Danaher Corporation is a multinational conglomerate based in America. The headquarters of the company is in Washington, D.C. This year, Danaher ranked 130th on the Fortune 500 list. Steven M. Rales and Mitchell Rales founded the company in 1969 when it was called DMG. Danaher is one of the largest companies in North America and it adopted the principles of “Kaizen”, a Japanese philosophy to continuously improve and eliminate waste. Danaher has three platforms, namely, Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environment & Applied Sciences.
The Founding Story Of Danaher Corporation
In 1969, Steven Rales and Mitchell Rales organized the company as a Massachusetts real estate investment firm. They established the company under the name DMG which was changed to Diversified Mortgage Investors Inc in 1978. In 1984, the name of the company was again changed to Danaher Corporation and it was reincorporated under the Delaware General Corporation Law. The name Danaher was given by the Rales when they went on a fishing trip to Danaher, a tributary in Western Montana.
In 1986, Danaher merged with multiple companies when it bought Chicago Pneumatic. The Jacobs Manufacturing Co and Matco Tools Corp were under the acquisition of Chicago Pneumatic when Danaher bought the company. But, after a year, Danaher sold off CP and retained Matco and Jacobs at the same time. In the 1990s other divisions of Danaher were established. After Danaher Corporation was established in 1984, it acquired 12 companies to enter the manufacturing market within two years. In the Instrumentation Unit of Danaher, the company added Qualitrol and Gilbarco Veeder-Root. The company also acquired Kollmorgen, a company based in Virginia.
Early Growth And Expansion
The acquisition spree of Danaher kept continuing as it acquired red Easco Hand Tools in 1990. Next year, Danaher landed a big contract for Sears and it became the main supplier for hand tools. After it landed this contract, Danaher acquired multiple tools companies like Armstrong and Allen. It also expanded its presence in the chemical industry after acquiring Hach company in 1999 followed by a German company called Lange.
In 2005, Danaher announced that it will acquire Leica Microsystems which was known for manufacturing a broad range of products for microscopic imaging, measurement, and analysis. Eventually, Danaher entered the market of life science and started providing management systems in the healthcare sector. In 2007, the company acquired the Australian Pathology Instrument and Engineering company called Vision Systems Limited. The same year it acquired Tektronix Inc which is the company’s largest acquisition till today. The deal was closed for $1.1 billion. In 2009, Danaher acquired the analytics technology business unit of the Canadian-based company, MDS Inc.
Present Days
In the last decade, Danaher acquired Beckman Coulter followed by Navman Wireless in the next year. During this time, the company also sold its joint venture with Cooper Industries to Bain Capital for $1.6 billion. Danaher carried out another big acquisition in 2013 as it acquired Nobel Biocare for $2.2 billion. In 2014, Danaher and NetScout agreed to combine the communication unit of the former company with NetScout Systems. Many other companies were also acquired in the past years which includes Pall for $13.8 billion, Phenomenex for $700 million, Integrated DNA Technologies for an undisclosed amount, and many more.
In 2018, Danaher decided to spin off its dental segment and make it an independent company. Next year, it sold numerous business units to Sartorius AG for $750 million. The same year, Danaher appeared on the Forbes list for becoming one of the best employers for diversity. Last year, Tom Joyce retired as the CEO of the company and he was replaced by Rainer Blair.
Rainer M. Blair – CEO
Rainer Blair is the President and CEO of the company. He joined the Danaher Corporation in 2010 and held various leadership roles in the company. He has 30-years of industrial experience. Before joining Danaher, he was the CEO and President of MAPEI Americas, and before that he spent fifteen years with BASF Group.
Annasha Dey is an NIT student, who apart from studying engineering is also a content writer. She has a great interest in photography, writing, reading novels, and travelling as well. She is a foodie who loves socializing and hanging out with her friends. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and a big fashion enthusiast. Dey also loves watching TV series, which includes F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Big Bang Theory. To be a better writer she prefers to read more