VWR International is an American company involved in the
distribution Distribution may refer to:
Mathematics
*Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations
* Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...
of research
laboratory products, with
over 1,200,000 items to more than 250,000 customers in North America and Europe. The U.S. division is headquartered in
Radnor, Pennsylvania
Radnor is a community located approximately 13 miles west of Philadelphia, in the Main Line suburbs. It straddles Montgomery and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania. The community was named after Radnor, in Wales.
Radnor is home to Cabrini Universi ...
. VWR ranked #91 in 2006, and #77 in 2005, in ''
Forbes'' list of largest American private companies. Suppliers include Applied Scientific, 3B Scientific
Duracell
Duracell Inc. is an American manufacturer of alkaline batteries, specialty cells, rechargeables and smart power systems, owned by Berkshire Hathaway. The company has its origins in the 1920s, through the work of Samuel Ruben and Philip Mallory, ...
,
Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark Corporation is an American multinational personal care corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. The company manufactures sanitary paper products and surgical & medical instruments. Kimberly-Clark brand n ...
, Bel-Art Products, and
Welch Allyn. VWR primarily serves the
government,
biotechnology,
life science,
education,
electronics and
pharmaceutical sectors. In 2010, the company maintained operations in 25 countries and processed approximately 50,000 order lines daily from a logistical network, which includes 25 strategically located distribution centers.
History
VWR was founded by John Taylor as the John Taylor Company in 1852, selling mining and laboratory products.
Since then, the company evolved to focus on the laboratory market. It also has a presence in the cleanroom, safety, and clinical markets.
In 1902, it was purchased by F.W. Braun, and merged into his company the F.W. Braun Corporation.
In 1908, Braun left the F.W. Braun Corporation, and formed Braun-Knecht-Heimann with Gustav Knecht and Richard Heimann.
In 1950, George Van Waters and Nat Rogers