Since 1960, Hapco Products has been producing high quality automotive products for consumers in the Motor City. He comes from a long line of German engineers and his father, Howard Frederick, was a civil engineer for the City of Detroit. He helped lay the infrastructure for buildings along Grand Boulevard when Detroit was just a small town. At a young age, John Frederick worked at family-owned ga
s stations and realized the need for various products to fix cars and improve performance. Instead of going to work for an automotive chemical company, he formed Havenly Products Company, otherwise known as “Hapco.” The first product, “Vinyl and Upholstery Cleaner” was invented in the family kitchen. It was first sold to gas stations where the phrase “Spray on, wipe off – that’s clean” would convince gas stations of their need for the product. Within months, Hapco Products could be found in auto parts stores in the Detroit Metropolitan Area. From there, John saw the need to make a product to stop leaks in rubber seals. Shortly thereafter, “Main Sta” was born. With business booming, John’s daughters, Linda and Leslie, joined the Hapco team and learned everything there was to know about the business. They learned to hand-filled and screen print on the original glass and tin bottles. John continued to explore the most common automotive problems and find a solution for them. With every problem that was solved, Hapco’s reputation for quality products continued to spread across Michigan. Since 1987 when John married Marilyn, the duo helped bring Hapco Products to over 300 locations across Michigan. They modernized production getting a 6-head automatic filler machine. John is now 89 years young and Marilyn has been the most wonderful partner he could have asked for. She continues to help the company grow on a daily basis and her love for John and others is seen throughout the entire company. Marilyn’s three children, two sons-in-law and grandson have joined the Hapco team.
