VWR International is an American company involved in the distribution of research laboratory products, with over 1,200,000 items to more than 250,000 customers in North America and Europe. The U.S. division is headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania . VWR ranked #91 in 2006, and #77 in 2005, in Forbes list of largest American private companies. Suppliers include Applied Scientific, 3B Scientific Duracell , Kimberly-Clark , Bel-Art Products, and Welch Allyn . VWR primarily serves the government , biotechnology , life science , education , electronics and pharmaceutical sectors. In 2010, the company maintained operations in 25 countries and processed approximately 50,000 order lines daily from a logistical network, which includes 25 strategically located distribution centers.
31-626: VWR was founded by John Taylor as the John Taylor Company in 1852, selling mining and laboratory products. Since then, the company evolved to focus on the laboratory market. It also has a presence in the cleanroom, safety, and clinical markets. In 1902, it was purchased by F.W. Braun, and merged into his company the F.W. Braun Corporation. In 1908, Braun left the F.W. Braun Corporation, and formed Braun-Knecht-Heimann with Gustav Knecht and Richard Heimann. In 1950, George Van Waters and Nat Rogers purchased Braun-Knecht-Heimann, and in 1953 they purchased
62-970: A 49% stake in Colombia's LNG import facility, in Cartagena. October 2019; Vopak sold its Amsterdam and Hamburg terminals to First State Investments. November 2019; Vopak announced its selection by Gulf Coast Growth Ventures (GCGV) to design, build, own, and operate new industrial terminal in Corpus Christi, on the U.S. Gulf Coast. December 2019; Vopak completed its divestment of the joint venture Yangpu oil terminal in Hainan, China. January 2020; Vopak completed its divestment of oil terminal in Algeciras to First State Investments. December 2020; Vopak and BlackRock's Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Fund (GEPIF) successfully acquired three industrial terminals from DOW on
93-451: A 5,000-square-foot (460 m ) facility just south of downtown Seattle and, soon after, it expanded into the entire facility and plant next door. In 1936, Van Waters & Rogers’ sales topped $ 1 million, and by the end of the decade the company was closing on the $ 2 million mark. Locations were added in Portland, Oregon, Spokane, Washington and Los Angeles, California. A notable addition was
124-548: A contract. On October 2, 2014, VWR's IPO raised $ 536 million, valuing the value of the company at close to $ 5 billion. In January 2016, VWR acquired Therapak Corporation, an assembler and distributor of medical convenience kits with locations in Claremont, CA , Buford, GA , Hayes, UK and Skalice, CZ . In April 2017, VWR acquired MESM Ltd., a provider of laboratory and medical equipment and supplies for use in clinical trials worldwide. VWR acquired two other companies earlier in
155-426: A difficult start: there is only very limited synergy to be found in the storage services and the chemical distribution services and the company lacks the funds to realize her growth strategy. Because of that Vopak decides to split off and then sell the distribution services as Univar . Vopak has a global network of terminals. The terminal services Vopak offers can be grouped into five strategic terminal types: Vopak
186-451: A minority partner by investing in the company. On August 8, 1924, George Van Waters and Nat Rogers opened a small firm in Seattle, Washington, USA, buying and selling naval supplies, paint, raw materials and cotton linters. When Van Waters & Rogers entered the laundry supply business, it paved the way for the company’s future in chemicals. Near the end of the 1920s, the company moved into
217-652: A much larger company. The capital was primarily obtained from Merck KGaA , a German chemical manufacturer (known as EMD Chemicals in the U.S. and Canada) who later purchased VWR and merged them with Merck Eurolab, creating a global laboratory distributor. In 2004, VWR became a limited partnership controlled by investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice . In 2007, CD&R sold VWR to another private equity company, Madison Dearborn Partners . In 2010, VWR moved its world headquarters to Radnor, Pennsylvania. On June 1, 2011, VWR International acquired BioExpress Corp (formerly ISC BioExpress), raising concerns of monopolization of
248-401: A national distributor. The most important acquisition was the purchase of McArthur Chemical, which established Univar as a major distributor throughout Canada. In the 1980s, Univar became North America's largest chemical distributor and sales topped $ 1 billion. Responding to new government regulations and environmental concerns, the company focused on product stewardship and introduced ChemCare,
279-851: A waste management service. Univar acquired McKesson Chemical with financial backing from Royal Pakhoed and, combined, the two distribution giants formed a coast-to-coast network of more than 100 locations in the United States and Canada. Acquisitions led to further expansion as Univar acquired four chemical distribution companies in Europe, forming Univar Europe. In 1996, Royal Pakhoed acquired Univar, and it merged with Royal Van Ommeren in 1999 to become Royal Vopak . Univar focused on industries that were population-based, such as food, pharmaceuticals, personal care, coatings and energy. Univar hired specialists, scientists and PhDs to assist customers with product formulations and technical solutions. Growth continued through
