The Early Years

In 1908, in the Bahamas, Armaly Brands got our start in the natural ocean sponge business. W.J. Armaly began harvesting, processing, and shipping natural ocean sponges around the world. When his son, John W. Armaly, immigrated to the United States, he opened a packing plant on Iron Street in Detroit, marking the birth of the Armaly Sponge Company in the United States.

Growth & Innovation

The Armaly Sponge Company experienced steady growth over the years and gained nationwide distribution, selling in hardware stores and gas stations as well as with automobile manufacturers. In 1926, we added the Ford Motor Company and the S.S. Kresge Company to our growing list of customers. John Armaly and Henry Ford (who referred to John as "Spongy"), traded bales of natural sponges for cars at Ford's Highland Park plant.

A lunch with Sebastian S. Kresge at the local hamburger grill usually resulted in a debate: "Why spend an extra penny for a slice of cheese?" was a favorite topic. During the depression, Armaly 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 use it to buy goods and services at Kresge stores.

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 infamous red tide hit the sponge beds in the Caribbean virtually wiping out the natural sponge industry in the United States. Buffeted by these events, Armaly contracted its business, focusing only on its closest and best customers for many years.

In the early ‘60s, we 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 number one in institutional markets. When Simonize began distribution in grocery stores under the brand “SaniSoft,” Armaly began selling to a variety of discount retailers under the name “Estracell.”

Adding a Generation

In 1972, John’s children began joining the company. At that time, Armaly became both a distributor and fabricator of master blocks supplied by Simonize and Scott Papers, Foam Division. Rapid growth forced three physical moves in three years until 1979 when the company acquired the Simonize Polyester Sponge plant. In 1983, the company moved to its current home in Walled Lake, Michigan.

Today, Armaly Brands products are the choice of more than two thirds of consumer and professional buyers who prefer polyester sponges. The Estracell® and AutoShow® brands lead their segments. The Armaly ProPlus® brand is the leader in the traditional DIY and Professional base.

In 2010, we acquired another iconic American brand known for its quality products: Brillo®. As a result, a new line of Brillo Estracell®...More Sanitary! sponges was born. Most recently, we welcomed the household cleaners Cameo®, Parsons®, and SNO BOL® into the Armaly Brands family. More than 100 years after W.J. Armaly began harvesting natural ocean sponges, our family-owned business continues to supply effective and thorough solutions for specialized cleaning and construction projects.