please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . september 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . september 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message it has been suggested that this article be split into a new article titled humidifier disinfectant incidents in south korea . discuss . may 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message reckitt benckiser group plc type public limited company traded as lse rb fwb gb00b24cgk77 isin gb00b24cgk77 industry consumer goods founded 1814 j & j colman 1823 benckiser 1840 reckitt & sons 1938 merger of reckitt & sons and j & j colman 1999 merger of reckitt & colman and benckiser headquarters slough england uk key people adrian bellamy chairman rakesh kapoor ceo 1 products cleaning products consumer healthcare products condiments personal care products revenue 10.2 billion 2015 2 operating income 2.374 billion 2015 2 net income 1.745 billion 2015 2 number of employees 37 200 2015 3 website www.rb.com reckitt benckiser group plc rb lse rb listen help info is a british multinational consumer goods company headquartered in slough england . it is a producer of health hygiene and home products . 4 it was formed in 1999 by the merger of the uk based reckitt & colman plc and the netherlands based benckiser nv . rb s brands include french s mustard the antiseptic brand dettol the sore throat medicine strepsils the hair removal brand veet the air freshener air wick calgon clearasil cillit bang durex lysol mycil and vanish . 5 it has operations in around 60 countries and its products are sold in almost 200 countries . rb is listed on the london stock exchange and is a constituent of the ftse 100 index . it had a market capitalisation of approximately 44 billion as of december 2015 . 6 contents 1 history 1.1 origins 1.2 1999 to present 2 operations 3 products 4 corporate governance 5 corporate social responsibility 5.1 save the children 5.2 carbon 20 5.3 betterbusiness 5.4 rb trees 6 controversies 6.1 deaths caused by humidifier disinfectant 6.2 anti competitive behaviour 6.3 legal challenges to rodenticide regulations 7 references 8 external links history edit origins edit this section is missing information about the former benckiser nv . please expand the section to include this information . further details may exist on the talk page . may 2016 main articles reckitt and sons and colman s stoke holy cross mill in norwich england the home of colman s mustard from 1814 to 1862 johann a. benckiser founded a business in germany in 1823 . its main products were industrial and consumer goods industrial chemicals . 7 benckiser went public in 1997 . 8 9 reckitt & sons started in 1840 when isaac reckitt rented a starch mill in hull england . 7 he diversified into other household products and after his death in 1862 the business passed to his three sons . 10 in 1886 reckitt opened its first overseas business in australia . 10 the firm was first listed on the london stock exchange in 1888 . 7 harpic lavatory cleaners was acquired in 1932 and that same year dettol was launched . 10 in 1938 reckitt & sons merged with j. & j. colman which had been founded in 1814 when jeremiah colman began milling flour and mustard in norwich england 7 to become reckitt & colman ltd. 7 the company made several acquisitions including the airwick and carpet fresh brands 1985 the boyle midway division of american home products 1990 and the lehn & fink division of sterling drug 1994 . it acquired several brands from dowbrands in 1998 . reckitt & colman sold the colman s food business in 1995 . 7 1999 to present edit the company was formed by a merger between britain s reckitt & colman plc and the dutch company benckiser nv in december 1999 . bart becht became ceo of the new company and has been credited for its transformation focusing on core brands and improving efficiency in the supply chain . the new management team s strategy of innovation marketing . 11 a combination of increased marketing spend and product innovation focusing on consumer needs has been linked to the company s ongoing success . for example in 2008 the company s rapid succession of well publicised new product variants were credited for helping them to capture shoppers imagination . 12 business week has also noted that 40 % of reckitt benckiser s 10.5 billion in 2007 revenues came from products launched within the previous three years . 13 in october 2005 rb agreed to purchase the over the counter drugs manufacturing business of boots group boots healthcare international for 1.9 billion . the three main brands acquired were nurofen s analgesics strepsils sore throat lozenges and clearasil anti acne treatments . 14 in january 2008 rb acquired adams respiratory therapeutics inc. a pharmaceutical company for 2.3 billion ; one of the major brands acquired was mucinex . 15 in july 2010 rb agreed to buy ssl international the makers of durex condoms and scholl s footcare products in a 2.5 billion deal . 16 on 27 august 2011 rb recalled all remaining stock of its major analgesic product nurofen plus after packs were found to contain an antipsychotic drug . 17 it turned out that this was the work of a codeine addict who had been stealing the pills and replacing them with his anti psychotic medication . 18 in april 2011 bart becht announced he was to retire as ceo of reckitt benckiser and would be replaced from september 2011 by executive vice president of category development rakesh kapoor who had played a key role in recent acquisitions . 