New York City-based Colgate opened a starch factory in New Jersey in 1820. Colgate-Palmolive, as it is now known, opened a research center in Piscataway in 1962, acquired Morristown-based Mennen in 1992, and today is the maker of thousands of products, from toothpaste to wood cleaner to pet food. Its sales now surpass $12 billion annually.
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