Wikipedia

Ecolab

Ecolab Inc. (formerly Economics Laboratory), headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota, provides products related to water treatment, sanitation, and hygiene, primarily to commercial and industrial customers.[1]

Ecolab Inc.
FormerlyEconomics Laboratory
Company typePublic
IndustryChemicals, Service, Water Management, Food Safety, Infection Prevention
Founded1923; 102 years ago (1923)
FounderMerritt J. Osborn
Headquarters
Saint Paul, Minnesota
,
U.S.
Key people
Christophe Beck (CEO)
RevenueIncrease US$15.7 billion (2024)
Increase US$2.80 billion (2024)
Increase US$2.11 billion (2024)
Total assetsIncrease US$22.4 billion (2024)
Total equityIncrease US$8.76 billion (2024)
OwnerBill Gates (12.13%)
Number of employees
48,000 (2024)
Websiteecolab.com
Footnotes / references
[1][2]
Ecolab's headquarters in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Ecolab product

The company is ranked 274th on the Fortune 500[3] and 569th on the Forbes Global 2000.[4]

History

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1923–1986

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The company was founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory by Merritt J. "M.J." Osborn. The company's first product was Absorbit, designed to quickly clean carpets in hotel rooms. It followed by Soilax, a dishwasher soap.

Its first overseas subsidiary, Soilax AB, was established in Sweden in 1956.[5]

EL became a public company in 1957.[6][5] It acquired Klenzade in 1961 and the Magnus Company in 1964, giving the company access to Magnus's industrial specialty businesses – including pulp and paper, metalworking, transportation, and petrochemical processing.[5][6]

In 1972, the company acquired Raburn Products, maker of dish machine racks and dish room carts.[7]

In February 1980, it acquired Apollo Technologies, a major producer of conditioning agents for electrostatic precipitators, for $71.2 million; it was shut down in 1983 with a $42 million loss.[8]

In 1984, Ecolab acquired Lystads, thereby launching its pest elimination division.[9]

1986–2000

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In 1986, the company changed its name from Economics Laboratory to Ecolab Inc. and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.[7]

In 1987, the company formed a textile care division.

In 1987, Ecolab acquired ChemLawn, a lawncare servicer provider, for $376 million. In 1992, it was sold to ServiceMaster for $103 million after years of losses.[5]

In July 1991, Ecolab and Henkel formed a 50-50 European joint venture to expand into European and Russian markets. Ecolab also acquired Henkel's institutional cleaning and sanitizing businesses in 19 countries in Latin America and the Asia-Pacific. Henkel then owned a 24% stake in Ecolab.[10] In 2001, Ecolab acquired the 50% interest in the joint venture held by Henkel for $445 million.[11][12] Henkel sold its stake in Ecolab in November 2008, as it needed to raise cash during the 2008 financial crisis.[13][14][15]

In November 1994, the company acquired Kay Chemical for $94 million.[16]

In August 1997, the company acquired 14.9% of Gibson Chemical Industries of Australia for $18.7 million.[17]

2000–present

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In 2004, Douglas M. Baker Jr. was named chief executive officer. In 2006, he also was named chairman of Ecolab's board of directors.[18]

In November 2005, Ecolab opened a 200,000 square-foot global research, development, and engineering center in Eagan, Minnesota.[19]

In November 2007, Ecolab acquired Microtek Medical Holdings, expanding its infection prevention expertise and offerings to hospitals and other healthcare facilities, for $275 million.[20]

In February 2008, the company acquired Ecovation, a provider of technology used to increase efficiency in food and beverage production, for $210 million.[21]

In 2008, Ecolab established Zurich as its Europe, the Middle East and Africa headquarters.[7]

In November 2011, Ecolab acquired Nalco Water for $8.3 billion.[22][23]

