1970s

A Decade of Growth

After the fire, Jay Van Andel vowed to reconstruct the aerosol factory and to salvage the business. The factory was rebuilt and sales reached an estimated retail figure of US$100 million. The Amway product line was also greatly expanded with NUTRILITE™ Dietary Supplements becoming a best-selling line, and the PERSONAL SHOPPERS™ catalogs continued this growth and diversification.

By the mid '70s Amway trucks travelled more than 3.25 million miles (approx 5.23 million kilometres) shipping products to millions of Distributors. At the same time, the company expanded overseas, opening markets in eight countries on three continents. Amway launched its second international affiliate half a world away in Australia, swiftly followed by the UK, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

Amway Japan Limited (AJL), founded in Tokyo in 1979, quickly became one of Amway's largest markets in terms of product sales. As challenging as it was to enter new markets―faced with everything from different languages and laws to difficult distribution channels―Amway continued to grow globally.

At home, in Ada, Michigan, the Amway World Headquarters complex grew rapidly to keep up with the exploding business. Amway's manufacturing facility grew to more than a mile long, and really became a self-contained city, with its own power generator, water treatment plant, recycling facility, shuttle bus service and fire department.