It was Dr. Helmut Klever, then lecturer for chemistry at the Technical University of Karlsruhe and the son of the founder of the Chemical Plant, who succeeded in finding the formula for a special oil. He coined the name Ballistol by combining the technical term ballistics and the Latin word for oil oleum. Soon Ballistol managed to establish itself as a "wonder oil" due to its incredible, often miraculous qualities. Ballistol has been produced and sold worldwide for more than four generations since 1904.

Originally developed for the imperial army as a weapon maintenance oil, Ballistol soon became an indispensable household remedy in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Millions of consumers have used and experimented with Ballistol, thus finding surprisingly many ways and cases of employing it, also with human beings and animals.