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.[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 Inc.: 2000–present
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 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 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 2014, Ecolab, working with TruCost, launched the Water Risk Monetizer.[22]
Ecolab's headquarters in Saint Paul, Minnesota
In 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 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 2016, Ecolab made a minority investment in Aquatech International, LLC of an undisclosed amount.[28][29]
In 2016, the company opened a Latin America regional headquarters in Miramar, Florida.[30] In the same year, Ecolab acquired the assets of UltraClenz, a developer of electronic hand hygiene compliance monitoring systems and dispensers.[31]
In 2018, Bill Gates purchased $230 million in additional shares of Ecolab via Cascade Investments.[32][33]
In 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 2021, Ecolab acquired Purolite, a provider of ion-exchange resins for biopharmaceutical purification for approximately $3.7 billion.[35]
In 2022, Bill Gates purchased additional stock through Cascade, though his overall stake dropped to 11%.[32][33]
In 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.[36]
Products and services
Ecolab helps organizations treat their water in industries including food, healthcare, hospitality, and manufacturing. [37][38]
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US$15.3 billion (2023)
