The story
Founded by Samuel Curtis Johnson, Sr. in 1886, in Racine.1
The company is one of the oldest family-owned businesses in the U.S., beginning in 1886 when Samuel Curtis Johnson purchased the parquet flooring division from the Racine Hardware Manufacturing Company and named the new business S. C. Johnson. The company's principal product at that time was parquet flooring, later adding other floor care products such as Johnson's Prepared Wax, Johnson's Dance Wax, and Johnson's Wood Dye.
Under Herbert Fisk Johnson Sr., the company expanded worldwide, establishing its first subsidiary in the United Kingdom in 1914. Giving his employees credit for a successful year, Herbert gave them $35,000 in 1917. In 1932, SC Johnson introduced Johnson's Glo-Coat. The success of Glo-Coat bolstered the company during the Great Depression. S. C. Johnson's line of wax-reliant products necessitated Herbert Fisk Johnson Jr.'s 1935 expedition to Fortaleza, Brazil, to find a direct sustainable source of wax.
From April 1935 until May 1950, the company was the sponsor for the Fibber McGee and Molly radio show, officially known as The Johnson Wax Program. During the 1950s, the company served as sponsor of the game show The Name's the Same. The company went on to co-sponsor Robert Montgomery Presents on NBC, and The Red Skelton Show on CBS.
In April 1939, the Frank Lloyd Wright–designed SC Johnson Administration Building opened. Its addition, the Research Tower, opened in 1950. The SC Johnson Headquarters was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974.
The launch of Raid House & Garden Bug Killer in 1955 marked the company's first major departure away from wax-based products. Within the next few years, Sam Johnson, fourth generation leader, introduced some of the company's best known brands: Glade, OFF!, and Pledge.
In April 2018, the company updated its tagline from "A Family Company", which began in 1998, to "A Family Company at Work for a Better World". According to the company, the updated tagline is "A reminder that SC Johnson holds itself to a higher standard."
Acquisition milestones
In 1992, the company bought Drackett, manufacturer of Windex, Drāno, and other specialty cleaning products.
In 1998, S. C. Johnson expanded its roster of consumer brands when it purchased Dow Chemical's DowBrands division, which included Ziploc, Saran, Fantastik, and Scrubbing Bubbles.
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In 1999, the commercial cleaning products and systems division separated from Johnson Wax and became a stand-alone company called Johnson Wax Professional, later known as Diversey, Inc.
In 2003, the company acquired four Bayer household chemical brands including Baygon, Bay Fresh, Bayclin, and Autan.
In 2008, the company acquired Caldrea, Co., maker of household cleaning products including the Caldrea and Mrs. Meyers Clean Day brands.
In 2011, the company acquired Kiwi shoe care brand from Sara Lee Corporation, thus also expanding its shoe care businesses after the deal.
S. C. Johnson acquired Deb Group in 2015. A year later the company announced a new line of SC Johnson Professional products at the ISSA/INTERCLEAN conference in Chicago.
In July 2016 the company signed an agreement to acquire Babyganics, a baby products company with skin care, oral care, sun care, insect repellent, diapers, and wipe products.
In 2017 the company signed an agreement to acquire cleaning brands Method and Ecover.
In December 2019, the company acquired the privately held Stasher company and its brand of reusable silicone food storage bags.
Ingredients
The company launched a website listing ingredients for their products sold in North America in 2009. Fragrance ingredients were added to the list in 2012. The company added the ingredients of its European products to the list in May 2016. In May 2017, SC Johnson disclosed a list of 368 potential skin allergens in its products.
From Wikipedia’s article on S. C. Johnson & Son, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3