Becton Dickinson

Technology is transforming BD and the way we do business as never before. From high-value diagnostic tools based on genetic markers to breakthroughs in safety-engineered devices for health care workers to novel ways of delivering medicine to the body, technology is broadening our opportunities for revenue growth, competitive advantage and--in keeping with our larger aspiration--helping us help all people live healthy lives. Key Dates: Henry P. Becton and Fairleigh Dickinson, Jr., sons of the founders, assume managerial control of the company. Entry into diagnostic medicine with the patenting of the Evacutainer blood collection device. Baltimore Biological Laboratories is acquired, enlarging the firm's presence in the burgeoning market for disposable medical products. Becton, Dickinson and Sun reach agreement on the eventual disposal of Sun's stake. Company reorganizes its operations into three business segments: BD Medical Systems, BD Biosciences, and BD Preanalytical Solutions; company launches a global brand strategy focusing on the 'BD' name. The company was founded in 1897 by two salesmen, Maxwell W. Becton and Fairleigh S. Dickinson, as a partnership first to sell medical thermometers and syringes (imported from Europe) and then to manufacture them. Expansion into new product lines in the early years came via acquisitions. In 1904 the partnership acquired Philadelphia Surgical Company and Wigmore Company, both of which were makers of surgical, dental, and veterinary instruments. The manufacture of medical bags was added the following year through the purchase of Comstock Bag Company. One year later, Becton, Dickinson & Company was incorporated in the state of New Jersey and built a manufacturing plant in East Rutherford, New Jersey, for the production of thermometers, syringes, and hypodermic needles. Even with the company's new plant, Becton, Dickinson continued to rely on European suppliers for some of the products it sold, mainly because of the higher quality of the imports versus those made domestically. Along these lines, the acquisition of New York-based Surgical Supply Import Company in 1913 was completed to gain the company's network of high-quality foreign suppliers. The purchase also helped broaden Becton, Dickinson's product line through such Surgical Supply products as the Asepto bulb syringe. During World War I, Becton, Dickinson's import supplies were, in large part, cut off, propelling the company deeper into manufacturing its own products. In the midst of the war, the president of Surgical Supply, Oscar O.R. Schwidetzky, who stayed with Becton, Dickinson following the acquisition, developed a new American-made cotton elastic bandage. In 1918 the company conducted a contest among physicians to name the new bandage, out of which emerged the ACE bandage, 'ACE' being an acronym for 'All Cotton Elastic.' Meantime, the slow but steady growth of Becton, Dickinson was evidenced by the company reaching the milestone of $1 million in sales in 1917, two decades after the founding. Throughout the early decades, the family-run business built a reputation as a maker and marketer of products superior to those of its competitors. Through its product development--and acquisitions--the company kept pace with the latest advances in medical technology and standards. Such was the case with the 1921 purchase of Physicians Specialty Company, which was headed by Andrew W. 'Doc' Fleischer, who like Schwidetzky took a position with Becton, Dickinson following the merger. Fleischer had developed the mercurial sphygmomanometer (an instrument for measuring blood pressure) as well as the binaural stethoscope. In 1924 Becton, Dickinson began making syringes designed specifically for insulin injection, marking the company's first foray into the diabetes care sector. The following year Fairleigh Dickinson received a patent for the Luer-Lok tip, a locking collar that more securely attached a hypodermic needle to a syringe, thereby