J.T. Baker Chemical Company History Records

J.T. Baker Chemical Company was an American chemical manufacturer. Founded in 1904 by John Townsend Baker (1860-1935), the firm was established for the purpose of manufacturing chemically pure reagents. From its founding, the firm’s mission was to produce chemicals of the “highest degree of purity commercially possible.”

J.T. Baker was the first chemical company to include labels listing accurate analyses of trace impurities on its products. By telling customers exactly what they were getting, these “Baker Analyzed” labels saved academic and industrial chemists a considerable amount of time and rework, and increased confidence in the accuracy of their lab results. This innovation helped J.T. Baker acquire an excellent reputation. Capitalizing on this hard-earned respect, J.T. Baker began publishing The Chemist-Analyst in 1911. This publication became both a sounding-board for the firm’s philosophy and a valued “how-to” guide. It also gave ample advertising space to the newest “Baker Analyzed” products.

The firm’s founder John Townsend Baker died in 1935. In 1941, his company was acquired by Vick Chemical Company (which was renamed Richardson-Merrell, Incorporated in 1960 and Richardson-Vicks, Incorporated in 1980). Under Vick Chemical, J.T. Baker diversified its product line. During World War II, necessity caused the firm to move into the production of penicillin, pesticides, and component chemicals used in the manufacture of batteries and munitions. After the war, J.T. Baker continued to diversify into areas such as high-purity solvents, chromatography columns, and spill kits for hazardous waste disposal. In 1985, J.T. Baker and its corporate parent Richardson-Vicks were sold to Procter & Gamble Company. This was done to prevent an attempted hostile takeover of Richardson-Vicks by Unilever N.V.

In 1995, Mallinckrodt, Incorporated purchased J.T. Baker from Procter & Gamble, and formed Mallinckrodt Baker, Incorporated. By this time, J.T. Baker had moved heavily into the areas of ceramics, microelectronics, and biopharmaceuticals. In 2000, Tyco International acquired Mallinckrodt Baker and made it part of its Tyco Healthcare Division. In 2007, Tyco Healthcare Division was spun off as an independent company and re-named Covidien. New Mountain Capital purchased Mallinckrodt Baker from Covidien in 2010 and renamed the company Avantor, Incorporated. Today, J.T. Baker Chemicals functions as one of the family of Avantor Performance Materials Brands.

Sources

Avantor - J.T. Baker Website - https://www.avantorsciences.com/pages/en/j-t-baker

J.T. Baker Chemical Company History Records, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.