19 in november 2012 rb agreed to acquire schiff nutrition a united states based manufacturer of vitamins and nutritional supplements including digestive advantage megared airborne and move free for us 1.4 billion 877 million . 20 21 in december 2014 rb spun off its specialty pharmaceuticals business which produces suboxone into a separate company named indivior . 22 in 2014 reckitt benckiser announced it was dropping its full name in favour of rb . 23 according to the chief executive rakesh kapoor the old name was a bit of a mouthful and the name change would make life easier . 24 operations edit rb is headquartered in slough england and has operations in around 60 countries . its products are sold in nearly 200 countries . 25 the company runs a number of graduate programmes in most of its markets with over 200 graduates joining the schemes worldwide . 26 once hired graduates tend to work for a couple of years as a trainee in the country in which they were originally employed followed by a posting overseas for those who have excelled during initial training . graduate trainees start off in one of the firm s business areas marketing and sales supply chain research and development human resources and information systems . products edit rb organises the majority of its products into three main categories health hygiene and home with other brands belonging to three further categories food pharmaceuticals and portfolio brands . the company s strategy is to have a highly focused portfolio concentrating on its 19 most profitable brands which are responsible for 70 % of net revenues . 27 reckitt benckiser currently produces the following products 28 powerbrands air wick calgon cillit bang dettol durex french s gaviscon harpic lemsip lysol mortein mucinex nurofen scholl strepsils vanish veet other aerogard airborne amphyl bonjela brasso c pacol clearasil d con finish calgonit in continental europe frank s redhot french s foods glass plus k y mr sheen nurofen for children sani flush woolite durex condoms glass plus glass cleaner lysol multi surface cleaner strepsils throat lozenges suboxone sublingual film corporate governance edit as of 2016 rb s directors were rakesh kapoor adrian bellamy nicandro durante mary harris adrian hennah ken hydon dr. pamela kirby andr lacroix christopher sinclair and warren tucker . 29 as of 2016 members of the executive committee were rob de groot amedeo fasano roberto funari frederic larmuseau darrell stein and deborah yates . 30 from the company s creation in 1999 until he retired in 2011 bart becht was ceo . the guardian called him one of the most successful businessmen of his generation . under him the company focused on its core brands and on improving efficiency in the supply chain . it also increased its marketing budget . 12 businessweek noted that 40 % of rb s 10.5 billion in 2007 revenues came from products launched within the previous three years . 13 becht was britain s highest paid businessman taking home more than 90 million in 2009 . 31 in april 2011 he announced that he would step down in september of that year to be replaced by rakesh kapoor who had been with the company since 1987 . reckitt benckiser shares fell by 6.6 % on the news . 32 corporate social responsibility edit this section contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . may 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message rb has held platinum status in the business in the community cr index 33 since 2005 and in 2009 entered the dow jones sustainability world index and the carbon disclosure leadership index . 34 save the children edit save the children has described rb as its most valuable uk based corporate supporter . 35 their staff fundraises in many different ways from football tournaments and silly hat wearing to payroll giving and marathon running . members of staff in 2009 completed a global employee trek facing the challenges of natural disaster and altitude sickness in order to raise almost 250 000 for the charity . in 2011 a group of 65 rb employees took part in a global challenge in brazil some undertaking a dangerous trek and others volunteering on a community project . 36 in june 2012 20 employees from six countries across latin america took part in a gruelling trek challenge and helped to build a community centre in cali colombia raising 63 000 for save the children . in its full year results for 2012 rb stated it had helped to reach approximately 325 000 children and families in 2012 and since the relationship with save the children began in 2006 the initiative has reached nearly 900 000 vulnerable children and families . 37 carbon 20 edit rb implemented an environmental initiative called carbon 20 . 38 the initiative which was announced in november 2007 aimed to cut the total carbon footprint of its products from creation to disposal by 20 % by 2020 . as part of the initiative the company has reduced by 70 % the amount of plastic in the packaging of its vanish cleaner . 39 in january 2010 rb announced that they had already reached the halfway mark on their carbon reduction target in the third year of the carbon20 initiative . rb stated over 3 million tonnes of co2 was avoided last year by an 11 % reduction per unit dose in the carbon impact across our products life cycle the same impact as taking nearly 1 000 000 cars off the road . rb cited new programmes to redesign products