Danaher Corp. / DHR

About Danaher Corp.

2099 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 12th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20006
www.danaher.com | 202-828-0850 | Founded: 1984

Industry: Manufacturing | Category: Top 100 Companies

Danaher still believes in growth through acquisition. To that end, the company last year acquired Sybron Dental Specialties for $2 billion and the assumption of $200 million in debt. Sybron is a leading manufacturer of a broad range of consumables and small equipment for dentistry, including the specialty markets of orthodontics, endodontics and implantology. Sybron Dental had annual revenue of about $650 million in the most recent fiscal year.
The company in November bought Vision Systems of Melbourne, Australia, for $500 million. Founded in 1987, Vision has operations in Australia, the United States and Britain and has revenue of $100 million a year. Vision's products are used for tissue preparation and staining to assist with the diagnosis of cancer and infectious diseases.
Danaher president and chief executive H. Lawrence Culp Jr.'s goal is to reach $25 billion in sales by 2012. A recent BusinessWeek profile of Danaher called its two founders, Steven M. and Mitchell P. Rales, very private brothers who are two of the wealthiest people in the United States, with an estimated worth of about $2.2 billion each. Steven, 55, and Mitchell, 50, together hold about 20 percent of the company's 308 million shares of common stock.

Chairman: Steven M. Rales

President and CEO: H. Lawrence Culp Jr.

2007 Financial Data

Total employees: 45,000 | Local employees: 46