This year, Culligan is proud to celebrate its 85th anniversary and nearly a century of helping families and communities get the cleaner, safer water that helps them thrive.
In 1921, Emmett Culligan was in a hospital awaiting the birth of his child when he struck up a conversation with a maintenance man that led to an amazing idea. Soon after, two miracles occurred: the birth of his first child, and the creation of his first water softener. It took a few more years, but it was that invention that eventually launched Culligan’s home water softening business. Today, with the world’s leading water treatment and service brands in its portfolio and more than 900 dealerships in 90 countries, Culligan continues to build on that legacy with a commitment to creating new ways to bring better, safer, softer water to consumers worldwide. At the same time, the company has built a reputation on providing outstanding service that meets a broad range of customer needs, including water quality testing, water delivery, rental services, system maintenance, salt delivery, and much more.
“Delivering our consumers water services and solutions is our passion,” says Culligan International CEO Scott Clawson. “We are excited to build on the progress we’ve made in the first 85 years creating more innovative consumer services to provide people around the world healthy, safe water while improving the sustainability of the planet.”
Some of the other pioneering Culligan moments include the following:
- 1936: Emmett Culligan officially launches Culligan’s first home-owned water softener, the Faucet Water Softener.
- 1960–1963: Culligan expands into Italy, France, and Spain with softening solutions and services.
- 1965: Culligan launches Aqua 1, the first small household reverse osmosis system.
- 1987: Culligan Italy introduces the first two-step reverse osmosis system into hospitals for dialysis.
- 2005: Culligan creates Culligan CARES, the philanthropic arm of the company focused on helping individuals, families, and communities who are in need of cleaner and safer water.
- 2010: Culligan launches the world’s first high-efficiency water softener and increases its subscription services.
- 2016: Culligan launched the ClearLink PRO™, the only device that gives RO water from an existing kitchen tap.
- 2017–2020: Culligan launches in Australia, the UK, Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Poland and multiple other global locations.
- 2020: Culligan provides more than 50 million consumers better water services and solutions across homes and offices worldwide.
To learn more about Culligan’s 85 years of innovation, visit culligan.com.
