The comfort and beauty we enjoy today are thanks to people who thought, innovated, and wanted to give life a different shape, each in their own field. We shine a light on the lives of

these individuals to learn how they succeeded. In this feature, we explore the life of Norwegian entrepreneur Odd Gleditsch, who brought beautiful colors into our homes by founding

Jotun Paints. Odd opened his first store in Sandefjord, Norway, offering specialized services for ships alongside the sale of painting tools and cans of paint.

Odd played a very special role in the development of Jotun, where he served as CEO from 1926 to 1967. His personality had an

extraordinary impact on the company, its employees, and its customers alike.

Odd Gleditsch was born on October 2, 1894, in Sandefjord, in Norway’s Vestfold region. After completing middle school, he spent six seasons working

aboard a ship in the South Ocean, where whaling was one of the most prosperous industries in his hometown. He entered the stock market during World War I

and tried his luck in 1916, but سوق البورصة it collapsed in 1918, and he suffered a major loss.مولده

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أول متجر

He opened his first store in 1920, selling equipment, tools, and services for ships. Sales to the whaling fleet grew significantly.

In 1926, he spotted an opportunity to invest in the paint industry and acquired Jotun’s factory from Johan Bryde after Bryde went bankrupt in 1925. He revived it

as Jotun Kemiske Fabrik, with capital of no more than 60,000 Norwegian kroner.

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Jotun Arcanol paint

In 1931, chemist Dr. Manfred Ragn invented an anti-corrosion compound that inhibits rust and reduces its harmful effects. Odd acted quickly

to purchase the product’s patent rights and introduced Jotun Arcanol, a reddish-gray marine paint that proved immensely successful

مالكي السفن.

Jotun’s success continued to grow. In 1948, the company launched its Drygolin exterior paint, which remains one of the best paint products to this day.

in the world. The company grew dramatically and began investing in research in 1950, when Odd built a new, larger factory in Sandefjord and

dedicated the entire top floor to a research and development laboratory staffed by five of the best chemists—a move many considered madness.

إلا أن غليديتسش صرح أن “نجاحنا في المستقبل يعتمد على الاستثمار في البحث والتطوير”، وتمتلك جوتن اليوم واحدة من أكبر مراكز البحث والتطوير

in Norway.

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Expansion into the retail market

Odd was able to expand into the retail market in 1953 after its Fenom interior paint became a major success, as consumers could use it without

needing to hire professionals. This was followed by the invention of the Tribit paint spray, which added a splash of color to homes in 1956.

Jotun began its international expansion in 1962, establishing factories in Libya before reaching Thailand in 1967. In a short time, Jotun became the largest

paint manufacturer in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, while the company began producing powder coatings in 1968 in Larvik, Norway.

Odd Gleditsch Jr. succeeded his father as CEO in 1967. His father remained a board member until 1071, and Gleditsch

Sr. was also a board member of the Federation of Norwegian Industries and an honorary member of the Norwegian Association of Hunters. He was awarded the rank of Knight First Class by the

Norwegian Crown in 1965 and died in January 1990 in his hometown of Sandefjord.