In April 2013, Ecolab acquired Champion Technologies and its related company Corsicana Technologies for $2.3 billion.[24][25] To satisfy regulatory concerns, the company sold Champion's chemical-management services division for deep-water oil and gas wells in the Gulf of Mexico.[26]

In November 2014, Ecolab, working with Trucost, launched the Water Risk Monetizer, an algorithm to help companies efficiently use water.[27]

In August 2015, the company moved its headquarters.[28]

In August 2015, Ecolab acquired the U.S. operations of Swisher Hygiene for $40.5 million.[29]

In February 2017, Ecolab acquired Laboratoires Anios, a European manufacturer and marketer of hygiene and disinfection products for the healthcare, food service, and food and beverage markets for $800 million.[30]

In July 2016, Ecolab made a minority investment in Aquatech International.[31]

In August 2016, the company opened a Latin America regional headquarters in Miramar, Florida.[32]

In October 2016, Ecolab acquired the assets of UltraClenz, a developer of electronic hand hygiene compliance monitoring systems and dispensers.[33]

In February 2019, the company acquired Lobster Ink, an online training firm.[34]

In October 2021, Ecolab acquired Purolite, a provider of ion-exchange resins for biopharmaceutical purification for approximately $3.7 billion.[35]

In 2023, Ecolab partnered with and invested a "multi-million dollar" amount in Miso Robotics, a company specializing in automated in-restaurant robotic arms and other equipment for food preparation and staff augmentation.[36][37]

In July 2025, the company shifted much of its research and development toward data centers and semiconductor manufacturing, offering technologies such as liquid cooling.[38]

In August 2025, Ecolab acquired Ovivo's electronics business for $1.8 billion.[39][40]

