Company's sustainable initiatives promote food safety, infection
prevention, water and energy solutions, and healthy environments
ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) has been named to Forbes magazine's list
of "The World's Most Innovative Companies" for the second consecutive
year. Ecolab ranks 31st out of 100 companies on the global list that
appeared in the Sept. 5 issue of Forbes.
"Our purpose to make the world cleaner, safer and healthier drives our
commitment to innovation," said Douglas M. Baker Jr., Ecolab chairman
and CEO. "Ecolab's innovation has spanned eight decades, and we are
committed to carrying on this tradition with future generations of
customer solutions."
Ecolab's more than 1,300 scientists, including 500 Ph.D.s, work in a
network of 15 facilities located around the world. These researchers
develop solutions for a variety of industries including foodservice,
retail, hospitality, healthcare, buildings and facilities, commercial
laundries, food and beverage processing, pulp and paper, mining and
mineral processing, and oil and gas.
Over the past five years, Ecolab has invested $750 million in research,
development and engineering to develop solutions for these industries
and currently holds more than 5,300 patents globally. Innovations are
developed using a positive impact approach that leverages chemistry,
equipment, packaging, dispensing and expertise to produce superior
results while improving environmental benefits and cost savings.
"Our positive impact approach is essential to our innovation process,"
said Dr. Larry Berger, Ecolab chief technical officer and executive vice
president, Research, Development & Engineering. "With this approach, we
deliver effective, sustainable solutions that help our customers
optimize their operations while minimizing environmental impact."
According to Forbes, the "innovation premium" used to rank the
companies is a measure of how much investors have bid up the stock price
of a company above the value of its existing business based on
expectations of future innovative results in new products, services and
markets. Additionally, members of the list must have $10 billion in
market capitalization, spend at least 2.5 percent of revenue on R&D and
have seven years of public data.
The full list of the 2012 "World's Most Innovative Companies" can be
found in the Sept. 5 issue of Forbes and online at http://www.forbes.com/innovative-companies/.
About Ecolab
With 2011 pro forma sales of $11 billion and
more than 40,000 employees, Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) is the global leader
in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that provide and
protect clean water, safe food, abundant energy and healthy
environments. Ecolab delivers comprehensive programs and services to the
food, energy, healthcare, industrial and hospitality markets in more
than 160 countries. For more Ecolab news and information, visit www.ecolab.com.
(ECL-C)
Ecolab Inc.
Roman Blahoski, 651-293-4385
MediaRelations@Ecolab.com
Source: Ecolab Inc.
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