AKRON, Ohio — At the Akron History Center, you can read about how GOJO Industries started – and see how far the family-owned business has come since 1946.
Now the homegrown maker of Purell is embarking on a new venture, becoming part of the publicly traded Clorox Company. On Thursday, California-based Clorox announced a $2.25 billion deal to buy GOJO and fold Purell into a lineup of consumer brands. The sale is set to happen by the end of June.
In Akron, a city that knows what it’s like to lose industrial titans, the news prompted plenty of questions.
“GOJO is one of our major employers, and the loss of any major employer would be a real wound to this city, especially in these times,” said Dave Lieberth, the history center’s president.
But he and other people who know GOJO – and the family behind it – say this change in control looks, at this point, like a win. “The fact that not only has GOJO been acquired, but acquired by a well-known … company, one that is making commitments to Northeast Ohio, actually sort of spells a bright future for us,” Lieberth said.
A longtime civic activist and historian, he got the news straight from former GOJO CEO Joe Kanfer on Thursday afternoon. That phone call left Lieberth feeling reassured and optimistic about the future of the business – and the impact on the community.
“I don’t think there’s gonna be any dramatic changes in the way that we, as citizens of Akron and of Downtown, see GOJO,” Lieberth said, while standing in front of a display of the company’s early and recent innovations.
'This moment is, of course, bittersweet'
GOJO employs nearly 1,100 people across Northeast Ohio, according to the Greater Akron Chamber. On top of the Akron headquarters, the company has manufacturing plants in Ashland, Cuyahoga Falls and Wooster.
In an open letter posted to GOJO’s website late Thursday, members of the founding family said the sale to Clorox will enable GOJO to grow in ways that aren’t possible now. As part of the deal, they added, GOJO will stay put in Northeast Ohio.
“This moment is, of course, bittersweet … saying goodbye to our beloved GOJO, which has been owned and operated by three generations of the Lippman Kanfer family,” Marcella Kanfer Rolnick and Joe Kanfer wrote in the open letter.
“This decision is so much bigger than either of us, our family, and even Goldie and Jerry,” they added, referring to co-founders Goldie and Jerry Lippman. “It’s about enabling GOJO and the Purell brand to reach their fullest potential.”
GOJO declined to comment beyond that family statement and a news release.
In that news release, leaders of both companies said they can do more together.
Though Purell is a household name, GOJO sells most of its hygiene products to other businesses, including hospitals and schools. The Clorox Company, meanwhile, is focused on retail, with a stable of everyday brands including Pine-Sol, Burt’s Bees, Hidden Valley and Glad.
“I have long admired Clorox’s ability to create great consumer brands and products that are beloved in households around the world,” Carey Jaros, GOJO’s president and CEO, said in the news release. “Clorox brings world-class consumer expertise, and they have the resources to accelerate our growth in retail channels.”
Linda Rendle, Clorox’s CEO, noted that health and wellness is the fastest-growing part of the business. With Purell, the company will own the top-selling hand-sanitizer brand.
'World-class manufacturing facilities'
During a Thursday conference call with analysts and investors, Rendle said GOJO’s production plants, expertise and ethos were particularly attractive.
“The culture fit,” she said. “GOJO and Clorox share a purpose-driven mindset, a commitment to science-based innovation and a focus on long-term value creation. GOJO has a stellar management team and talent base with world-class manufacturing facilities. This gives us strong confidence in integration and execution.”
Clorox executives told analysts there's the potential for cost savings over time from the deal. It’s unclear whether those savings will come from combining systems, streamlining processes or cutting jobs. And it will probably take a few years for any savings to materialize.
“GOJO’s going to continue as a force in this region,” said Steve Millard, the president and CEO of the Greater Akron Chamber.
During an interview Friday afternoon, he characterized the deal with Clorox as “good news,” with the potential to bring more investment to Northeast Ohio.
GOJO invested heavily in its manufacturing facilities during the pandemic, when the company ramped up production of Purell by 300% to meet skyrocketing demand from hospitals and other businesses. Now, Millard said, “they’ve got a pretty interesting turn-key operation to create more capacity for Clorox. And I hope to see that mean more jobs and more activity here.”
'A billion times a day'
The Lippmans started GOJO to fix a problem.
During World War II, Goldie Lippman was working as a supervisor at an Akron rubber factory, at a time when women were filling jobs as part of the war effort. She and her co-workers were struggling to get their hands clean – and didn’t want to use benzene and other harsh chemicals.
Jerry Lippman teamed up with a local chemist to develop a safer cleanser. Then he came up with a refillable dispenser to ensure that industrial and automotive workers were using just the right amount of the stuff.
“He would haunt automobile junkyards and go in and take window cranks out of the old junk cars in order to manufacture these dispensers,” Lieberth said. “He would give the dispenser to the company or the auto shop or the … machine shop, and then he would sell them the canister of GOJO.”
Those makeshift gadgets evolved into the sleek, ubiquitous dispensers bearing the Purell brand. And GOJO, which came up with its flagship product in 1988, has grown to approach $800 million in annual sales.
“Today, a billion times a day, somewhere around the world somebody pumps Purell into their hands,” Lieberth said.
In a written statement, Akron Mayor Shammas Malik expressed appreciation for the Kanfer family and noted the company’s 80-year run of success.
“We’re hopeful the city of Akron will be an important part of the GOJO (and) Clorox story for many more years to come,” he wrote.
Public officials in Ashland and Cuyahoga Falls did not respond to inquiries about the Clorox deal Friday.
Wooster’s economic development manager said the GOJO plant in that city is the largest hand-sanitizer facility in the world, with more than 500 employees. “With an excellent base of skilled workers, robust infrastructure and superior logistics, this acquisition is a fantastic opportunity for Clorox,” Jonathan Milea wrote in a text message.
“The city of Wooster looks forward to continuing to partner with the makers of Purell on their new exciting chapter,” he added, “and to welcoming our new Clorox team members to the community.”
Michelle Jarboe is the business growth and development reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @MJarboe or email her at Michelle.Jarboe@wews.com.
