Early years

Ansell was formed as Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company of Australasia Ltd in 1899, when the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company of the United Kingdom incorporated its Australian branch, formed in 1893, where it was listed on the Australian stock exchange. In 1906 the company changed its name to the Dunlop Rubber Company of Australasia Ltd, and in 1929 changed it again, following a merger with the Perdriau Rubber Company, to Dunlop Perdriau Ltd.^[4]

During that time, the company's main business was the production of automobile tyres and expanded into other rubber products. In 1967, the company changed its name to Dunlop Australia.

In 1969 Dunlop Australia acquired the Ansell Rubber Company, which had been founded in 1929 (originally as E. N. Ansell & Sons) by Eric Norman Ansell, a worker for Dunlop Rubber Company of Australasia.^[5]

Ansell Rubber original business was producing condoms and later, other rubber goods such as gas masks, weather balloons, and, importantly, developed the first, mass-produced, disposable latex gloves.^[6]

In 1980 it became known as Dunlop Olympic, and in 1986 changed its name to Pacific Dunlop.^[7] Also in 1986, Dunlop entered into a joint venture with Goodyear Tire to manufacture and distribute tyres in Australasia.

In 1990, Pacific Dunlop acquired Edmont Rubber which expanded their international distribution.

Pacific Dunlop has diversified into clothing, batteries, healthcare products and food, and is one of the largest companies in Australia and on the ASX.^[4]

In the late 1990s, Pacific began a program of divestment, selling its food and battery businesses. The clothing and footwear businesses were floated off as Pacific Brands in 2001. In 2002, the company changed its name to Ansell Limited.^[4]

In July 2023, Ansell's share price fell substantially for the second time in the previous 12 months^[8]

Recent years

• 2011, acquisition of Sandel Medical Industries,^[9] a developer of staff and patient safety disposable products in the US.
• 2012, acquisition of Trelleborg Protective Products,^[10] a provider of chemical protective suits and Comasec,^[11] another European manufacturer of personal protective equipment glove market.
• 2013, acquisition of Midas,^[12] a Korean manufacturer and supplier of knitted, cut resistant industrial gloves and Hércules,^[13] a manufacturer of personal protective equipment in Brazil.
• 2014, acquisition of Barrier Safe Solutions International,^[14] a North American provider of single-use gloves and Hands International, a Sri Lankan glove manufacturer.
• 2017, sale of the sexual wellness business^[15] to Chinese companies Humanwell Healthcare and CITIC Capital. The acquisition was completed on the same year.^[16] After the conclusion of the transaction, the sexual division was renamed to LifeStyles Condoms.
• 2018, acquisition of Digitcae,^[17] a US exam and specialty glove supplier.