Lehn & Fink Products Co.

Lehn & Fink was founded in New York City in 1874. In 1890 Lehn & Fink introduced Lysol, the first universally branded disinfectant, to the United States by importing it from Schulke & Mayr of Hamburg, Germany. Lehn & Fink began manufacturing Lysol under a licensing agreement in 1912, and in 1922 Lysol was purchased by the company. In 1907 Lehn & Fink acquired A.S. Hinds Company, the manufacturer of Hinds' Honey and Almond Cream, a nationally known product. Hinds, which was founded in 1875, continued to operate independently. Lehn & Fink erected large buildings at the corner of William and John Streets in downtown New York in 1911, which they occupied until 1919. By 1925 the company had a plant located in Bloomfield, New Jersey, consisting of seven buildings. By the 1920s Lehn & Fink owned all of the outstanding stock of Watsessing Garage Company, Products Realization Corporation, and Pebeco, Inc., the latter being the manufacturer of Pebeco Tooth Paste. In July 1925 a new holding company was created called Lehn & Fink Products for the purpose of acquiring Lehn & Fink, Inc., and A.S. Hinds Company. At the time, this merger was presented as being the first step in a broad plan to acquire similar products through acquisitions. In August 1925 the investment banking firms Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, and Bond & Goodman offered 235,000 shares of common stock of Lehn & Fink Products at $36.50 a share. By December 1925 the combined assets for Lehn & Fink Products amounted to $9.7 million, and it employed 625 people.