19 - 20 million years ago: Boron deposit formed
10th century AD: First confirmed use of borax in ceramic glazes in China
8th century AD: Regular imports of tincal (from the Sanskrit word for borax) from Far East begin along trade routes taken by Marco Polo
8th century AD: First verifiable use of borax by Arabian gold and silversmiths
1702: First boric acid produced
1790: Borates discovered in South American Andes
1808: Element boron isolated
1872: Company founder F.M. "Borax" Smith discovered borates in Nevada
1881: Borates discovered in Death Valley
1883: Twenty mule teams established to haul borates
1902: Borax Français established
1905: Borax Benelux acquired
1922: Borax Espana refinery constructed in Barcelona
1923: Wilmington refinery built
1925: Boron deposit discovered
1963: Borax NV (Rotterdam) built; Deutsche Borax formed
1967: Borax acquired by Rio Tinto, one of the world's leading mining companies
1988: Boraxo/Borateem/20-Mule Team product lines sold to Dial Corporation
1992: Borax Italia established; Borax Espana relocated to Nules
1993: Global headquarters moved to Valencia, California
1994: European headquarters moved to Guildford, England
1996: Global operations achieved ISO 9002 certification for excellence in Quality Management
1997: Company celebrated 125th anniversary; Borax Visitor Center opened in Boron, California
1998: New sales offices established in China
1999: Twenty Mule Team's last ride in Pasadena Rose Parade, world's largest parade
2000: Global operations achieved ISO 14000 certification for excellence in environmental management
2001: Company formed partnership with Millennium Cell to develop safe, clean fuel alternative based on sodium borohydride
2002: Chrysler Natrium, world's first sodium borohydride-powered, zero emission vehicle made pit stop at U.S. Borax's Boron Operations
2003: Global operations achieved ISO 9001 certification for excellence in Quality Management
2003: Borax Argentina's boric acid plant began production
2004: Discovery of lithium-borate deposit in Serbia
2007: Global headquarters moved to Denver, Colorado
2009: Changshu, China distribution center opened
2010: European headquarters moved to Paddington in London
2012: Scheduled opening of Asia Technology Center