This article is about the consolidated history of the 1986 established Ecolab Inc.; including its foundation in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, and the acquisition of Nalco in 2011. For the history of acquired businesses of Nalco, see Nalco Holding Company.
Ecolab Inc. is an American corporation headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It develops and offers services, technology and systems that specialize in treatment, purification, cleaning and hygiene of water in a wide variety of applications. It helps organizations, both in private as well as public markets, treat their water for drinking use and for use in food, healthcare, hospitality-related safety and industry.[2] Founded as Economics Laboratory in 1923 by Merritt J. Osborn, it was eventually renamed "Ecolab" in 1986.[3][4]
Merritt J. "M.J." Osborn founded Economics Laboratory in 1923. The company's original product was Absorbit, a product designed to quickly clean carpets in hotel rooms. This was soon followed by Soilax, a dishwasher soap.
During the 1930s, the company expanded throughout the United States, with sales reaching US$5.4 million by the end of 1940s. It acquired the Magnus Company in the early 1950s, giving the company access to Magnus's industrial specialty businesses – including pulp and paper, metalworking, transportation, and petrochemical processing.[3]
Transition to a public corporation and expansion: 1950s–1986
In the 1950s, international expansion of Economics Laboratory started with the establishment of its first overseas subsidiary in Sweden in 1956. It became a publicly traded corporation in 1957.[3] In 1979, it acquired Apollo Technologies, which would be shut down in 1983 as a subsidiary. In 1984, EcoLab acquired pest elimination company Lystads, Inc., of Grand Forks, North Dakota.[5]
Ecolab Inc.: 1986–2000
In 1986, the company changed its name from Economics Laboratory to Ecolab Inc. and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
In 1987, the company formed a textile care division.
In 1987, Ecolab purchased the lawncare servicer provider ChemLawn for $376 million. It sold the acquisition in 1992 to ServiceMaster for $103 million as it couldn't turn ChemLawn into a profitable business.[3]
Ecolab and the German fast-moving consumer goods firm Henkel KGaA formed a 50:50 European joint venture called 'Henkel-Ecolab' in 1991 to expand into European and Russian markets.[6]
Ecolab continued to acquire companies in the 1990s, including Kay Chemical (1993), Australia-based Gibson Chemical Industries Ltd (1997), and GCS Service Inc (1998).[citation needed]
Ecolab Inc.: 2000–present
In the mid-2000s, strategic acquisitions continued, and Ecolab diversified its portfolio of customer offerings by venturing into the food safety management business as well as a healthcare business unit.[citation needed]
In 2004, Douglas M. Baker, Jr. was named chief executive officer. In 2006, he also was named chairman of Ecolab's board of directors.[7]
In 2005, the company opened a new global research, development, and engineering center in Eagan, Minnesota.[6]
In 2006, Ecolab won the Black Pearl Award for Corporate Excellence in Food Safety and Quality, presented by the International Association of Food Protection (IAFP).[8][circular reference]
In 2007, Ecolab acquired Microtek Medical Holdings, Inc., expanding its infection prevention expertise and offerings to hospitals and other healthcare facilities.[9]
In 2008, Henkel sold all of the 73 million shares, nearly a 29.5% stake it held in Ecolab, ending the two-decade-long partnership.[10][11][12] The same year, Ecolab established Zürich as its Europe, the Middle East and Africa headquarters.[6]
In July 2011, Ecolab announced a merger with Nalco Holding Company, Inc., an industrial water technology firm. In December 2011, Nalco, later renamed Nalco Water, became a wholly owned subsidiary of Ecolab after Ecolab completed the $5.4 billion acquisition.[13][14][15][16]
In August 2012, Ecolab opened its Taicang, China, manufacturing plant. The facility, one of the company's largest, helped expand Ecolab's presence in Greater China and was the company's first plant to recycle 100% of its wastewater.
