoft,” Armaly began selling to variety and discount retailers under the brand “Estracell.” In 1972, John's children began joining the company. During the seventies the company’s direction grew into both a distributor and fabricator of master blocks supplied by Simonize and Scott Papers, Foam Division. Rapid growth forced three physical moves in as many years until 1979 when the company acquired the Simonize Polyester Sponge plant. In 1983, both the Detroit and Benton Harbor facilities were consolidated into the company’s current home in Walled Lake, Michigan. Today, our Estracell and AutoShow brands lead their segments with market share of over 75% and 50% respectively. The Armaly ProPlus brand is the leader in the traditional DIY base, which enjoys a 35% market share. Our continuing television advertising campaign is providing awareness of the quality and fulfillment of the consumer’s need for our brands, and growing distribution is satisfying their demand.