Royal Purple was founded in 1986, but its roots go back much further. Founder John Williams was a pioneer in developing synthetic lubricants as far back as the 1940s and 1950s. He used his expertise in chemical engineering to found two other successful lubricant companies prior to founding Royal Purple.
    Mr. Williams had officially retired in the 1980s, yet he continued to pursue his passion for lubrication by serving as a consultant to numerous companies. In 1986 an oil production company asked Mr. Williams to solve chronic bearing failures in their large compressors. Mr. Williams found that there was simply not a lubricant available that could handle the demands of the equipment. He immediately began to put his extensive lubrication background to work with long hours and late nights in the lab. The result of his efforts was the development of a new lubrication technology.
    Mr. Williams' new lubricant had unusually high film strength capable of protecting bearings under heavy loads. It also had exceptional oxidation stability (for long oil life) while providing outstanding protection against rust and corrosion in both wet and high temperature applications. The new lubricant would not only prevent varnish and sludge, but also clean the equipment in the process. It extended oil drain intervals and the life of the equipment while reducing maintenance costs, equipment downtime, and energy costs, resulting in dramatic savings.
    Mr. Williams' new lubricant easily solved the oil product company’s equipment problems. When the company’s plant manager tried the oil, he said that it was so superior to anything he had tried before that it shouldn’t even look like other lubricants.
    Mr. Williams offered to make it red, green or blue, but the customer had seen those before. The customer said he had never seen purple oil, so Mr. Williams elected to make the lubricant purple. That lubricant, called Synfilm®, along with its exclusive, proprietary Synerlec® additive technology, became the cornerstone of Royal Purple’s entire line of high performance industrial, automotive and racing oils.
    Mr. Williams decided to name the company Royal Purple since historically, royalty used the color purple for only the finest of fabrics because it was so expensive to produce. Mr. Williams’ hope was that the color's association with quality would symbolize the quality in all of Royal Purple's lubricants.
    Today, Royal Purple continues to commit significant resources into research and quality assurance to ensure that it continues to raise the standard of excellence in lubrication.