Paul Falknor Iams (; August 11, 1915 in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

– October 26, 2004 in

Chappaqua, New York Chappaqua ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of New Castle, in northern Westchester County, New York, United States. It is approximately north of New York City. The hamlet is served by the Chappaqua station of the Metro ...

) was the founder of the Iams Company which is known for its line of

pet food Pet food is animal feed intended for consumption by pets. Typically sold in pet stores and supermarkets, it is usually specific to the type of animal, such as dog food or cat food. Most meat used for animals is a byproduct of the human food ind ...

s. Iams graduated from the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

in 1937, and sold

dog food Dog food is food specifically formulated and intended for consumption by dogs and other related canines. Dogs are considered to be omnivores with a carnivorous bias. They have the sharp, pointed teeth and shorter gastrointestinal tracts of ca ...

during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. He learned that not even severe economic hardship would stop owners from buying food to feed their pets. This was a revelation to Iams, as most owners fed their pets leftovers or their own concoctions. A self-taught animal

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...

ist, Iams founded his company in 1946, and, by 1950, was creating his own recipes in his own plant in Dayton. When he retired in 1982, Iams sold his stake in the company to his business partner, who sold the company to

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...

in 1999. Paul Iams was born in

on August 11, 1915. He was a talented high school athlete who won the Ohio State Tennis Championship in 1933. In 1937, he graduated from Ohio State University and became interested in the pet food business while working with his father, Harry, a grain broker. He joined Procter & Gamble in 1938 and was a soap salesman before joining the Navy in World War II. After completing his service, Iams decided to create high quality pet food, based on his original nutritional theories and research. He was convinced that there was a strong specialty market for a nutritionally complete dog food. His original customer base was composed of Midwestern veterinarians and dog breeders. In 1950, he opened his first manufacturing plant in Dayton, Ohio with five employees. He named his first dog food, "Iams 999" to imply that it was nearly perfect. In 1982, Iams sold the business to

Clay Mathile Clayton Lee Mathile (pronounced uh-til (born January 11, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman best known for leading Iams to nearly $1 billion in sales before selling it to Procter & Gamble (P&G) for $2.3 billion in 1999 in what was, at ...

, who had joined Iams in 1970 and was Paul's business partner and friend. In 1999, the Mathiles sold The Iams Company to Procter and Gamble. In 1987, the Paul F. Iams Technical Center in

Lewisburg, Ohio Lewisburg is a village in Preble County, Ohio, United States, founded in 1818. The current village incorporates two prior villages, the original Lewisburg and Euphemia, which merged in 1916. The population was 1,820 at the 2010 census. It is part ...

was opened as a research facility dedicated to researching the emotional and physical needs of companion animals. Paul Iams died at the age of 89, on Tuesday, October 26, 2004 in

. Until a month earlier, he had lived in

Sun City West, Arizona Sun City West is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The population was 25,806 at the 2020 census. Geography Sun City West is located northwest of downtown Phoenix at (33 ...

where he retired in 1982 with his wife, the former Jane Landrum, who died in 1996.

External links

Iams Company
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iams, Paul F. 1915 births 2004 deaths Businesspeople from Dayton, Ohio Ohio State University alumni American nutritionists People from Chappaqua, New York 20th-century American businesspeople American company founders