Binghamton Oil Refining Company

Ever hear of "Valvoline?"

 Updated 4 October 2018

From the bibliographic source below:

 

Title	Binghamton Images of America
Authors	Ed Aswad, Suzanne M. Meredith
Contributor	Rick Marsi
Edition	illustrated
Publisher	Arcadia Publishing, 2001
ISBN	0738509582, 9780738509587
Length	128 pages, p. 87

This company became famous for one product that far outpaced sales of all others. 

Writing in the PressConnects 19 Nov 2014, Gerald R. Smith, Correspondent for the Binghamton Press and Sun Bulletin states:

"The Continuous Oil Refining Company opened its doors in a brick building next to the Erie Railroad tracks. [Dr. John] Ellis, along with [E.C.] Kattell, applied for and received a series of patents for the invention of a steam boiler meant to extract the oil into the finished product. Ellis called his completed lubricant Binghamton Cylinder Oil....

"By 1868, Ellis saw that marketing was an important part to the growth of the Continuous Oil Refining Company. While Binghamton Cylinder Oil was a good name, it was not one that was instantly recognizable for what it did. Ellis and his partners decided that a name change might improve sales of the product. But what to call it? I am sure a number of names were proposed — maybe Oildoesit, or Thing that Makes the Machine Go. But in the end, they decided on something much simpler — Valvoline!"

Yes, "Valvoline" was more memorable than this!