Who owns s.c. johnson company

Our This We Believe statement of principles lays out the values that guide us. SC Johnson can make the best decisions not just for the next quarterly earnings report, but for the next generation. Our history includes numerous examples, from product innovation , to environmental responsibility , to transparency leadership.

As our Chairman and CEO Fisk Johnson has said, we approach decisions as if the consequences will be sitting down with us as the family dinner table for years to come. Your Practice. Popular Courses. Business Company Profiles. Key Takeaways The S.

The vast majority of the family wealth is tied to S. Article Sources. Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts.

We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our editorial policy. Compare Accounts. The offers that appear in this table are from partnerships from which Investopedia receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where listings appear.

Investopedia does not include all offers available in the marketplace. Related Articles. Business Leaders 10 Top Women Investors. Entrepreneurs Top 10 Indian Entrepreneurs. Partner Links. The Idea: Four generations of company leaders before him established the values that Fisk Johnson still relies on today: Trustworthiness is the most important quality a company can have, and it must be earned. Polyvinylidene chloride PVDC was responsible for both those unique differentiators.

When the U. Nevertheless, the company was concerned as well, because it used PVCs in some of its external packaging. It launched a process called Greenlist to help it reevaluate their inclusion. Since then Greenlist has been rigorously updated to sort ingredients according to category and rank them for impact on human and environmental health.

The company has removed potentially hazardous products many times—and taken whatever hit accompanied each instance. Instead it pledged to stop selling wraps that contained chlorine of any kind, including PVDCs, by A dedicated research, development, and engineering team was assigned to try to re-create Saran Wrap without PVDCs within a year. But preserving its unique characteristics proved impossible, and this once iconic product became an also-ran. SC Johnson has a long history of taking action to address concerns related to the environmental or health effects of the chemicals in our products.

One of the most notable examples of such a decision concerned Saran Wrap, not only a longtime market leader, but also one of the most recognizable brands in our portfolio.

Like several other iconic products, including Play-Doh, penicillin, and microwave ovens, Saran Wrap emerged from an accidental discovery. In a lab worker at Dow Chemical named Ralph Wiley came across residue in beakers that had been used in developing a dry-cleaning chemical from chlorine. Carmakers used it in upholstery. Its other competitive advantage was superior microwavability. No manufacturer of a product as successful as Saran Wrap would make changes to it without a lot of thought and groundwork beforehand.

Building on its consumer pest control products, S. One week before the October stock market plunge, JWA went public. Johnson called this move "going public to stay private," since the offering created liquid assets needed for potential estate taxes, thus protecting the company's assets and its private status. At the time the family owned 90 percent of Johnson Wax, with employees holding the other ten percent.

JWA was the nation's largest producer of electric fishing-boat motors and a major seller of reels and lures. Sales at S. In late , Farley became the second nonfamily member in Johnson's history to become chief executive. Johnson remained chairman. All four of his children were then involved with the company, with his eldest son, S. Curtis Johnson III, heading a venture-capital unit he induced his father to bankroll in In January Farley retired and was succeeded by Richard M.

Carpenter, president and CEO. The s were marked by a number of acquisitions and divestments, along with continued new product introductions and overseas expansion. In the company joined with a Ukrainian household production association to form S.

Johnson Kiev Corporation, initially 80 percent owned by S. Although it got off to a rocky start, this venture reached profitability in after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of Ukraine as a sovereign nation.

Also in came the introduction of yet another successful new product, Glade Plug Ins, long-lasting fragrance dispensers which are plugged into electrical outlets; the product quickly gained the top position in the continuous-action air freshener category. In late Carpenter retired and William D. George, Jr. In January S. Brands acquired therein included three that were either number one or two in their segment--Windex glass cleaners, Drano drain openers, and Vanish toilet bowl cleaner.

Other brands gained included O-Cedar brooms and mops and Mr. Muscle hard-surface cleaners. The purchase bolstered the company's presence in household cleaners, which had already received a boost in from the debut of Toilet Duck and Bathroom Duck spray cleaners.

It also, however, brought S. For antitrust reasons, S. A further divestment came in after the company decided to sell the bulk of its shampoo and lotion lines. Less than a year later Dep sued S. Johnson Wax was the object of another lawsuit filed in that claimed that the company discriminated against blacks in its hiring and promotion policies. By William D. Perez, former head of the worldwide consumer products division, had become president and CEO of S.

Added to the S. Johnson product portfolio were Ziploc plastic bags, Saran Wrap plastic wrap, and Fantastik cleaners.

As with the Drackett acquisition, S. Johnson had to divest several acquired brands to gain antitrust muster, including Spray 'N Wash laundry-stain remover Johnson already sold the Shout brand in this product category and Glass Plus glass cleaner. The company also sold off the Yes laundry detergent and Vivid color-safe bleach lines. Meantime, in February , S. Johnson had thus largely reduced its personal care line to the shaving sector, where the Edge for men and Skintimate for women brands were sector leaders.

By the late s S. Johnson--A Family Company" rather than "S. Johnson Wax"--wax products being only a small part of the business. With its new image, S. Johnson entered the 21st century as an aggressively expanding firm, strongly committed to research and development and willing to pursue blockbuster acquisitions.