With people shut in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, do-it-yourself (DIY) projects exploded in popularity. From birdhouses to bathroom renovations, doorknobs to decks, making home improvements was one of the most productive ways to pass the time.
This led to an increased demand for things like coatings, sealants, and other products for beautifying, improving, and protecting one's home. RPM International Inc., the Ohio-based company responsible for well-known brands such as Rust-Oleum, DAP, and Zinsser, was there to support DIYers worldwide. And because RPM's procurement team had recently consolidated its suppliers, it was in a better position than many of its competitors to secure materials and control costs.
The company, which has nearly 15,000 employees and operates 124 manufacturing sites around the world, just concluded its own DIY project: a three-year operating improvement program called MAP to Growth. The plan resulted in greater efficiency, which led to accelerated growth and increased value for RPM's leading brands, contributing to $5.5 billion in revenue last year and a stock price that has doubled since kicking off the MAP to Growth program three years ago. 
"Throughout our history, we have been exceptional at growing the top line. Now we are a much more efficient business as well," Sullivan says. "This is a one-two punch that is very powerful in terms of our ability to compete and win in the consumer and industrial markets we serve. It has us well positioned for another decade of growth and success."
This year marks a return to the Fortune 500 for RPM, which made the list once before, in 1994. The CEO then was Sullivan's father, Thomas C. Sullivan, who oversaw the growth of the company from an $11 million business in 1971, the year he took over, to one that posted nearly $2 billion in sales in 2002. 
"My father passed away in November, and I know he would have been ecstatic to learn that RPM has once again achieved the great recognition of being named a Fortune 500 company," Sullivan says. "This time, we intend to stay indefinitely."