Net Sales Business Mix 2004 Board of (dollars in millions) Ecolab ● $4,185 51% International 49% Directors $3,762 ● Institutional 25% Europe/Africa/ME 35% Overview $3,404 ● Food & Beverage 8% Asia Pacific 7% Douglas M. Baker Jochen Krautter Communications with GO ● Pest Elimination 5% Canada 3% President and Chief Executive Officer, Ecolab Inc., Executive Vice President-Technologies, Directors ● Director since 2004, Finance Committee KGaA (chemicals, household and personal care Stakeholders and other interested parties, Kay 5% Latin America 3% products and adhesives), Director since 2002, including our investors and employees, with ● GCS Service 3% Other 1% Leslie S. Biller Finance Committee substantive matters requiring the attention of our Ecolab has been going strong for Services/Products ● Professional Products 1% Retired Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer, board (e.g., governance issues or potential more than 80 years. The last eight Provided ● Healthcare 1% Wells Fargo & Company (diversified financial Ulrich Lehner accounting, control or auditing irregularities) may services), Director since 1997, President and Chief Executive Officer, Henkel KGaA use the contact information for our board located Institutional Textile Care ● Vehicle Care 1% decades have seen Ecolab grow ● Compensation* and Governance Committees (chemicals, household and personal care products on our website at Products, programs and services for the Cleaning and sanitizing products, programs and Textile Care 1% and adhesives), Director since 2001, www.ecolab.com/investor/governance ● from a one-product shop to the foodservice, hospitality and healthcare industries, services, including water and energy recycling Water Care Services 1% Richard U. De Schutter Finance Committee leading global partner for including warewashing, on-premise laundry, solutions and data management systems, for 2002 2003 2004 Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, In addition to online communications, interested Jerry W. Levin parties may direct correspondence to our board at: housekeeping, water filtration and conditioning, commercial laundries serving the work wear, linen DuPont Pharmaceutical Company (drug cleaning, sanitizing and service manufacturer), Director since 2004, Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ecolab Inc. food safety products, specialty kitchen and laundry and healthcare markets. solutions. We are the trusted Customers/Markets Audit and Compensation Committees American Household, Inc. (household consumer Attn: Corporate Secretary products, and pool and spa management. products), Director since 1992, 370 Wabasha Street North Served source for “clean” among Vehicle Care Jerry A. Grundhofer Compensation and Governance* Committees St. Paul, MN 55102 Kay Cleaning and treatment products and programs for Customers Healthcare facilities Light manufacturing industries Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, restaurants, hotels, hospitals, food Robert L. Lumpkins Cleaning and sanitizing products, services and professional conveyor, in-bay and self-service car Full-service restaurants Dairy farms and plants Fleet and vehicle wash U.S. Bancorp (financial services holding company), Other Communications Director since 1999, Compensation and Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer, Matters not requiring the direct attention of our and beverage plants, laundries, training programs for quickservice restaurants, wash operations and corporate-owned Quickservice restaurants Food, beverage and brewery plants Governance Committees , Inc. (agricultural, food, financial board – such as employment inquiries, sales retail facilities, and commercial, food retail markets, movie theaters and transportation fleets. Hotels Pharmaceutical and cosmetic facilities Markets and industrial products), Director since 1999, solicitations, questions about our products and industrial and educational convenience stores. Food retail Office buildings United States Stefan Hamelmann Audit and Finance* Committees other such matters – should be submitted to the Water Care Services Schools Shopping malls Europe/Africa/ME Member of the Shareholders’ Committee, company’s management at our St. Paul Beth M. Pritchard institutions. Pest Elimination Water treatment programs for boilers, cooling Colleges and universities Recreational facilities Asia Pacific Henkel KGaA (chemicals, household headquarters, or online at and personal care products and adhesives), President and Chief Executive Officer of Organized www.ecolab.com/contact/frmcontact.asp Building service contractors Canada Service and technology for the detection, water and waste treatment systems. Laundries