Meriden is home to the district office for Sherwin Williams, the largest producer of paints and coatings in the country, and one of the largest in the world. This office is not open to the public. The company was founded in 1866 by Sherwin and Edward Williams. It offers more than 1,200 shades of interior and exterior paint. Sherwin Williams holds more than 500 patents for inventions from the sealable paint can and the paint roller to the twist-and-pour paint can.