There was a fair amount of head scratching last fall at the ISSA/Interclean trade show when JohnsonDiversey announced that it was dropping ‘Johnson’ from its name. Other manufacturers and attendees of the show were surprised the company would delete a name that for years had been synonymous with top-quality floor care products, but a closer look at Diversey’s sales figures and global market trends suggests the move may make sense.

The company, which posted worldwide sales of $3.1 billion in 2009, is still controlled by the Johnson family, and has rights to some SC Johnson products, as well as use of the Johnson Wax Professional trade name. With only 20 percent of its business coming from North America, and international growth projected to be highest for disinfectants, sanitizers and all-purpose cleaners, the company doesn’t want to be known as just a floor care product manufacturer.

It’s looking for growth abroad as it works to increase its share of the industrial and institutional (I&I) cleaning chemicals market, which is expected to grow to $38 billion by 2013. Diversey is not alone either. Last month, there were numerous reports about the greening of buildings from Italy to Beijing to London to San Francisco, and Ecolab, Inc. – Diversey’s biggest competitor – said its international operations accounted for 50 percent of its first quarter sales.

Such numbers are underscored by The Freedonia Group, which released the I&I Cleaning Chemicals report in April. According to that report, in developing countries, gains will be prompted by increases in manufacturing, restaurant and hotel patronage, and buildings in need of janitorial services. As these markets develop further, advances will also be boosted by greater use of more specialized floor care products, and single-purpose cleaners.

In more developed markets, growth will come from the increasing presence of environmentally compatible formulations and better performing, multifunctional cleaners offering sanitizing and other benefits.

Environmental and regulatory considerations are spurring technological development and changes in the cleaning chemical product mix, too. Consequently, products that present the greatest concern in terms of environmental and workplace safety, such as chlorine, alkalies and conventional solvents, will face increasing competition from quaternary ammonium compounds and plant-derived solvents that are perceived as less threatening to the environment and to users.

Disinfectants and sanitizers will record the most rapid growth, with gains well above average. Growth will be driven by concerns about the spread of infectious diseases in health care facilities, and risks associated with foodborne pathogens in food processing and food handling establishments. These same trends will also promote gains for hand cleansers, which are increasingly formulated with antibacterial agents.

General-purpose cleaners and floor care products will remain the largest product categories. However, demand for these products will be restrained by market maturity and intense competition for market share in developed markets such as the United States, Western Europe and Japan.

Nevertheless, favorable growth opportunities exist for multifunctional general purpose cleaning products that offer greater convenience and user safety. This will be especially true in China, India and smaller markets in Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and Africa.

All of which will be targeted by Diversey, whether or not its name remains synonymous with its heritage of providing top-quality floor care products.

Thanks and good luck.