Ecolab: Clean Machine - [Business Breakdowns, EP.214]

This is Business Breakdowns. Business Breakdowns is a series of conversations with investors and operators diving deep into a single business. For each business, we explore its history, its business model, its competitive advantages, and what makes it tick. We believe every business has lessons and secrets that investors and operators can learn from, and we are here. to bring them to you.

To find more episodes of breakdowns, check out joinccolossus.com. All opinions expressed by hosts and podcast guests are solely their own opinions. Hosts, podcast guests, their employers, or affiliates may maintain positions in the securities discussed in this podcast. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions. This is Matt Russell and today we are breaking down Ecolab.

As of this recording, Ecolab has a $66 billion market cap, so they are a giant in what they do. They protect over 36% of the world's packaged food supply and over 44% of the global milk supply, just to give you some sense of their business. My guest is Todd Wedding, founder of K<unk>A Capital Management. And someone who has a knack for finding these interesting businesses, we get into the very on-brand origin story for Ecolab many decades ago, how the business kept that core focus throughout its history, and how it became one of two vendors that any US McDonald's must work with, the other being Coca-Cola. There's a ton of interesting threads in this one, but the opportunity in water is what really grabbed my attention.

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