Our History - Owens & Minor HR

Owens & Minor is the fourth oldest company in Richmond, Virginia. Founded in 1882, the heart of O&M’s activities has always been a constant vision: a reputation for integrity, hard work, concern for our community, caring about quality, loyalty to customers and suppliers, teamwork, and communication.

Owens & Minor was created by a single vision which is today our proud heritage. In many obvious ways, we are a much-changed company, a billion dollar distributor of medical and surgical products employing state-of-the-art technology to support the most advanced healthcare providers in the nation. Yet, as we look back at our history, we are proud to observe that while the form of our business is dramatically different, the values haven’t changed since 1882.

1882	Company founded by Ortho Owens and G. Gilmer Minor.
1909	Mr. Owens dies. He is the last Owens to be in the business.
1913	Mr. Minor dies. Since then, three generations of Minors have ascended to the presidency.
1928	The Owens family sells rights to any interest in the company.
1954	Purchase of Bodeker Drug Company.
1959	Sales reach $7 million.
1964	G. Gilmer Minor, III, current Chairman of the Board, joins the company.
1965	Purchase of A&J Surgical Supply from August Berling. Mr. Berling's son, Henry, served as executive vice president for partnership development prior to his retirement in 2004.
1967	Owens & Minor made its second purchase of a medical surgical company by buying Powers & Anderson of Richmond from Robert Anderson.
1969	Sales reach $20 million.
1970	Purchase of Marks Surgical of Augusta, GA.
1971	Owens & Minor goes public and is listed on NASDAQ with sales of $28.6 million.
1972	Acquisition of Murray Drug of Norfolk.
1974	Acquisition of White Surgical of Knoxville.
1976	Acquisition of Southern Hospital.
1979	Sales reach $100 million.
1980	Acquisition of Medical Supply in Jacksonville, FL.
1981	Sales grow to $182.1 million. Wins multi-year contract with VHA. G. Gilmer Minor, III, named company President.
1984	Purchase of Florida Hospital. G. Gilmer Minor, III, named company Chief Executive Officer.
1988	Owens & Minor is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
1989	Acquisition of National Healthcare, establishing a beachhead on the West Coast and a national presence.
1991	Sales of $1.0 billion! Sale of wholesale drug business to Bergen-Brunswig for $50 million.
1994	Purchase of Stuart Medical, strengthening our presence in the Midwest and Southeast. G. Gilmer Minor, III, elected Chairman of the Board.
1995	Owens & Minor is named to the Fortune 500. Craig Smith named executive vice president and Chief Operating Officer.
1998	Closed out sales at $3.2 billion.
1999	G. Gilmer Minor, III, relinquishes title of President, but remains Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. Craig Smith named as President.
2004	Sales of $4 billion, HLS Acquired.
2005	G. Gilmer Minor, III, relinquishes title of Chief Executive Officer, but remains Chairman of the Board. Craig R. Smith named as Chief Executive Officer.