Awards and recognition

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  • 2006 - Black Pearl Award for Corporate Excellence in Food Safety and Quality, presented by the International Association of Food Protection (IAFP).[41][42]
  • 2013 - Ranked 33rd on list of most innovative companies by Forbes[43]
  • 2019-present - Listed on Best Employers for Women list by Forbes[44]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Ecolab Inc. 2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 21, 2025.
  2. ^ "Ecolab Inc. Schedule 14A". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. March 24, 2025.
  3. ^ "Fortune 500: Ecolab". Fortune.
  4. ^ "Forbes: Ecolab". Forbes.
  5. ^ a b c d "Ecolab". Fundinguniverse.com.
  6. ^ a b Kirkland, Catherine (October 24, 2017). "How St. Paul's Ecolab Got Started from a Stain on the Carpet". Twin Cities Business.
  7. ^ a b c "Ecolab". BCC Research.
  8. ^ Mcllvaine, Robert W. (March 1983). "Market Trends for Air Pollution Control Equipment". Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association.
  9. ^ Lupo, Lisa (March 6, 2018). "Ecolab Expands". PCT Magazine.
  10. ^ "Ecolab, Henkel of Germany form joint venture". United Press International. July 11, 1991.
  11. ^ "COMPANY NEWS; ECOLAB TO BUY REST OF JOINT VENTURE FOR $445 MILLION". The New York Times. Bloomberg News. November 24, 2001.
  12. ^ "Ecolab speeds up acquisition of joint venture". American City Business Journals. September 24, 2001.
  13. ^ "Henkel Lets Go Of Ecolab". Forbes. November 14, 2008.
  14. ^ Kuehnen, Eva; Zieminski, Nick (November 10, 2008). Wallace, John (ed.). "Henkel to sell its stake in Ecolab". Reuters.
  15. ^ "Ecolab Announces Henkel Completed Its Sale of Ecolab Shares" (PDF) (Press release). Business Wire. November 19, 2008.
  16. ^ "COMPANY NEWS; ECOLAB TO ACQUIRE KAY CHEMICAL FOR $94 MILLION". The New York Times. Reuters. November 4, 1994.
  17. ^ "ECOLAB GETS 14.9% OF GIBSON CHEMICAL OF AUSTRALIA". The New York Times. Bloomberg News. August 23, 1997.
  18. ^ "CEO Series Luncheon: Douglas Baker, Jr. CEO of Ecolab". Wharton Club of Minnesota. June 11, 2015.
  19. ^ BRANNA, TOM (November 9, 2005). "Ecolab Celebrates Grand Opening of New R&D Center". Happi.com.
  20. ^ "Ecolab completes acquisition of Microtek Medical". Modern Healthcare (Press release). November 12, 2007.
  21. ^ "Ecolab Gobbles Up Ecovation". The New York Times. February 5, 2008.
  22. ^ FEYDER, SUSAN (April 15, 2013). "Ecolab completes Nalco deal". Minnesota Star Tribune.
  23. ^ "Ecolab Completes $8.3B Nalco Acquisition". Twin Cities Business. December 11, 2011.
  24. ^ "Ecolab completes acquisition of Champion Technologies". Offshore. April 11, 2013.
  25. ^ DePass, Dee (December 24, 2013). "Ecolab's energy services headquarters will be built in Texas". Minnesota Star Tribune.
  26. ^ Zajac, Andrew (April 9, 2013). "Ecolab Settlement With U.S. Opens Way for Champion Deal". Bloomberg News.
  27. ^ Shemkus, Sarah (December 5, 2014). "How do you put a price on water? Try algorithms". The Guardian.
  28. ^ Black, Sam (August 4, 2015). "Ecolab closes on $47M deal to move HQ to Travelers tower". American City Business Journals.
  29. ^ DePass, Dee (August 14, 2015). "Ecolab to buy Swisher Hygiene's U.S. operations for $40 million". Minnesota Star Tribune.
  30. ^ "Company roundup". Minnesota Star Tribune. February 2, 2017.
  31. ^ "Ecolab makes equity investment in Canonsburg-based Aquatech". Observer–Reporter. July 22, 2016.
  32. ^ Lima, Debora (August 2, 2016). "Company announces opening of Latin American HQ in South Florida". American City Business Journals.
  33. ^ "Ecolab : Acquires Assets of Ultraclenz" (Press release). October 3, 2016.
  34. ^ DePass, Dee (February 12, 2019). "Ecolab buys training software firm Lobster Ink". Minnesota Star Tribune.
  35. ^ Datta, Tiyashi; Khandekar, Amruta (October 29, 2021). Soni, Aditya (ed.). "Ecolab bolsters pharma services business with $3.7 bln Purolite deal". Reuters.
  36. ^ "Miso Robotics announces Ecolab partnership and investment" (Press release). Miso Robotics. May 17, 2023.
  37. ^ Kennedy, Patrick (May 26, 2023). "With fast-food labor crunch, Ecolab invests in firm that makes restaurant robots". Minnesota Star Tribune.
  38. ^ Martin, Emmy (July 23, 2025). "St. Paul-based Ecolab sees gold in surge of new AI data centers". Minnesota Star Tribune.
  39. ^ Schubert, Keith (August 12, 2025). "Ecolab to acquire Ovivo's electronics business for $1.8B, boosting semiconductor water tech". American City Business Journals.
  40. ^ Owens, Nathan (August 20, 2025). "Ecolab to acquire ultra-pure water business for $1.8B to support chips production". Industry Dive.
  41. ^ "Black Pearl for Ecolab". Canadian Pizza. March 13, 2008.
  42. ^ "Ecolab Receives 'Black Pearl Award' For Food Safety Excellence" (PDF) (Press release). August 17, 2006.
  43. ^ DePass, Dee (August 20, 2013). "Ecolab and Pentair make Forbes' list of world's most innovative companies". Minnesota Star Tribune.
  44. ^ Bonelli, Cam (July 26, 2024). "Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Cargill rank high in Forbes' Best Employers for Women". American City Business Journals.
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  • Official website
  • Business data for Ecolab, Inc.:
  • Archival records of Ecolab at the Minnesota Historical Society
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