Company's R&D Efforts Focus on Food Safety,
Infection Prevention and Sustainability
ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Ecolab Inc. has been named to Forbes magazine's "The World's Most
Innovative Companies" list, which appears in the Aug. 8 issue of Forbes.
Ecolab ranks 28th out of 100 companies on the global list.
"Our purpose — to make the world cleaner, safer and healthier,
everywhere it matters — drives our commitment to innovation," said
Douglas M. Baker, chairman of the board, president and chief executive
officer, Ecolab. "Our customers want new products and programs that
provide superior results along with water, energy, waste and labor
savings. We remain focused on continuing to lead innovation in our
industry and finding new and better ways to effectively deliver
solutions to our customers."
According to Forbes, companies were selected and ranked by a team of
researchers and authors of a newly released book, "The Innovator's DNA."
The rankings are based on an assessment of each company's "innovation
premium," which measures the premium the stock market gives a company
for anticipated or expected innovation.
Ecolab invests approximately $90 million annually in research,
development and engineering and holds more than 3,700 patents globally.
"More than one-third of our sales are derived from new customer
solutions introduced within the last five years," Baker said.
Ecolab's 750 research and development associates, working in seven
global technical centers, are focused on food safety and infection
control, with expertise in technical service, dispensing, process
engineering, food safety, public health, animal health and packaging.
Innovation focuses on hand care, floor care, clean-in-place for food and
beverage manufacturing equipment, textiles, antimicrobials and ware wash.
Essential to Ecolab's innovation process is its total impact approach to
preserving the earth's resources. "We focus not only on product
formulations, but also on how use of the product will affect the use of
natural resources, how the packaging will impact the environment, and
the safety of the end user," said Larry Berger, chief technical officer
and senior vice president, Research, Development & Engineering, for
Ecolab.
The full list of "The World's Most Innovative Companies" can be found in
the Aug. 8 issue of Forbes and online at http://www.forbes.com/special-features/innovative-companies.html.
With sales of $6 billion and more than 26,000 associates, Ecolab Inc.
(NYSE: ECL) is the global leader in cleaning, sanitizing, food safety
and infection prevention products and services. Ecolab delivers
comprehensive programs and services to foodservice, food and beverage
processing, healthcare, and hospitality markets in more than 160
countries. More news and information is available at www.ecolab.com.
(ECL-C)
Ecolab Inc.
Kari Bjorhus, 651-293-2576
Source: Ecolab Inc.
News Provided by Acquire Media