DANAHER

“Origins - In the early 1980's, Steven and Mitchell Rales' vision of a manufacturing company, dedicated to continuous improvement and customer satisfaction, was conceived during a fishing trip on the Danaher, a tributary to the south fork of the Flat Head River in western Montana.The origin of the name "Danaher" goes back to the root "Dana," a Celtic word dating from before 700 BC and meaning "swift flowing”. Danaher traces its origins back to 1969 when its predecessor, DMG, Inc., was organized as a real estate investment trust.  In 1978, DMG, Inc. changed its name to Diversified Mortgage Investors, Inc., and in 1984 we adopted the name Danaher.  An important element of the Company’s history has been the evolution of the Danaher Business System (DBS) which began in our Jacobs Vehicle Systems business in the late 1980’s. It was there that Danaher became one of the first North American companies to utilize the principles of kaizen, the Japanese word for continuous improvement. Representing a truly global process today, DBS is utilized by every operating location, function and level at Danaher to shape strategy, focus execution and create value for customers and shareholders alike.

Building a Strong Foundation - In the early 90's, Danaher consisted of a group of discrete, cyclical businesses. Our corporate vision was to achieve above average growth along with reduced cyclicality. In the mid 90's, we began moving from fragmented businesses towards the creation of strategic platforms with sustainable competitive advantages and leadership positions in multi-billion dollar, global markets.  Since then our portfolio has evolved to become a more global, higher growth, more scientific and technological set of businesses. Today, Danaher is a science and technology leader that designs, manufactures, and markets innovative products and services to professional, medical, industrial, and commercial customers.  Our portfolio of premier brands is among the most highly recognized in each of the markets we serve.  Our 59,000 associates around the world serve customers in more than 125 countries.  In 2011, we generated $16.1 billion of revenue from five reporting segments: Test & Measurement, Environmental, Dental, Life Sciences & Diagnostics, and Industrial Technologies.

Looking Ahead - As we continue to evolve our portfolio, the elements of a swift flowing river have been retained. The company has never strayed from the clarity of our initial vision. The flow of the business is ever changing but the guiding principles of DBS --continuous improvement and customer satisfaction--remain constant.   With DBS providing the inventory of growth and cost tools, we are aggressively pursuing our goal to build an outstanding team, a high quality portfolio and a sustainable business model achieving superior and sustainable financial results. That's our vision of the future - the vision we're aggressively pursuing as we work to build a global science and technology company with DBS.”

HERE