Consistency Builds Customers — Q&A With Ettore President Chris Smahlik

Ettore president Chris Smahlik explains why reliable product performance and cohesive assortments are key to helping independent retailers build loyalty in the cleaning category.

Nearly 90 years after Ettore Products Company helped define the modern squeegee, the company’s direction remains closely tied to the principles that built it. Under the leadership of president Chris Smahlik, that connection to legacy is focused less on nostalgia and more on continuity of product design, relationships and purpose within the cleaning category.

Smahlik points to Ettore’s origins in professional window cleaning as a constant guide. The company’s earliest tools were shaped by real-world use, and that same feedback continues to influence product development today. “Listening to the window cleaner is still a priority,” he tells Hardware Connection in this exclusive interview. This philosophy, he adds, carries through whether the customer is a professional contractor or a DIY homeowner tackling a weekend project.

As Ettore expanded into retail in the early 1980s, the challenge shifted to adapting those professional-grade tools for a broader audience without sacrificing performance. That balance remains central to the brand’s identity. Today, Ettore operates across independent dealers and large retail accounts, supporting each with a mix of education, merchandising flexibility and product consistency. The result is a company that continues to evolve with the market while maintaining a clear throughline from its origins to its current role in the channel.

Here, Smahlik shares his insights about Ettore, independent retail and emerging trends in the cleaning category.

Hardware Connection: Ettore has a long history in professional cleaning tools. What parts of that legacy still directly influence how you design and position products today?

Chris Smahlik: As a 90-year-old American manufacturing company, we have had to adapt to the changing business environment. Our core beliefs [are those of] a family-owned business. We’ve helped build an industry, so legacy is everything to Ettore. That not only influences our products, but also the way we treat all our business partners. From customers to distributors, manufacturing partners and our loyal employees, we treat them all like part of the legacy. [Company founder Ettore Steccone] was a window cleaner; that’s why his design worked: It was based on real-world use. Listening to the window cleaner is still a priority today.

As a family-rooted brand that built its reputation with professionals, how do you balance honoring that heritage while adapting to modern retail and merchandising expectations?

We started our foray into retail around 1983-84. For the first 45 years, we strictly made tools for the professionals. There was no question that we wouldn’t compromise quality while expanding our customer base. Changing a tool that worked was never in our mind. Now, after being involved in retail for 45 years, we realize the nuances between retail and professional. Making a product that bridges that gap took time to perfect. We realized that homeowners were going to use our tools and then put them away for a period of time. When they went back to use them again, they needed to work like they were new. We made tweaks, but no matter what products we sell, they must live up to the quality of Ettore.

Independent hardware store owners often differentiate through product knowledge and assortments tailored to their customer base. How does Ettore support those retailers in telling the product story at the store level? And how does dealing with the independent channel differ from big-box retail?

Without the independent dealers, Ettore would never have had the opportunity to enter the retail market. So our roots with them helped shape the way we view the market. We knew that, initially, education would be key. Most people’s idea of a squeegee was what they encountered at the gas station. We had to change that perspective. To do so we had to make sure physical displays were available with literature that instructed how to window clean and, foremost, excellent customer service. Real people answering real questions and providing help any way they can.

With the birth of the internet and social media, the digital world allows you to have more resources readily available whenever the customer wants them. We have a YouTube channel and online marketing material available to dealers and the public, helping educate and support the window cleaning segment. Independent dealers gave us more freedom to tailor the displays to their customer base. Big-box is great—it allows you to get your branded tools in front of a lot of people with consistency—but having the ability to open up your catalog and create a display that works for the dealer makes forming partnerships easier. Having both channels gives us the opportunity to reach the DIYer.

Where are you seeing the most meaningful growth in the cleaning tools category, and what trends are driving it across professional and DIY segments?

It amazes me how many squeegees we make a year. With that said, our growth is pretty linear. The pro market is strong; that’s where we built our name. The DIY retail market is ever-changing. We have had steady growth. Covid threw some adversely high numbers into the mix, but we’re seeing that come back down in the last couple of years. Still, DIY seems to be steady. People are realizing that, like everything else, if you have the right tools you can do the job yourself. Professional window cleaning is an art, but the average person can do a good job with a little practice.

The only other specialty segment we do is pure water. Pure water cleaning allows people to clean whatever—vehicles, windows, buildings—without the necessity of drying. It leaves a spot-free rinse and allows for faster cleaning. We make machines that produce the water and water-fed carbon fiber poles, with brushes, that distribute and clean up to 65 square feet. It’s a small market, but services a major problem. Hard-to-clean buildings and solar panels are just a couple of the areas that pure water serves as a solution. We haven’t tapped the retail market with ours yet, but there are other manufacturers that have similar items geared toward auto washing in the market.

Drawing on Ettore’s long view of the market, what’s your bold prediction for how independent hardware store owners will need to think differently about the cleaning category in the next two years?

In the future, dealers will need to make sure that their offerings are a complete program. A lot of what you see now is piecemealed together with no continuity. Having tools that were designed to work together and guaranteed to work will help not only the dealer but their customer base. Consistency helps build a loyal customer.