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| Formerly | The Wooster Rubber Company (1920–57) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Plastics |
| Founded | May 1920; 105 years ago (1920-05) inWooster,Ohio, U.S. |
| Fate | Acquired by Newell in 1999[1] |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Key people | Donald Noble Stanley C. Gault |
| Products | Consumer household goods |
| Parent | Newell Brands |
| Website | rubbermaid.com |
Rubbermaid is an American manufacturer and distributor of household items. A subsidiary ofNewell Brands, it is best known for producingfood storage containers andtrash cans. It also producessheds,step stools, closets and shelving,laundry baskets, bins,air fresheners and other household items.[2][3]
Rubbermaid was founded in 1920[4] inWooster, Ohio as the Wooster Rubber Company by nine businessmen. Originally, Wooster Rubber Company manufactured toy balloons.[citation needed]
In 1933, James R. Caldwell and his wife received a patent for their blue rubberdustpan. They called their line of rubber kitchen products Rubbermaid.[5]
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 acquiredLittle Tikes, a toy maker. In 1985, Rubbermaid acquired competitor Gott Corporation.[6] In 1996, Rubbermaid acquiredGraco baby products.[7]
In 1999, Rubbermaid was purchased by Newell for $6 billion. Then Newell changed its name to Newell Rubbermaid.[citation needed] Newell Rubbermaid changed its name again to the present-dayNewell Brands in 2016 as part of a takeover ofJarden 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.[8]
On November 16, 2004, Rubbermaid was used as a prime example[of what?] in thePBSFrontline documentary "Is Walmart Good for America?"[9]
Prior to Rubbermaid merging withNewell Company.
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