In October 2012, Ecolab entered an agreement to acquire Champion Technologies and its related company Corsicana Technologies, global specialty chemical companies.[20] The $2.2 billion transaction closed in April 2013.[21]
In November 2014, Ecolab, working with TruCost, launched the Water Risk Monetizer.[22] It provides an online, no-cost financial modeling tool to assess and monetize the risk of water scarcity.[citation needed]
Ecolab's headquarters in Saint Paul, Minnesota
In November 2015, for $40.5 million, Ecolab acquired the U.S. operations of Swisher Hygiene, which provides hygiene and sanitizing solutions for the foodservice, hospitality, retail and healthcare markets.[24][25]
In June 2016, Ecolab announced plans to acquire Laboratoires Anios, a leading European manufacturer and marketer of hygiene and disinfection products for the healthcare, food service, and food and beverage markets. Based in Lille, France, Anios served customers in 85 countries and had 2015 sales of approximately $245 million. The $800 million transaction closed on February 1, 2017.[26][27]
In July 2016, Ecolab made a minority investment in Aquatech International, LLC of an undisclosed amount.[28][29]
In August 2016, the company opened a Latin America regional headquarters in Miramar, Florida.[30]
In October 2016, Ecolab acquired the assets of UltraClenz, a developer of electronic hand hygiene compliance monitoring systems and dispensers.[31]
In March 2018, Bill Gates purchased $230 million in additional shares of Ecolab via Cascade Investments.[32][33]
In Oct 2019, Ecolab acquired an Australian company Gallay Medical & Scientific who is a leader in providing medical devices, equipment, chemistry and service to the medical, dental, scientific and pharmaceutical industries. [34]
In October 2020, Christophe Beck was named the next CEO of Ecolab, effective January 1, 2021.[35]
In October 2021, Ecolab acquired Purolite, a provider of ion-exchange resins for biopharmaceutical purification for approximately $3.7 billion.[36]
In August 2022, Bill Gates purchased additional stock through Cascade, though his overall stake dropped to 11%.[32][33]
In May 2023, Ecolab partnered with and invested in Miso Robotics, a company specializing in automated in-restaurant robotic arms and other equipment for food preparation and staff augmentation.[37]
Operations
Ecolab employs approximately 47,000 people and operates in more than 170 countries. It is organized in the following geographical divisions:[citation needed]
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported to be the second largest charitable foundation in the world, holding $69 billion in assets as of 2020. On his 43rd birthday, Bill Gates gave the foundation $1 billion. The primary stated goals of the foundation are to enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty across the world, and to expand educational opportunities and access to information technology in the U.S. Key individuals of the foundation include Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, Warren Buffett, chief executive officer Mark Suzman, and Michael Larson.
Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate business has actively acquired commercial real estate. Blackstone is also active in credit, infrastructure, hedge funds, insurance, secondaries, and growth equity. As of June 2023, the company's total assets under management were approximately US$1trillion, making it the largest alternative investment firm globally.
TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American private equity firm based in Fort Worth, Texas. The firm is focused on leveraged buyouts and growth capital. TPG manages investment funds in growth capital, venture capital, public equity, and debt investments. The firm invests in a range of industries including consumer/retail, media and telecommunications, industrials, technology, travel, leisure, and health care.
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, commonly known as Henkel, is a German multinational chemical and consumer goods company headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Apax Partners LLP is a British private equity firm, headquartered in London, England. The company also operates out of six other offices in New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Tel Aviv, Munich and Shanghai. As of December 2023, the firm had raised and advised funds of approximately $65 billion (USD). Apax Partners is one of the oldest and largest private equity firms operating on an international basis.
Henkel Corporation, doing business as Henkel North American Consumer Goods and formerly The Dial Corporation, is an American company based in Stamford, Connecticut. It is a manufacturer of personal care and household cleaning products and is a subsidiary of multinational company Henkel AG & Co. KGaA.
Perrigo Company plc is an American Irish-registered manufacturer of private label over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, and while 70% of Perrigo's net sales are from the U.S. healthcare system, Perrigo is legally headquartered in Ireland for tax purposes, which accounts for 0.60% of net sales. In 2013, Perrigo completed the sixth-largest US corporate tax inversion in history when it reregistered its tax status to Ireland to avoid U.S. corporate taxes. Perrigo maintains its corporate headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, within Michigan State University's Grand Rapids Innovation Park.
