It all began when President Roosevelt promised Prime Minister Churchill wartime equipment under the Lend Lease program in 1941. The United States transported tanks, planes, cars, and trucks to England by ship. In order to navigate through Nazi U-Boats, the American ships had to zig-zag back and forth, adding weeks to the voyage. Since England had limited supplies of fuel, Uncle Sam shipped the equipment with full tanks.

During the journey, the carburetors were gummed up by vapors. The US enlisted the help of PENRECO in Western Pennsylvania, who provided a solvent to remove the vapor varnish from the equipment.  The solvent was called Gumout, and it did exactly that. And the rest is history.