S. C. Johnson & Son
Encyclopedia : S : SC : SCJ : S. C. Johnson & Son
S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc., previously known as S. C. Johnson Wax, is a global manufacturer of household cleaning supplies and other consumer chemicals based in Racine, Wisconsin. It has operations in nearly 70 countries and its brands are sold in over 110. It is the largest component of the Johnson Family Enterprises, which also includes the Johnson Financial Group, JohnsonDiversey, Inc. (formerly Johnson Wax Professional and the acquisition of DiverseyLever, comprising primarily the former Dubois Chemical), and Johnson Outdoors. In 2004 S. C. Johnson & Son employed approximately 9,500 and had estimated sales of $6.5 billion.
Unusually for a corporation of its size, S. C. Johnson is family-owned. The company began when Samuel Curtis Johnson, Sr. purchased the parquet flooring business of Racine Hardware Company in 1886 and renamed it Johnson's Prepared Paste Wax Company. Management has since passed down through five generations of the Johnson family; the longevity of this dynasty is itself unusual.
In 1939 the first part of the Johnson Wax Building, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright opened, the tower opened in 1950.
From April 1935 until May 1950, the company was the sponsor for the Fibber McGee & Molly radio show; each episode featured an appearance by pitchman and Johnson representative Harlo Wilcox. To maximize show time, Wilcox was written into the script as a Johnson's-obsessed friend of the McGee's who would show up mid episode and managed to weave an ad into his lines, often using extremely far-fetched segues for comedic effect. Common products advertised on the show were Johnson's Wax, Johnson's Glo-Coat, and Johnson's Car-Nu.
In 1984, Cornell University renamed its business school the S. C. Johnson Graduate School of Management in recognition of the Johnson family's long generosity to that institution.
In 1992, the company bought Drackett, manufacturer of Windex, Drano and other specialty cleaning products. In 1997 S.C. Johnson expanded its roster of consumer brands when it purchased Dow Chemical's DowBrands division, which included Ziploc, Saran, fantastik, Glass Plus, Scrubbing Bubbles, and Spray 'n Wash. The company received approval for the deal in 1998 from the Federal Trade Commission by agreeing to sell Glass Plus and Spray 'n Wash to competitor Reckitt & Colman.
The current Chairman and CEO, Dr. Herbert Fisk Johnson III, is the fifth generation of the Johnson family to lead the company. He succeeds his father, Samuel Curtis Johnson, Jr., who died in May, 2004.
Diversity
In 2003, 2004 and 2005, S. C. Johnson & Son received a perfect 100% rating on the Human Rights Campaign' s Corporate Equality Index report. In 2005, Working Mothers magazine named the company one of the top ten in their annual list of 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers.Brand names
Among the brands owned by S. C. Johnson & Son are the following:
- Household cleaning and scent products
- * Drāno
- * fantastik
- * Glade and Glade Candle Scents
- * Grab-it
- * Oust
- * Pledge
- * Scrubbing Bubbles
- * Shout
- * Vanish
- * Windex
- * Bayfresh
- Household food storage
- * Saran Wrap
- * Ziploc
- Personal care
- * Edge
- * Skintimate
- Car care
- * Tempo
Competitors
External links
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.