310-453: Is currently active in Europe, Middle-East, Africa, South-East Asia, North Asia, China, North-America, South-America, and Australia. Below an overview of the key figures over 2016-2020. The numbers include income from joint-ventures Together with Dutch company N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie Vopak is building the first LNG terminal in Rotterdam. Building commenced in 2008 and on 23 September 2011
341-670: The F.W. Braun Corporation, merging with their chemical distribution company Van Waters and Rogers, which they had founded in 1924. In 1974, the VWR United Corporation became Univar Corporation, and in 1986, split into Univar and VWR Corporation. VWR owns a group of companies under the unofficial umbrella "VWR Education." These companies include Science Kit and Boreal Laboratories and Edmund Scientific Corporation . In August 1989, VWR purchased Wards's Science and Sargent-Welch Scientific Company. In September, 1995, VWR completed their purchase of Baxter 's Industrial division, creating
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#1732863076567372-634: The Gamatex terminal in Antwerp to the American partner GATX. Early in 2002 the CEO Ton Spoor left with immediate effect, officially because of 'personal reasons', but it was rumoured that the break of trust between him and the company was caused by the €150 million write-off in 2001 caused by a failed attempt to introduce a pan-European IT system. Spoor was succeeded by Gary Pruitt. The new combined company Vopak has
403-551: The Netherlands, in 2010 and 2011, respectively. In 2013, Univar moved its corporate headquarters from Redmond to Downers Grove, Illinois , a suburb of Chicago . In June 2014, Univar filed for a $ 100 million initial public offering. In June 2016, it was announced that Univar had joined the Fortune 500 for the first time. It employed nearly 9,000 employees worldwide and generated net sales of $ 8.3 billion in 2017. Univar completed
434-455: The acquisition of Ellis & Everard, which included operations in the UK, Ireland and North America. In 2002, Univar split off from Royal Vopak as an independent company and world leader in chemical distribution. In 2007, Univar purchased a leading competitor, CHEMCENTRAL and became a privately held company, owned primarily by funds managed or advised by London-based CVC Capital Partners. Univar ended
465-472: The acquisition of Nexeo Solutions in March 2019. Nexeo Solutions had been a long-time competing chemical distributor and former division of Ashland, Inc until it was spun off in 2011. Following completion of the acquisition, Univar rebranded itself as Univar Solutions on March 1, 2019. In December of the same year, Univar sold its North American Environmental Sciences division to AEA Investors . In November 2022,
496-472: The decade ended with the company's listing on the New York Stock Exchange on March 6, 1969. At the March 25, 1970 board meeting, co-founder Nat Rogers retired from the company and later that same year, Jim Wiborg became CEO. As leadership changed, so did the company’s name. The name "Univar" was adopted in 1974 and the company continued to expand through acquisitions with the stated goal of becoming
527-556: The decade with $ 1.2 billion in net sales from the distribution of approximately 2.7 billion metric tons of chemicals in 2009. In 2010, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC acquired a 42.5% ownership interest in Univar and the company continued to grow. It acquired US-based Basic Chemical Solutions, a global distributor and trader of commodity chemicals, and the Quaron distribution business in Belgium and
558-424: The end of the decade, Van Waters & Rogers had locations in all 11 western states, Texas and Western Canada. Sales climbed from $ 18 million to more than $ 80 million in 1959. In the 1960s, company headquarters relocated to San Francisco for a brief period. By mid-decade, shareholders approved the merger of Van Waters & Rogers and United Pacific Corporation. In 1966, Van Waters & Rogers became VWR United and
589-684: The industrial chemicals division headed by Glen McElvain, a chemical salesman who was instrumental in the acquisition of local chemical companies. In the 1940s, sales increased from $ 2 million in 1940 to more than $ 18 million in 1949. Acquisitions led to market entries in San Francisco and Texas and the first two women were appointed to officer positions. In 1949, Van Waters & Rogers celebrated its 25th anniversary. Univar acquired Industrial Materials Ltd. of Vancouver, British Columbia, and Braun-Knecht-Heimann of San Francisco in 1950. In 1956, Van Waters & Rogers made its first public stock offering. By
620-413: The investigations, the company evaded antidumping duties on 36 shipments of Chinese saccharin between 2007 and 2012. Vopak Royal Vopak N.V. ( Dutch : Koninklijke Vopak ) is a Dutch independent multinational company that stores and handles products ranging from chemicals, oil , gases and LNG to biofuels and vegoils. Its purpose is to "Store vital products with care", which derives from