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) is an American private equity company. It is one of the oldest private equity investment firms in the world. Founded in 1978, CD&R has managed the investment of more than $30 billion in approximately 90 businesses, representing a broad range of industries with an aggregate transaction value in excess of $140 billion. Approximately half of CD&R's investments have involved corporate divestitures.
Golden Gate Capital is an American private equity firm based in San Francisco. The firm makes investments in a number of select industries, including technology, financial services, retail and industrial, through leveraged buyout transactions, as well as significant minority purchases and growth capital investments. As of April 2018, it had over $15 billion in assets under management.
Evercore Inc., formerly known as Evercore Partners, is a global independent investment banking advisory firm founded in 1995 by Roger Altman, David Offensend, and Austin Beutner. The firm has advised on over $4.7 trillion of merger, acquisition, and restructuring transactions since its founding. Evercore is widely considered one of the most prestigious and elite investment banking advisory firms.
Nalco Water, an Ecolab Company, is an American supplier of water, energy and air improvement solutions and services for industrial and institutional markets, owned by Ecolab. The company sells various products and services designed to reduce energy, water and other natural resource consumption, enhance air quality, minimize environmental releases and improve productivity and end products.
Platinum Equity, LLC is an American private equity investment firm founded by Tom Gores in 1995, headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. The firm focuses on leveraged buyout investments of established companies in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American asset management firm that primarily invests in alternative assets. It provides investment management and invests in credit, private equity, and real assets. As of 2022, the company had $548 billion of assets under management, including $392 billion invested in credit, including mezzanine capital, hedge funds, non-performing loans, and collateralized loan obligations, $99 billion invested in private equity, and $46.2 billion invested in real assets, which includes real estate and infrastructure. The company invests money on behalf of pension funds, financial endowments, and sovereign wealth funds, as well as other institutional and individual investors.
Cascade Investment, L.L.C. is an American holding company and private investment firm headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, United States. It is controlled by Bill Gates, and managed by Michael Larson. More than half of Gates's fortune is held in assets outside his holding of Microsoft shares. Cascade is the successor company to Dominion Income Management, the former investment vehicle for Gates's holdings, which was managed by convicted felon Andrew Evans.
PAI Partners is a French private equity firm based in Paris. It is one of the oldest firms in the sector, with its origins dating back to Paribas Affaires Industrielles, historically the principal investment arm of Paribas, which started operations in 1872.
Douglas M. Baker Jr. is the former chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Ecolab, Inc., a Fortune 500 company in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services.
Corexit is a product line of oil dispersants used during oil spill response operations. It is produced by Nalco Holding Company, an indirect subsidiary of Ecolab. Corexit was originally developed by the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey. Corexit is typically applied by aerial spraying or spraying from ships directly onto an oil slick. On contact with the dispersant, oil that would otherwise float on the surface of the water is emulsified into tiny droplets and sinks or remains suspended in the water. In theory this allows the oil to be more rapidly degraded by bacteria (bioremediation) and prevents it from accumulating on beaches and in marshes.
Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) is a Philippine-based unit investment holding company of First Pacific Company Limited through Metro Pacific Holdings, Inc. MPIC through its subsidiaries, provides water, sanitation, and sewerage services and also operates in real estate, and infrastructure projects. It also invests in some hospitals in the Philippines.
Just Eat Takeaway.com N.V. is a Dutch multinational online food ordering and delivery company, formed from the merger of London-based Just Eat and Amsterdam-based Takeaway.com in 2020. It is the parent company of food delivery brands including Takeaway.com, Lieferando, Thuisbezorgd.nl, Pyszne.pl, 10bis in Israel, and those acquired from Just Eat, including SkipTheDishes and Menulog. Since the merger, the company has acquired Grubhub in the United States and Bistro.sk. Just Eat Takeaway operate various food ordering and delivery platforms in twenty countries, where customers can order food online from restaurants’ menus, and have it delivered by restaurant or company couriers directly to their home or workplace using an app or website. The company also partners with IFood in Brazil and Colombia.
Change Healthcare is a provider of revenue and payment cycle management that connects payers, providers, and patients within the U.S. healthcare system. The name also refers to a company founded in 2007 which subsequently became part of the current conglomerate. The company operates the largest financial and administrative information exchange in the United States.
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US$15.3 billion (2023)
