Corporate History

Bardahl Manufacturing Cooperation was founded in 1939 by Ole Bardahl and is still privately owned by his family. A Norwegian immigrant, Mr. Bardahl arrived in the United States in the early 1920s with $32.00 in his pocket and a great will to succeed. He worked very hard, tackling a great variety of jobs until he eventually became a contractor and builder of homes.

Ole Bardahl was a risk-taker. During World War II, he was one of the first Seattle-area builders to construct 100 houses at a time for war workers. He was very successful as a contractor and builder and used his profits to seek further challenges and investments.

In 1939, Mr. Bardahl met a chemist and immediately became interested in the chemical company and its formulas. He soon bought the company, forming Bardahl Manufacturing, which made an oil additive and a soap product. Glass bottles were hand-filled with the oil additive, which was formulated to reduce friction and wear. First year sales were less than $200.

Since there were many large soap manufacturers, Mr. Bardahl decided to concentrate on automotive products and by the early 1950s he had expanded to become the world's largest reseller of oil additives. From the start, in 1939, Bardahl made its name by manufacturing top-quality products which featured money-back guarantees.

Mr. Bardahl took great pride in demonstrating the wonders of his oil additives, proving the superior lubrication quality of the molecular formation that stays on the moving parts of an automobile. He would fill the oil sump in his own car, usually a Cadillac, with one of Bardahl's famous “polar attraction” formulas, drain the sump, and then drive 100 miles. Known as the "No-Oil Run," this test is still successfully demonstrated by Bardahl distributors in many parts of the world.

Racing

Ole Bardahl was a pioneer in motor sports sponsorship, interested in high-compression engines. He would give local racers Bardahl products to prove how well they worked in engines pushed to the maximum. He was a sponsor who insisted that his products be used in every phase of racing.

Bardahl's championship hydroplane race boats, all called The Miss Bardahl, won 5 Gold Cups and 6 National Championships. Bardahl-sponsored airplanes won transcontinental races and air races, and Bardahl race cars participated in every type of auto sport from Grand Prix, cross-country, drags and off-road racing to the Indy 500.

Bardahl Today

Bardahl Manufacturing Corporation is still headquartered in Seattle, Washington, where Ole Bardahl formed the company in 1939. In addition to sales offices in London, England, Bardahl is in a partnership venture in a blending and packaging facility in France. There are licensed packagers and blenders in 8 countries around the world: the Netherlands, Italy, Morocco, Brazil, Argentina, Thailand, Singapore and India.

Bardahl products are sold worldwide through our distribution network in over 70 countries in North American, the European Economic Community, Russia, Japan, the far East, Central and South America and Africa. This network of manufacturing and distribution facilities assures full accessibility to the complete range of quality Bardahl products.

Bardahl and its affiliates still follow Ole Bardahl's philosophy of producing the finest quality products in the lubrication and additive marketplace, continuing to lead the field with innovative, technologically advanced products. Scientific research and the chemists in Bardahl's in-house laboratories constantly improve and update formulas, keeping the products a step ahead of the competition. Bardahl's goal has always been to maintain leadership at the forefront of technological advances in the field of additives and specialty lubricants.

Today Bardahl sells well over 400 products packaged in 16 different languages and licensed in over 70 countries. Bardahl's history demonstrates over eighty years of commitment to producing the best quality products in the marketplace using the finest ingredients. These high standards continue to win recognition and endorsement of engine manufacturers around the world, who in turn recommend Bardahl to millions of consumers each year.