Ecolab Inc. , headquartered in St. Petersburg. Paul, Minnesota, is a global provider of water, hygiene, and energy technologies and services for the United States food, energy, health, industry and hospitality markets. It was founded as a Economic Laboratory in 1923 by Merritt J. Osborn, and renamed "Ecolab" in 1986.
Video Ecolab
History
Initial years: 1923 - 1950s
Merritt J. "M.J." Osborn founded the Economic Laboratory in 1923 with the tagline "Save time, enlighten the workforce and reduce costs to those we serve." The company's original product is Absorbit, a product designed to clean the carpet quickly in a hotel room. This was soon followed by Soilax, dishwashing soap. During the 1930s, the company expanded throughout the United States and sales reached US $ 5.4 million in the late 1940s. The company acquired Magnus Company in the early 1950s, which gave the company access to Magnus's industry-specific businesses including pulp processing, metalworking, transportation, and petrochemicals.
Transition to public company and expansion: 1950s - 1986
In the 1950s, the international expansion of the Economic Laboratory began, with the formation of the first foreign subsidiary in Sweden in 1956. Became a publicly traded company in 1957, and continued to grow during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1979, he acquired Apollo Technologies, but in 1983 the subsidiary acquired Apollo was closed.
Ecolab Inc.: 1986 - now
In 1986 the company changed its name from Economic Laboratory to Ecolab Inc.
In 1987, Ecolab purchased a provider of dry care service provider, ChemLawn for US $ 376 million. It sold the acquisition in 1992 to ServiceMaster for US $ 103 million because it can not turn ChemLawn into a profitable business. Ecolab and the fast-moving German consumer goods company Henkel KGaA formed a 50:50 European joint venture called 'Henkel-Ecolab' in mid-1991 for expansion into the European/Russian market.
Ecolab will continue to acquire companies in the 1990s, Kay Chemical (1993), Gibson Chemical Industries Ltd. based in Australia (1997), and GCS Service Inc. (1998). In 2001, the company purchased 50% of Henkel's shares in a European joint venture, Henkel-Ecolab. Ecolab integrates the former Henkel-Ecolab into its existing global operations. As a legacy of Henkel-Ecolab's cooperation from 1991-2001, Henkel continues to hold a 29.5% stake in Ecolab Inc. after the sale of the joint venture.
In the mid-2000s, strategic acquisitions continued, and Ecolab created a customer offer portfolio by penetrating into the food safety management business and health care business unit. In 2005, he opened a new global research, development and engineering center in Eagan, Minnesota.
In 2008, Henkel sold all of the 73 million shares, ie, nearly 29.5% of the shares it held in Ecolab, ending a two-decade long partnership. In the same year, Ecolab established Zurich as the headquarters of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
In 2010, Ecolab was ranked # 365 in the Fortune 500 magazine, and in 2011 Ecolab was named one of the "Ethical Companies in the World" by the Ethisphere Institute.
In July 2011, Ecolab announced a merger with Nalco Holding Company, Inc., and in December 2011 Nalco became a wholly owned subsidiary of Ecolab Inc. after completing the acquisition of US $ 5.4 billion.
In May 2012, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, through his investment vehicle - Cascade Investment and Bill & amp; Melinda Gates Foundation - increased its ownership by 10.8% in Ecolab to 25%.
In October 2012, Ecolab entered into an agreement to acquire Champion Technologies. The purchase was closed in April 2013.
In November 2015, Ecolab acquired US operations from Charlotte, NCC-based Swisher Hygiene, which provides hygiene and sanitation solutions for the foodservice, hospitality, retail and health care markets.
In July 2016, Ecolab made minority investments in Aquatech International, LLC for an undisclosed amount.
Maps Ecolab
Operation
Ecolab employs approximately 47,000 people, and operates in more than 170 countries. These are organized into the following geographical divisions:
- North America (based in St. Paul, Minnesota)
- Europe (based in Zurich, Switzerland)
- Middle East and Africa (based in Dubai, UAE)
- Asia Pacific
- Greater China
- Latin America
- South Africa
Products and services
Ecolab provides water and sanitation technologies and services for the food, energy, health, industry and hospitality markets.
The company's food safety services provide consultation to restaurants, hospitals, food retailers and food & amp; beverage making facilities. It is also a supplier of chemicals used by meat and poultry processers - to reduce pathogens, such as E. coli and salmonella - in raw beef and poultry.
See also
- Diversey, Inc.
- Nalco Holding Company
References
External links
- Archive of the Ecolab archive at the Minnesota Historical Society
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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