What GOJO Industries makes

GOJO Industries is the Akron, Ohio company that invented waterless hand cleaning. In 1946 Goldie and Jerry Lippman set out to safely clean the hands of wartime rubber-factory workers, and with Kent State chemist Clarence Cook they developed the first one-step, rinse-off GOJO hand cleaner. Six years later Jerry patented the first portion-control soap dispenser, in 1952. By the company's own account, that dispenser made GOJO the national leader in heavy-duty hand cleaner across the automotive after-market and industrial markets, and every wall-mounted soap dispenser in use today descends from it.

The product line runs from heavy-duty hand cleaners formulated to cut grease, oil, tar, and adhesives, to hand soaps, skin care, surface disinfectants, and the electronic and manual dispensers built to dispense them. GOJO Original Formula and the company's heavy-duty crème cleaners remain fixtures in mechanic shops and are stocked through aftermarket channels including NAPA Auto Parts. In 1988 GOJO invented PURELL Hand Sanitizer, now the leading hand-sanitizer brand in the United States, and expanded into healthcare, foodservice, education, and other away-from-home markets. The GOJO, PURELL, and PROVON brands anchor the portfolio.

Financial performance

GOJO reported roughly $800 million in annual sales in recent years, up from a figure above $370 million in 2018, with demand lifted sharply during the pandemic when the company's Wooster, Ohio plant, described as the largest hand-sanitizer facility in the world, ran flat out. The company employs about 2,500 people, roughly 1,100 of them across Northeast Ohio per the Greater Akron Chamber. These are published and press-cited figures rather than audited disclosures, and headcount has normalized downward from its pandemic peak.

Ownership and history

GOJO was owned and operated by three generations of the Lippman and Kanfer family for nearly 80 years, from its 1946 founding until 2026. In January 2026 The Clorox Company announced an agreement to acquire GOJO for $2.25 billion in cash, including about $330 million in anticipated tax benefits for a net purchase price near $1.92 billion, and the deal closed on April 1, 2026. GOJO now operates as part of Clorox, under the Clorox Purell name, while continuing to run its Northeast Ohio operations. Carey Jaros, who became GOJO's president and CEO in January 2020, leads the combined Clorox Purell business. Clorox has stated it intends to grow the business and keep its NE Ohio footprint.

The company remains headquartered at One GOJO Plaza in Akron, with manufacturing across Northeast Ohio in Wooster, Cuyahoga Falls, and Ashland, and a distribution and import operation in Stow. Its global presence spans North America, Europe, South America, Asia, and Australia.

Certifications and quality

GOJO describes a whole-systems approach to sustainability built on a vertically integrated supply chain, and it cites product-level environmental certifications and biobased formulations across its dispensing and skin-care lines. Its 2025 Sustainable Value Report documents progress on plastic reduction and greenhouse-gas emissions, including a touch-free dispenser the company says uses 30 percent less plastic per refill. The company publishes supply-chain transparency and forced-labor disclosures. As a personal-care and sanitizer manufacturer, GOJO is not certified to the automotive quality standards, such as IATF 16949, that stamping and machining suppliers hold; its quality posture is anchored in FDA drug-facts regulation for its sanitizer chemistry and in product environmental certifications.

Known customers

GOJO sells through distribution rather than to named OEM programs, so its buyers are channels and end markets rather than a disclosed customer list.

Beyond distribution, GOJO products reach healthcare systems, schools, restaurants, airports, and manufacturers worldwide under the PURELL and GOJO brands, per the company's own materials.

Sourcing evidence

GOJO's US import record reads like a manufacturer's, not a reseller's: 2,499 sea shipments since January 2015, dominated by dispenser hardware, pump houses, and plastic and electronic dispenser components rather than finished bottles of product. That pattern, componentry in and filled product out, matches GOJO's vertically integrated Northeast Ohio manufacturing. The most recent shipment on record is September 13, 2026, and the import entity is registered at 1366 Commerce Dr, Stow, Ohio. Bills of lading name the following most-active foreign suppliers:

Seven shown of the named supplier set. Origin countries are led by China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Vietnam, with a smaller flow of dispenser and metal articles from Germany (Ophardt). The leading declared code is HTS 8479.89.97, soap dispensers. Customs-derived estimates put cumulative ocean shipping spend near $4.3 million with cost data covering 73 percent of shipments, an order-of-magnitude figure rather than an audited one. Monthly volume has come well off its pandemic-era peak, down about 46 percent year over year in the most recent month, a normalization visible across the whole hand-hygiene category after 2021. Buyers weighing supplier concentration or tariff exposure should note the dispenser-componentry reliance on China and Hong Kong.

Coverage caveats: these are US ocean-freight records only. Air, truck, and rail movements do not appear; some records name freight intermediaries rather than manufacturers; and product categories come from declared manifest codes, which are noisy. Absence of a record is not evidence of absence.

Frequently asked questions

What does GOJO Industries make?

GOJO Industries makes heavy-duty hand cleaners, hand sanitizer, hand soaps, skin care, surface disinfectants, and the dispensers that dispense them. It invented the first one-step rinse-off hand cleaner in 1946, the first portion-control soap dispenser in 1952, and PURELL Hand Sanitizer in 1988. Its heavy-duty cleaners are a staple of the automotive after-market and industrial markets.

Who owns GOJO Industries?

The Clorox Company (NYSE: CLX) owns GOJO Industries. Clorox acquired GOJO for $2.25 billion, announcing the deal in January 2026 and completing it on April 1, 2026. Before that, GOJO was owned by three generations of the Lippman and Kanfer family since its 1946 founding, and it now operates as part of Clorox Purell.

Where is GOJO Industries headquartered?

GOJO Industries is headquartered at One GOJO Plaza in Akron, Ohio. It manufactures across Northeast Ohio, with plants in Wooster, Cuyahoga Falls, and Ashland, and a distribution and import operation in Stow. The Wooster plant is described as the largest hand-sanitizer facility in the world.

What is GOJO Industries' revenue?

GOJO reported roughly $800 million in recent annual sales, up from a figure above $370 million in 2018, with a sharp pandemic-era lift. These are published and press-cited figures; GOJO did not publish audited financials as a private company, and it is now part of publicly traded Clorox.

Who are GOJO Industries' customers?

GOJO sells through distribution rather than to named OEM programs. Its heavy-duty hand cleaners are stocked through automotive after-market channels including NAPA Auto Parts, and its PURELL and GOJO products reach healthcare, education, foodservice, airports, and manufacturers worldwide.

Is GOJO Industries an automotive supplier?

GOJO is an aftermarket and industrial supplier rather than a parts manufacturer. Its heavy-duty hand cleaners, led by GOJO Original Formula, became the national standard in mechanic shops and industrial workplaces, and the company itself traces its growth to leadership in the automotive after-market. It does not supply vehicle components or hold automotive production certifications such as IATF 16949.

Last verified September 27, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.