In 1973, Nelson Jonnes, a Minnesota research chemist with more than a dozen patents under his belt, threw together some slippery ingredients in his basement and began selling it as a SCUBA diving-suit lubricant. It was well received, but the potential income from that alone could not support his family of six.

With a quick change of marketing focus in 1974, the fledgling company began selling the same technology to the telcom and power utility markets in the form of a unique, water-based cable pulling lubricant. It revolutionized the industry, which until then had used mud, wax, and grease. Polywater® Cable Pulling Lubricants have been the leaders ever since.

Over the years, the Polywater® line expanded greatly. Today, in addition to its twenty different formulations of pulling lubes for every type of wire and cable imaginable, the product line includes a broad range of cleaners and other specialty chemicals. These include cable cleaners, contact cleaners, general electrical cleaners, hot stick and boom truck cleaners, fiberglass wax and buffing kits, penetrating oils, cold galvanizing spray, alcohol wipes, cable removal aids, cable blowing lubricant, cable pulling software, training videos, MRO aerosols, pipe joint lubricant, pump packing installation lubricants, conduit coupling adhesives, conduit de-icers, lubricant pumps, cable handling gloves, duct sealants, sanding cloths, dry towelettes, winter-grade lubricants for cold weather applications, pressurized cable leak sealants, transformer leak sealants, hand and tool cleaners, rubber goods cleaner, and a host of other unique chemicals and accessories.

Polywater’s horizon has expanded fast too. Today, in addition to the communications and power utility markets, its products are sold into the general electrical trades, CATV, MRO industrial, and data communications markets in over fifty countries worldwide.

Strong distributor alliances, technical expertise, environmental sensitivity, and nearly three decades’ experience in cable placement, lubrication and cleaning, make our tagline, “Solutions at Work” ring true. Polywater® products are the most extensively tested, approved, recommended, specified, and used.