651-549: The laboratory supplies sector along with Thermo Fisher Scientific . Controversy has arisen about a 2010 decision by VWR to close its unionized Brisbane, CA distribution center, moving operations to a non-unionized Visalia, CA facility. This facility has now voted in the union for equal pay for equal work. They pay the Material Handlers $ 10 an hour when the other distribution centers start at a much higher rate. VWR will not allow this facility to be unionized and will not work out
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#1732863076567682-504: The market of shipping (tankers) and other logistical services. Besides their overlapping activities Van Ommeren offered heavy-goods transport via Dockwise and Pakhoed offered distribution services for chemical products via the company Univar . The European Commission ruled that the merger would give the combined company too much market power in storage services in the Antwerp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam (ARA)-area, on which made
713-992: The offer to sell parts of their storage-tank capacity. The EC ruled this as insufficient and the merger was canceled. Renewed negotiations resulted in the combination selling the Pakhoed terminals in Pernis and Botlek as well as van Ommeren selling their stake in Gamatext in the Port of Antwerp . This new offer convinced the EC to approve the merger and in 1999 it was publicly announced On 15 April 2000 Vopak announced that they sold their 1,5 million m Botlek terminal to Norwegian competitor Odfjell . Odfjell had already terminals in Houston , China and South America. The entire workforce of 260 people also moved to Odfjell. Earlier that year Vopak had already sold its stake in
744-624: The products Vopak stores and how they are being stored The company was created by the merger of Van Ommeren and Pakhoed in 1999. In 2002, the distribution of oil and natural gas related products was split off; a new company Univar was created for that purpose. The head office is located in Rotterdam . Vopak is listed on Euronext Amsterdam . In 1998 the companies Royal Pakhoed nv and Royal van Ommeren nv decided to merge. Both companies were offering storage services for oil, petrochemical products, vegetable oils etc. Both companies were also active on
775-518: The terminal and both customers each 5%. There were also plans to develop a LNG terminal in the Eemshaven in the North of the country. Vopak and Gasunie would own each 25% and Essent 50%, but in 2012 it became clear that the project was not viable and the plans were scrapped. July 2019; Vopak signed investment agreement with strategic partners for Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies September 2019; Vopak bought
806-497: The terminal was opened by the Queen and since then it is in full production. The LNG terminal consists of 3 tanks with a combined storage capacity of 540.000 m liquefied gas, equivalent to a throughput of 12 billion m gas per year. The total investment was approx. 800 million Euro. The joint-venture has several multi-year contracts with energy producers like E.ON and Essent , since 2009 owned by German RWE . Gasunie and Vopak own 80% of
837-523: The world's largest chemical distributor, Brenntag , announced its intention to acquire Univar. Following criticism from some Brenntag shareholders, the acquisition plans were abandoned in early January 2023. In March 2023, Univar agreed to be taken private by Apollo Global Management for a total enterprise value of $ 8.1 billion, with the deal including a minority investment from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority . The acquisition
868-450: The year, EPL Archives and Seastar Chemicals On May 5, 2017, it was announced that Avantor , a Center Valley, Pennsylvania-based supplier of ultra-high-purity materials to the life sciences and advanced technology industries, would acquire VWR for $ 33.25 in cash per share of VWR common stock, reflecting an enterprise value of approximately $ 6.4 billion. On November 21, 2017, Avantor completed its acquisition of VWR. As of June 2020, Avantor
899-483: Was completed in August 2023. Prior to the acquisition, Univar Solutions acquired leading Turkish speciality chemicals distributor Kale Kimya and Leprino Foods selected Univar as an authorised distributor of food ingredients and dairy products. On a reported basis for 2022, the company reported revenue of $ 11.5 billion (up 20 per cent from FY 2021) and net profit of $ 545.3 million (up 18 per cent from FY 2021). The company
930-524: Was included in the Fortune500 list, ranking 484 on the list of the largest U.S companies by revenue. Univar Solutions Univar Solutions Inc.(formerly Royal Vopak ) is a global chemical and ingredients distributor and provider of value-added services. Founded in 1924 as Van Waters & Rogers, it was acquired in August 2023 by funds controlled by Apollo Global Management . The transaction also included Abu Dhabi Investment Authority , which became
961-529: Was ranked among "The Best Companies for Future Leaders" by Time magazine and data firm Statista , which analysed the CVs of 2,000 prominent scientists, politicians and CEOs of the country's largest companies to identify the companies where they most often worked. Univar was ranked 61st. On April 9, 2019, Univar USA Inc. agreed to pay $ 62.5 million to settle allegations of the US Department of Justice. According to