ECL Ecolab Inc

Ecolab Inc. was recognized today by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal as one of the Great Places to Work for 2006. Ecolab was named as one of the top-scoring businesses on the recent Employee Survey conducted by Quantum Market Research and the Business Journal. Douglas M. Baker, Jr., Ecolab's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer commented, saying, "We are honored by this recognition and proud to be part of such a fine group of companies. Ecolab's culture is built around our most important asset - our people. We work hard to develop a stimulating environment in which our people can find challenging work, demonstrate their talent, add value, develop their careers - and can enjoy themselves in the process. We hire people who believe in our vision and embrace our culture. We work hard and do our best everyday - for our customers, our shareholders, and ourselves." With 2005 sales of $4.5 billion, Ecolab is the leading global developer and marketer of premium cleaning, sanitizing, pest elimination, maintenance and repair products for the hospitality, foodservice, healthcare and industrial markets. Ecolab shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ECL. Ecolab news releases and other investor information are available on the Internet at http://www.ecolab.com.