Our Company

Company founded as Safety Stair Tread Company in Cleveland, Ohio in February with a single product – Alumogrit®. In June, the company moved to Wooster, OH.

Charles “Chic” Loehr graduates from the University of Cincinnati and starts work in Wooster. He steadily rises through the company and purchases as much stock as he can from the owners, eventually amassing controlling interest in the 30s.

Safety stairs have always been installed in high-profile locations – a testimonial from 1925 from the University of Notre Dame was used in company marketing materials.

With a diversified product line, the name of the company was changed to Wooster Products Inc. The new logo was used until 1965.

During the Great Depression employees would show up and work if there was work to do – and play cards if not. Volunteers built a cupola system allowing the company to begin casting treads to increase sales.

Shreve foundry purchased and started making tread casting at that plant.

Wooster Products used its casting skills to manufacture aircraft parts during the war. Metal molding and trim was popular and contributed significantly to company sales.

Post War Economic Boom-Cast treads continue to gain in popularity, leading to an expansion of the foundry.

Safe Stride Paint and POXIGRIP added to the product line.

Supergrit® and Spectra® introduced.

New plants for new products – the foundry was expanded again and mechanized. Present office building constructed – with original safety treads still in use today!

Stairmaster® product introduced to address repair work.

New logo introduced.

Epoxy WP-70 introduced in 1970. OSHA also established.

Flex-Tred introduced. A new building was constructed to manufacture this non-slip safety tape.

The Arora family purchased the company from the Loehr family in 1980, ushering in a new era for the family run company.

Skateboards are big business as Wooster supplied Die-Cut Flex-Tred to many skateboard manufacturers. The US military also uses the product for wing tape, on armored personnel carriers, ships, and other applications.

The company works with the U.S. Navy to develop anti-slip stairs for NavSea projects. Coatings are also used extensively to provide secure footing on ships.

Wooster continues their leadership in the safety stair industry with the introduction of NITEGLOW™ glow-in-the-dark safety treads and Flex-Tred photoluminescent technology.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame opens. Wooster products ensure that fans can safely navigate their favorite artifacts and concerts.

2-stage invented, allowing safety stair treads to be new when building is completed and turned over to new occupants.

To meet short lead times company stocks inventory – currently holds over $1MM to accommodate customers.

NITEGLOW introduced – initial Stairmaster NITEGLOW order to Shadow Lake Golf Club. New York Times Building soon followed as did numerous SUNY campus buildings and others across the country.

AT&T Stadium (Dallas Cowboys stadium) opens – this was the first major installation using 2-piece technology.

NITEGLOW approved by MEA, NY Dept. of Buildings.

NITEGLOW added to the Statue of Liberty and in the National Museum of American History (Smithsonian complex).

Unusual orders are not unusual, as shown by these curved, custom-ordered nosings installed in Virginia Beach, VA.

Stairmaster installed in the U.S. Capitol Building as part of Dome Reconstruction Project.

Alumogrit stair nosings installed in new locker expansion project for Panama Canal.

Custom machinery is common at Wooster, including machinery designed to grind 8-foot cast reads, and to test lifespan of products. Transit has always been an important market, including the installation in Hawaii for Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit in 2020-2021.

Major sports arenas across the world feature Wooster Products, including St. Louis Soccer, Dallas Cowboys Stadium, Diamondback stadium and others.

Wooster celebrates 100 years with a Centennial logo.