During World War II in the 1940's, B-29 Navigators in the Army Air Force had trouble with dirty buildup on their gunner sights. A heavy-duty formulation was developed to clean the plastic without streaking, smearing and residue left behind by lesser cleaners. After the war, A.J. Funk acquired the formula for this special cleaner and hired a local retiree to make it in the back room of his paper company on North State St. in downtown Elgin, Illinois. At first, the mixing was done by hand and the bottles were filled one gallon at a time. The purple formula called "Sparkle" caught on fast as word spread in the Fox Valley area of Illinois where its distribution began, mainly through a network of paper salesman. A.W. Funk, son of the founder, managed the company's growth over the years and now A.J. Funk & Co. manufactures millions of gallons per year of its famous Sparkle Glass Cleaner in addition to its Auto Glass Cleaner and PC Screen Glass Cleaner. Celebrating its 60th year of business in 2006!