Director since 2001 Living, Inc. (national retailer of storage products) Wherever you go, Ecolab is there. identification, elimination and prevention of pests Hospitals Cruise lines Latin America Director since 2004, in commercial facilities, as well as food safety Nursing homes Foodservice operators James J. Howard Finance and Governance Committees We serve customers in more than auditing and training services. Chairman Emeritus, Inc. 160 countries through our direct (electric and natural gas energy company), Director Allan L. Schuman Ecolab Sales-and-Service since 1991, Audit* and Finance Committees Chairman of the Board, Ecolab Inc., Food & Beverage sales-and-service force, Stock Performance Associates Director since 1991 Cleaning and sanitizing products, equipment, Joel W. Johnson distributors and export activities. systems and services for the agribusiness, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, In the United States, we have 10 beverage, brewery, pharmaceutical, dairy, meat, 2002 2003 2004 (December 31) 2002 2003 2004 Foods Corporation (food products), Director since 1996, Audit and Compensation Committees * Denotes Committee Chair poultry and food processing industries. Quarter Low High Low High Low High complementary business units: Institutional* 3,125 3,190 3,055 First $19.43 $23.94 $23.08 $26.00 $26.12 $28.61 Institutional, Kay, Pest Elimination, Kay 245 275 325 Professional Products Second 21.25 24.00 24.21 27.92 27.95 31.77 Pest Elimination 1,555 1,645 1,725 Food & Beverage, Professional Janitorial cleaning and floor care products, Third 18.27 24.51 23.78 26.80 29.04 31.80 Corporate Professional Products** 175 180 95 Products, Healthcare, GCS systems and services for the retail, building Fourth 20.71 25.20 25.15 27.89 31.32 35.59 services and industrial markets. Healthcare** - - 70 Service, Textile Care, Vehicle Care GCS Service 530 535 470 Officers and Water Care Services. We con- Healthcare Textile Care 85 80 75 Douglas M. Baker Diana D. Lewis Daniel J. Schmechel President and Chief Executive Officer Senior Vice President-Human Resources Vice President and Controller Products and services including healthcare Ecolab Stock Performance Comparison Food & Beverage 395 405 450 tinue to expand many of these Water Care Services 100 95 95 personnel hand wash, surgical scrubs, cleaning $38 Lawrence T. Bell Phillip J. Mason Thomas W. Schnack services to markets throughout the Vehicle Care 100 100 100 and disinfection products used in processing $36 Ecolab Stock Price 1.70 Senior Vice President, General Counsel Executive Vice President-Asia Pacific Vice President and General Manager- Europe/Africa/ME 3,370 3,285 3,915 and Secretary Food & Beverage North America world, delivering our Circle the surgical instruments, and hard surface disinfection $34 Ecolab Stock Price Index, Dec. 31, 2001=1.00 and Latin America Asia Pacific 925 1,015 960 for acute care hospitals, clinics, long-term care $32 S&P 500 Index, Dec. 31, 2001 = 1.00 1.50 Customer - Circle the Globe Ecolab Canada 320 340 355 John G. Forsythe Michael C. McCormick C. William Snedeker facilities and nursing homes. e $30 Senior Vice President-Public Affairs Senior Vice President-Global Pest Elimination promise. 1.30 Latin America 485 540 590 Vice President-Corporate Development , S Pric $28 and Chief Tax Officer &P 5 ck Total 11,410 11,685 12,280 GCS Service $26 James A. Miller John P. Spooner

Sto 1.10 00 Steven L. Fritze President-International Service and parts for the repair and maintenance $24 Indice Executive Vice President-Institutional Sector All of these actions are focused on *2004 decrease of 250 associates due to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Ecolab $22 North America of commercial foodservice equipment. 0.90 the sale of a grease management product line. fulfilling our main goal: s Robert P. Tabb $20 **2004 reflects the separation of Healthcare Thomas W. Handley Susan K. Nestegard Vice President and Chief Information Officer outstanding results for Ecolab’s $18 0.70 from Professional Products. Executive Vice President-Specialty Sector Note: All product names and certain information 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Senior Vice President-Research, Development customers and shareholders appearing in italic type in the text of this Annual Report 2001 2002 2003 2004 and Engineering and Chief Technical Officer Mark D. Vangsgard are trademarks, brand names, service marks or Luciano Iannuzzi Vice President and Treasurer everywhere. copyrighted material of Ecolab Inc., Kay Chemical Executive Vice President-Europe, Africa Stephen D. Newlin Company or Ecolab GmbH & Co. OHG. and Middle East President-Industrial Sector

Ecolab • GO