During the darkest days of World War 11, Waproo was so named as an abbreviation of 'Water Proof' because it was originally applied to the first waterproof glue made with cold water. The glue had been invented for the Australian Air Force and manufactured and supplied to it from a factory in Brunswick, Victoria.

After the war the glue's inventor, Julius Henley, turned his inventive genius to shoe cleaners and soon pioneered a range of high quality shoe care products that became trendsetters throughout the world.

Despite its rapid growth and diversification, Melbourne based Waproo has managed to remain an all Australian family business.

The business has been involved for three generations in the manufacture of chemical specialities. Primarily, these are shoe care products marketed under the Waproo trademark and horse care and leather care products marketed under the Joseph Lyddy trade mark.

A number of trade names and businesses have been acquired by Waproo Pty Ltd to further enhance their product range.

The company has developed to the stage where it now has approximately 1,000 product items. Most of the product items are manufactured by Waproo Pty Ltd at its factory in Canterbury, Victoria. The company currently employs more than fifty people including interstate sales representatives.

The marketing of the Waproo Pty Ltd products is generally directed towards specific retail outlets such as footwear retailers, departmental stores, footwear repairers, camping outdoor retailers, disposal store retailers, sport stores and leather craft stores. Some of the Waproo products are marketed under their own trademark whilst others are custom packed for shoe retailers and shoe manufacturers.

Each Australian state has either agents or wholesaler stockist of Waproo products who market the Waproo products through retailers. In addition, each capital city in Australia has an area manager employed by Waproo Pty Ltd who co-ordinates the sale of the products in that state. Waproo products are exported to New Zealand, United States of America, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and the Pacific Islands.