History/Profile

Over the years, we've had multiple names and various parent companies. But for more than seven decades, our people have been driven by a common passion: to bring safer, smarter solutions to the customers we serve. These are the companies and the events that have made that passion a reality.

• Griffith Labs/Griffith MicroScience
  1925-1999
  In the mid 1930's, Dr. Lloyd A. Hall, Technical Manager of Griffith Laboratories in Chicago, IL, invented the ethylene oxide (EO) sterilization process. Originally created for the decontamination of foodstuffs, Dr. Hall's invention was soon carried to the healthcare industry. In 1999, when the company was acquired by Ion Beam Applications (IBA), Griffith's global network included 18 service centers in the US Canada, Mexico and Europe. One additional facility in Europe provided gamma radiation.
• SteriGenics® International, Inc.
  1978-1999
  SteriGenics International, then known as Radiation Sterilizers, Inc., opened its first gamma facility in Tustin, CA, in 1978 and quickly made a name for itself with a radical new concept in cobalt 60 irradiators—product-overlap, continuous product processing. This innovative technology offered the dual advantages of improved cost efficiency and reduced turn times vs. the more established EO sterilization. Over the next two decades, customer acceptance of the enhanced technology grew rapidly, principally in the sterilization of single-use medical devices, but also in the decontamination of spices, and in materials enhancements for the polymer industry. In 1991, the company changed its name to SteriGenics International, Inc. and continued to innovate—most notably with its ExCell® irradiator, the industry's first automated precision-dose irradiation system, and its GammaStat® service option that answered emergency needs with 24-48-hour processing... guaranteed. SteriGenics was the first contract sterilization company to become ISO 9002 certified in 1992.
• Ion Beam Applications (IBA)
  1999-2004
  In 1999, Belgium-based Ion Beam Applications, a world leader in high technology equipment for medical and industrial applications, acquired both Griffith MicroScience and SteriGenics International. The two companies were merged to form IBA's Sterilization and Ionization division.
• Sterigenics International, Inc.
  2004-present
  In 2004, IBA's Sterilization and Ionization Division was acquired as a portfolio company by Silverfleet Capital (formerly PPM Capital Limited) and PPM America Capital Partners who manage private equity investments on behalf of Prudential plc, one of the United Kingdom's leading institutional investors, together with other clients.

Today, Sterigenics International is the world leader in contract sterilization and ionization services for the medical devices, food safety and high performance/specialty materials industries. The company has over 1,100 employees and operates 40 service centers in North America, Europe and Asia.