WATKINS INC.
Business: Consumer products company makes natural personal and home-cleaning products and natural extracts and organic spices, available online, through direct-selling associates and at major retailers.
Founded: 1868
Headquarters: Winona
Website: www.jrwatkins.com
Employees: 250
Executives: Mark Jacobs, president; J.R. Rigley, vice president of marketing and sales.
2008 revenue: $95 million
Strategy: Continue to seek greater retail distribution and greater consumer awareness of products, to drive retail and direct-selling demand.
More from Star Tribune
More from Star Tribune
More from Star Tribune
More from Star Tribune
More from Star Tribune
More from Star Tribune
More from Star Tribune
More From Star Tribune
More From Business
Minneapolis
Pickleball craze breathes new life into old downtown Minneapolis office buildings
After a major tenant bailed, Mike Marinovich transformed the second floor of 1200 Washington Av. S. into the sound-proof Minneapolis Pickleball Club, and it's beckoning people back to the city.
Business
Glen Taylor says the T-wolves are no longer for sale. Lore and A-Rod say it's seller remorse
The ownership transfer of the Minnesota Timberwolves slammed to a halt when Glen Taylor declared on Thursday he won't take the final step of his drawn-out $1.5 billion deal to hand Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez the majority stake because they didn't meet all of the deadlines in the sale conditions.
Business
What we know about the Baltimore bridge collapse
A cargo ship rammed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the span to collapse and presumably killing six construction workers. On Wednesday, a day after the early-morning crash, officials with the National Transportation Safety Board boarded the ship and planned to recover information from its electronics and paperwork while divers searched for the bodies of workers who were still missing.
Business
Stock market today: Wall Street rises to more records to close out its latest winning month
Wall Street set more records Thursday as U.S. stocks coasted to the close of their latest winning month and quarter.
Business
Patchwork international regulations govern cargo ships like the one that toppled Baltimore bridge
The patchwork system of safety regulations pertaining to massive cargo ships like the one that toppled a major bridge in Baltimore this week can allow freight transporters to skirt oversight, critics say, making maritime shipping what one expert called ''the weakest link in the transportation system.''