MDLN

Medline Inc.

A maker and distributor of medical supplies for hospitals, clinics, and labs, Medline sells hundreds of thousands of products under its own brands—surgical gear, gloves, wound care, and lab diagnostics—and also runs the logistics that keep other suppliers' products flowing to care facilities through its Prime Vendor model. Its roots trace to 1910, when A.L. Mills opened a Chicago factory sewing aprons for meatpackers before pivoting to surgical gowns; grandsons Jon and Jim Mills founded the modern company in 1966, naming it for the medical "line" of products. Today it delivers next-day to most U.S. customers through its own truck fleet.