Rubbermaid is an American manufacturer and distributor of household items. A subsidiary of

Newell Brands Newell Brands Inc. is an American manufacturer, marketer and distributor of consumer and commercial products. The company's brands and products include Rubbermaid storage/or waste disposal containers; home organization and reusable container ...

, it is best known for producing

food storage container Food storage containers are widespread in use throughout the world and have probably been in use since the first human civilizations. History Early civilizations In early civilizations cereal grains such as maize, wheat, barley etc. were stored ...

s and

trash can A waste container, also known as a dustbin, rubbish bin, trash can, garbage can, wastepaper basket, and wastebasket, among other names, is a type of container intended to store waste that is usually made out of metal or plastic. The words "r ...

s. It also produces

shed A shed is typically a simple, single-storey (though some sheds may have two or more stories and or a loft) roofed structure, often used for storage, for hobby, hobbies, or as a workshop, and typically serving as outbuilding, such as in a bac ...

s, step stools, closets and shelving,

laundry basket A laundry basket is a basket used for storing clean or dirty clothes, for storage before washing and drying, or for transporting clothes. They are used to keep clean and dirty laundry collected and organised, and can prevent clothes from gett ...

s, bins,

air freshener Air fresheners are products designed to reduce unwanted odors in indoor spaces, to introduce pleasant fragrances, or both. They typically emit fragrance to mask odors but may use other methods of action such as absorbing, bonding to, or chemically ...

s and other household items.

History

Glass food storage container with Easy Find Lids

Rubbermaid was founded in 1920 in

Wooster, Ohio Wooster ( ) is a city in Wayne County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Ohio, the city lies approximately south-southwest of Cleveland, southwest of Akron and west of Canton. The population was 27,232 at the ...

as the Wooster Rubber Company by nine businessmen. Originally, Wooster Rubber Company manufactured toy balloons. In 1933, James R. Caldwell and his wife received a patent for their blue rubber dustpan. They called their line of rubber kitchen products Rubbermaid. In 1934 Horatio Ebert saw Rubbermaid products at a New England department store, and believed such products could help his struggling Wooster Rubber. He engineered a merger of the two enterprises in July 1934. Still named the Wooster Company, the new group began to produce rubber household products under the Rubbermaid brand name. In 1984, Rubbermaid acquired Little Tikes, a toy maker. In 1985, Rubbermaid acquired competitor Gott Corporation. In 1996, Rubbermaid acquired Graco baby products. In 1999, Rubbermaid was purchased by Newell for $6 billion. Then Newell changed its name to Newell Rubbermaid. Newell Rubbermaid changed its name again to the present-day

in 2016 as part of a takeover of

Jarden Jarden was an American consumer products company. Formed by the spin out of Ball Corporation's canning business, the company became a wider conglomerate of consumer brands, particularly in the outdoors and home appliances market. Jarden was a ...

in another merger. In 2003, the company announced its move out of Wooster to Atlanta, Georgia; 850 manufacturing and warehouse jobs would be eliminated, and 409 office jobs would move to other locations. A Rubbermaid distribution center remained at the former headquarters for some time, until it was recently purchased by GOJO Industries, Inc. On November 16, 2004, Rubbermaid was used as a prime example in the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

'' Frontline'' documentary "Is Walmart Good for America?"

Timeline

*1920 Wooster Rubber is launched. *1927 Horatio Ebert and Errett Grable took over managing the company from the original 9 founders. *1933 Rubbermaid is launched. *1933 First Rubbermaid dustpan is introduced. *1934 Wooster Rubber and Rubbermaid merge to form Wooster Rubber Company and sell Rubbermaid products. *1942 WW2 eliminated Rubbermaid's housewares business, but the company was able to convert to military manufacturing. *1947 Rubbermaid introduces a line of rubber automotive accessories. *1955 Wooster Rubber Co. offer first public offering. *1956 Rubbermaid ventures into

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

products. *1957 Wooster Rubber Company changes name to Rubbermaid. *1965 Purchases German company Dupol. *1976 1,100 members of the United Rubber Workers union call a strike. *1981 Purchases Con-Tact plastic coverings. *1984 Acquires the Little Tikes Company. *1999 Newell acquires Rubbermaid for $6 billion and changes corporate name to Newell Rubbermaid. *2003 Rubbermaid headquarters move from Wooster, Ohio to Atlanta, GA. *2016 Newell Rubbermaid becomes Newell Brands as part of a takeover of Jarden in a merger. *2017 Newell sells the Rubbermaid totes line to United Solutions.

Former Rubbermaid CEOs

*1933–1959 James Caldwell *1959–1980 Donald Noble *1980–1991 Stanley C. Gault *1991–1992 Walter W. Williams *1993–1999 Wolfgang Schmitt

Companies acquired by Rubbermaid

Prior to Rubbermaid merging with Newell Company. *1965 Dupol -

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

*1981 Carlan *1984 Little Tikes - Sold to

MGA Entertainment MGA Entertainment Inc. (short for Micro-Games America Entertainment; sometimes referred to as MGA) is a manufacturer of children's toys and entertainment products founded in 1979. Its products include Bratz, Num Noms, Lalaloopsy, and Rainbow High ...

in 2006. *1985 Gott Corporation *1986 MicroComputer Accessories *1986 Seco Industries *1987 Viking Brush -

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

*1990 Eldon Industries *1992 Iron Mountain Forge Corporation *1994 Carex Health Care Products *1995 Injectaplastic S.A - French *1996 Graco (baby products) *1997 Curver -

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

- Sold in 2005.

References

{{Authority control Newell Brands Manufacturing companies based in North Carolina Manufacturing companies established in 1920 Kitchenware brands Food storage Containers 1920 establishments in Ohio 1999 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1920

History

Timeline

Former Rubbermaid CEOs

Companies acquired by Rubbermaid

See also

References