MUNDELEIN, Ill., Oct. 2, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Medline Industries, Inc., announced today that it has been named the 2012 Illinois Family Business of the Year in the large company category by the Family Business Center at Loyola University Chicago's Quinlan School of Business. The 19th annual awards program recognizes "exceptional Illinois-based family businesses that demonstrate a strong commitment to business development, family, and the greater-Illinois community."
Based in Mundelein, Ill., Medline is the largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of medical and surgical supplies in the United States. The company's roots date back to 1910 when A.L. Mills started sewing butcher's aprons for workers in the Chicago stockyards and quickly moved on to making apparel for nurses and doctors. Today, the company is managed by the fourth generation of the Mills family and has more than 2,400 employees in Illinois and more than 8,900 worldwide.
"We are honored to receive the Illinois Family Business of the Year Award. Our family may have started Medline, but it's our employees — the extended Medline family — who keep our company growing and strong," said Andy Mills, Medline's president. "We have been fortunate to have had a successful company through the years and we strongly believe that giving back to the communities in which we live and work is the right thing to do."
Along with Mills, Medline's family leadership team is comprised of Andy's cousin, Charlie Mills, who is chief executive officer, and brother-in-law Jim Abrams, Medline's chief operating officer. Andy's father, Jon Mills, and Charlie's father, Jim Mills, are the co-chairmen of the company.
Medline was also named a finalist for the Community Service Illinois Family Business of the Year Award.
Each year, Medline conducts a number of activities to support Illinois communities. Earlier this summer more than 800 Medline employees and their families participated in the company's sixth annual "Medline Makes a Difference Day" where they spent the day building benches and flower boxes, painting murals, and assembling food and hygiene kits for Lake County's homeless and most needy. The company also participates in the "Make a Wish Foundation" that grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions, as well as a host of other activities such as sponsoring local charity runs and contributing more than a million dollars to fund mammograms for underserved women.
Medline was also recently named one of "Chicago's Best and Brightest Companies to Work For™" based on the company's "exceptional human resources practices and impressive commitment to its employees." The company's free, on-site fitness center; fast-paced entrepreneurial culture and commitment to the community were among the many reasons Medline was selected to receive this prestigious award.
"The Illinois Family Business of the Year Awards program gives us the opportunity to celebrate the incredible contributions of family business to our communities and our economy," said Andrew Keyt, executive director of the Loyola Family Business Center. "The Center is pleased to honor these dedicated families and their businesses."
Winners of the awards have demonstrated positive family/business linkage, multi-generational family business involvement, contributions to industry and community, and innovative business practices and strategies.
About the Family Business Center at Loyola University Chicago's Quinlan School of Business
The Family Business Center at Loyola University Chicago's Quinlan School of Business is an interdisciplinary Center of Excellence dedicated to serving multigenerational, mid- to large-sized family businesses. The center provides transformational learning experiences aimed at increasing effectiveness in planning, problem solving, and preparing current and future generations of family business owners and managers. As part of Loyola University Chicago's Quinlan School of Business, the Center upholds the Jesuit tradition of excellence in education, focusing on responsible leadership and development of the "whole" person.
About Medline
As the nation's largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of health care products, Medline manufactures and distributes more than 125,000 products to hospitals, extended care facilities, surgery centers, physician offices and home care dealers. Medline has more than 1,100 dedicated sales representatives to support its broad product line, cost management services and clinical programs. More information on Medline can be found at www.medline.com.
| John Marks (847) 643-3309 | Ann Fahey-Widman, (847) 643-3011 |
| jmarks@medline.com | afahey@medline.com |
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