Durex

Durex is a British brand of condoms and personal lubricants owned by Reckitt Benckiser. It was initially developed in London under the purview of the London Rubber Company and British Latex Products Ltd, where it was manufactured between 1932 and 1994. The London Rubber Company was formed in 1915, and the Durex brand name ("Durability, reliability, and excellence") was launched in 1929, although London Rubber did not begin manufacturing own-brand condoms until 1932, in collaboration with a rubber technology student from Poland named Lucian Lundau. The London Rubber Company later merged with SSL International, and has since 2010 been owned by the Anglo-Dutch company Reckitt Benckiser. It is one of the best-selling condom brands around the world, with 30% of the global market. In 2006, Durex condoms were the second-best-selling brand of condoms in the United States, with Trojan condoms being the first. It is supplied by, among others, the company Karex. In 2007, the last factory making Durex condoms in the UK stopped manufacturing and production has since moved to China, India and Thailand. The modern range includes a wide variety of latex condom, including the Sheik and Ramses brands in North America, and the Avanti condom. Durex also provides a range of lubricants and sex toys. Although Durex was not an official sponsor of the Olympic Games, Durex provided 150,000 free condoms to more than 10,000 athletes that competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.