Owens Healthcare history

In 1968, the company acquired the Richmond, Norfolk, and Washington, D.C., operations belonging to Powers & Anderson, Inc., then the following year purchased Powers & Anderson's operations in Charleston, South Carolina.

Next, in 1970, the company acquired Augusta, Georgia-based Marks Surgical, another strategically important move that helped Owens, Minor & Bodeker eclipse $20 million in sales by the end of the year and widen its geographical scope to comprise a four-state territory.

The company went public the following year, in 1971, offering stock for the first time on the over-the-counter exchange, then embarked on another acquisition spree, entrenching its position in the medical and surgical distribution market.

In 1972 the company acquired Murray Drug, based in Norfolk, Virginia, then two years later purchased White Surgical of Knoxville.

In 1976 the company increased its geographic territory, gaining four locations in Texas and Louisiana through the acquisition of Southern Hospital, and securing a foothold in Florida fours years later with the purchase of Jacksonville, Florida-based Medical Supply.

In January 1982, at the beginning of the company's centennial year, a name change was effected and Owens, Minor & Bodeker Drug Co. became Owens & Minor, Inc.

In 1983, Owens Community College opened its Findlay-area campus at Cory and Davis streets.

Florida Hospital Supply was purchased the following year, representing the first wholesale drug acquisition in nearly two decades, but the most momentous development in 1984 occurred in Owens & Minor's other business segment.

In 1990, the year George Gilmer Minor, III, had hoped to reach $1 billion in sales, Owens & Minor recorded $1.2 billion in sales, exceeding earlier expectations.

1992 Divestiture of Wholesale Drug Division

A major sign of trouble came in May 1998, when the corporation lost its largest account (Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp oration) to a rival firm.

In 2002, Owens & Minor introduced third-party logistics and also created MediChoice®, its first private label line, offering provider customers products at competitive prices.

At the end of the first quarter of 2004, dividends paid to shareholders of record had increased 38 percent over what they had been the previous year.

In 2014, Owens & Minor acquired Medical Action Industries, a leading United States-based provider of procedural kits and trays, as well as ArcRoyal, a privately-held kitting company based in Ireland.

The Company entered the patient-direct business with the 2017 acquisition of Byram Healthcare, a leading domestic distributor of medical supplies sold directly to patients and home health agencies.

In 2018, Owens & Minor completed the acquisition of the surgical and infection prevention business of Halyard Health, expanding its reach into new markets around the world and developing its presence in the medical products segment.