History
Frank Till opened the first store at 6th & Watson
Streets in Philadelphia on June 8, 1888. Frank moved his operation to
Federal Street in Camden, NJ in 1910. Clarence, the older son, began
working in the store at age 15 and took over upon his father’s
death in 1921. Clarence was a tough taskmaster and he was always looking
for the best products to sell. Mr. Till’s failing health caused
and early retirement in 1963, when he sold the business to his employees,
Henry Monczewski, Jack Haines, Ray Veach, and his daughter Mary Jane.
The company became more heavily involved with automotive
paint in the 1950s with Sherwin Williams brands such as Acme. In 1966,
Till’s brought in the Dupont brands which rapidly became the primary
lines. Then in 1981, Till Paint Company became the first automotive
jobber to take on the Sikkens line, a high-tech urethane paint system
manufactured in Holland. Till also committed itself to the 3M brand
because, like Sikkens, it used the “best practices” approach
in training shop technicians.
The company CEO torch was passed to Bob Stronski
in 1988. Bob understood his customers needed more than just product,
they needed an on-going education. Till started the Master Car Refinishers
dinner-meetings to present industry-related seminars for owners / managers
and technicians.
Bob Monczewski assumed the company leadership
upon Stronski’s death in 1999. The 21st century Till Paint company
added shop audits, to help managers identify improvable areas for profitability,
and environmental-safety training and assistance to its menu of services.
The history of Till
Paint in pictures...