Melvin Caldwell, the founder of what would one day become Masterchem Industries LLC, started business in 1954 as a Mautz Paint dealer on Easton Avenue in St. Louis, Mo. Along with the Mautz paint line, he carried products from a local paint manufacturing company known as P.D. George. Soon after, Mr. Caldwell rented a retail space on Woodson Road in St. Louis County and started manufacturing the Caldwell Paint line in a used 50-gallon dough mixer that he bought from a bakery. His company at the time was known as Color Wheel.
