Description
Culligan is a global water treatment company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois, United States. Culligan specializes in premium services and water treatment solutions, such as water softeners, drinking water filtration systems, whole-home filtration systems, bottleless water coolers, and bottled water delivery for residential, commercial, and industrial consumers. The company is committed to sustainable, non-plastic solutions and offers some of the most advanced water filtration and treatment services available.
Culligan's network of dealers and direct operations span across 90 countries with 1,000 dealers, over 600 in North America alone, and over 7,500 employees. The company's 35+ brands serve more than 50 million customers each year at the office, at home, or on the go.
History
Culligan was founded in 1936 by Emmett Culligan. With $50 and with additional financing by his brother Dr. John M. Culligan, and his sister, Anna V. Culligan, Emmett established the Culligan Zeolite Company with his brothers Drs. John and Leo Culligan as partners. They started the business in Jack McLaughlin's Blacksmith Shop at Northbrook, Illinois. Emmett perforated the bottom of a coffee can and used greensand to make a water filter. Upon running water through his device, he discovered that the filter acted as a water softener. By 1938, the first Culligan franchised dealership opened in Wheaton, Illinois, followed by another in Hagerstown, Maryland. In 1945, Emmett dissolved the partnership with his brothers and a new company was incorporated. Emmett was president until 1950 when he became chairman of the board and Harold Werhane was made President. In 1962, the name was changed to Culligan, Incorporated. The company now has its international headquarters in Rosemont, Illinois. To date, there are more than 1,000 dealerships and business offices in over 90 countries. For further information refer to the company magazine, "Topics" of July, 1970. Later on, Beatrice Foods acquired the company.
In 1986, Beatrice Foods, newly acquired by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, spun off its specialty foods and non-food brands as E-II Holdings. E-II attempted to take over American Brands in 1988. Instead, American Brands purchased E-II. American Brands later sold the majority of the E-II brands to Meshulam Riklis. Riklis soon left the company, and E-II filed for bankruptcy in 1992. After a takeover battle from Carl Icahn, E-II emerged from bankruptcy in 1993 under the name Astrum International. Culligan was spun off in 1995, and Astrum was renamed Samsonite.
Culligan was acquired by United States Filter in 1998. US Filter was acquired by Vivendi in 1999. Vivendi spun off its water business in 2000, and the resulting company, Veolia Environnement, sold Culligan to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in 2003. In 2004, Entrepreneur Magazine named Culligan the number one franchise in its industry. In 2007, Culligan's headquarters relocated from Northbrook, IL to its current home in Rosemont, Illinois with the only state-of-the-art analytical laboratory certified by the State of Illinois EPA to be compliant with National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference standards, reflecting the company's commitment to advancements in water treatment.Centerbridge Partners acquired Culligan in 2012. In 2021, Culligan was acquired by BDT Capital Partners, LLC.
