COMPANY·HISTORIES
SIC 3841

Surgical and Medical Instruments and Apparatus

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

40companies1875–1981founding years40still active0no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironment
FoundedAmerican Safety Razor Company
1875
FoundedKimberly-Clark CorporationFoundedKimberly-Clark Corporation
1880
FoundedMallinckrodt Group Inc.
1882
FoundedBOC Group plc
1886
FoundedDentsply International Inc.
1899
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
1908
TechnologyThe Ford Model T brings the automobile to the middle class.
FoundedPuritan-Bennett Corporation
1913
EconomyThe Federal Reserve is created.
FoundedSmiths Industries PLC
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedEthicon, Inc.
1921
1929
EconomyThe stock market crashes; the Great Depression begins.
1933
EconomyNew Deal reforms reshape banking and industry.
FoundedBeckman Instruments, Inc.
1934
FoundedSmith & Nephew plc
1937
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long postwar expansion begins.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented at Bell Labs.
1956
EconomyThe Interstate Highway program remakes commerce.
FoundedBeckman Coulter, Inc.
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedCOBE Laboratories, Inc.
1964
FoundedHillenbrand Industries, Inc.FoundedMentor Corporation
1969
1970
EnvironmentThe EPA is founded; environmental regulation expands.
1971
EconomyThe dollar leaves the gold standard; Nasdaq opens.
1973
EconomyThe OPEC oil embargo triggers a global shock.
FoundedMinntech Corporation
1974
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins with the Altair.
FoundedEmpi, Inc.
1977
1979
EconomyA second oil crisis drives inflation higher.
FoundedAllied Healthcare Products, Inc.
1980
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
1987
EconomyBlack Monday: markets fall 22% in a single day.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EconomyThe Asian financial crisis rattles global markets.
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2000
EconomyThe dot-com bubble bursts.
2001
EconomyThe September 11 attacks; a recession follows.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 begin to take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2008
EconomyThe global financial crisis freezes credit.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

American Safety Razor Company →
Active · founded 1875
American Safety Razor Company (ASR) is a leading manufacturer and marketer of brand-name and private-label personal…
American Safety Razor Company →
Active · founded 1875
American Safety Razor Company (ASR) is a leading manufacturer and marketer of brand-name and private-label personal…
Kimberly-Clark Corporation →
Active · founded 1880
With its 1995 merger with Scott Paper Co., Kimberly-Clark Corporation solidified its position as the number two player…
Kimberly-Clark Corporation →
Active · founded 1880
With its 1995 merger with Scott Paper Co., Kimberly-Clark Corporation solidified its position as the number two player…
Kimberly-Clark Corporation →
Active · founded 1880
With its 1995 merger with Scott Paper Co., Kimberly-Clark Corporation solidified its position as the number two player…
Kimberly-Clark Corporation →
Active · founded 1880
With its 1995 merger with Scott Paper Co., Kimberly-Clark Corporation solidified its position as the number two player…
Mallinckrodt Group Inc. →
Active · founded 1882
Mallinckrodt Group Inc.
Mallinckrodt Group Inc. →
Active · founded 1882
Mallinckrodt Group Inc.
BOC Group plc →
Active · founded 1886 · England
BOC Group plc is one of the world's largest producers of industrial gases essential to almost every manufacturing…
BOC Group plc →
Active · founded 1886 · England
BOC Group plc is one of the world's largest producers of industrial gases essential to almost every manufacturing…
Dentsply International Inc. →
Active · founded 1899
Dentsply International Inc.
Dentsply International Inc. →
Active · founded 1899
Dentsply International Inc.
Puritan-Bennett Corporation →
Active · founded 1913
The Puritan-Bennett Corporation, headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, with research and manufacturing facilities in…
Puritan-Bennett Corporation →
Active · founded 1913
The Puritan-Bennett Corporation, headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, with research and manufacturing facilities in…
Smiths Industries PLC →
Active · founded 1914 · England
Smiths Industries PLC is a diversified multinational corporation with core businesses in aerospace electronics; medical…
Smiths Industries PLC →
Active · founded 1914 · England
Smiths Industries PLC is a diversified multinational corporation with core businesses in aerospace electronics; medical…
Ethicon, Inc. →
Active · founded 1921
Ethicon, Inc.
Ethicon, Inc. →
Active · founded 1921
Ethicon, Inc.
Baxter International Inc. →
Active · founded 1931
Baxter International Inc.
Baxter International Inc. →
Active · founded 1931
Baxter International Inc.
Beckman Instruments, Inc. →
Active · founded 1934
A leading designer, manufacturer, and marketer of laboratory instruments, Beckman Instruments, Inc., sells a broad…
Beckman Instruments, Inc. →
Active · founded 1934
A leading designer, manufacturer, and marketer of laboratory instruments, Beckman Instruments, Inc., sells a broad…
Smith & Nephew plc →
Active · founded 1937 · England
Smith & Nephew plc is the fifth-largest health care products supplier in a worldwide market worth £5 billion.
Smith & Nephew plc →
Active · founded 1937 · England
Smith & Nephew plc is the fifth-largest health care products supplier in a worldwide market worth £5 billion.
Beckman Coulter, Inc. →
Active · founded 1958
Beckman Coulter, Inc.
Beckman Coulter, Inc. →
Active · founded 1958
Beckman Coulter, Inc.
COBE Laboratories, Inc. →
Active · founded 1964
COBE Laboratories, Inc.
COBE Laboratories, Inc. →
Active · founded 1964
COBE Laboratories, Inc.
Hillenbrand Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1969
Hillenbrand Industries, Inc., is the largest manufacturer of caskets and hospital beds in the world, and also supplies…
Hillenbrand Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1969
Hillenbrand Industries, Inc., is the largest manufacturer of caskets and hospital beds in the world, and also supplies…
Mentor Corporation →
Active · founded 1969
A fast-growing company, Mentor Corporation produces breast implants, tissue implants, facial implants, and penile…
Mentor Corporation →
Active · founded 1969
A fast-growing company, Mentor Corporation produces breast implants, tissue implants, facial implants, and penile…
Minntech Corporation →
Active · founded 1974
Minntech Corporation, a leading producer and developer of dialysis solutions and sterilization systems, primarily…
Minntech Corporation →
Active · founded 1974
Minntech Corporation, a leading producer and developer of dialysis solutions and sterilization systems, primarily…
Empi, Inc. →
Active · founded 1977
Empi, Inc., one of the United States' largest medical device companies in rehabilitative therapy, develops, markets,…
Empi, Inc. →
Active · founded 1977
Empi, Inc., one of the United States' largest medical device companies in rehabilitative therapy, develops, markets,…
Allied Healthcare Products, Inc. →
Active · founded 1980
Allied Healthcare Products, Inc.
Allied Healthcare Products, Inc. →
Active · founded 1980
Allied Healthcare Products, Inc.
Maxxim Medical Inc. →
Active · founded 1981
Maxxim Medical Inc.
Maxxim Medical Inc. →
Active · founded 1981
Maxxim Medical Inc.
Build It Today

Starting a surgical and medical instruments and apparatus company now

Each week we rebuild one of these stories for today's tools and capital.