IQAir

IQAir
Company typePrivate
IndustryEnvironmental technology
Founded1963; 61 years ago (1963)
Germany
FoundersManfred Hammes
Klaus Hammes
Headquarters
Steinach
,
Switzerland
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Frank Hammes
Jens Hammes
Glory Dolphin-Hammes
ProductsAir purifiers
Air quality instruments
Number of employees
ca. 500 (February 2020)[1]
Websiteiqair.com

IQAir is a Swiss air quality technology company, specializing in protection against airborne pollutants, developing air quality monitoring and air cleaning products.[2] IQAir also operates AirVisual, a real-time air quality information platform.[3][4] As of February 2020, it had around 500 employees worldwide, 150 of them in China, and its most important markets were Asia and North America.[1]

History

IQAir was founded 1963 by brothers Manfred and Klaus Hammes, who introduced an air filter system for residential coal ovens in Germany to help reduce black dust build-up on the walls behind ovens.[5] Manfred Hammes, a lifelong asthma sufferer, noticed that the filter reduced his flare-ups during the winter months. Klaus Hammes continued through the 1960s and ’70s, to adapt the air filter for other heating systems such as radiators, baseboard heating and forced-air heating and cooling systems. In 1982, Klaus Hammes relocated the company headquarters to Switzerland.[6]

In the early 1990s, Frank Hammes, Klaus' oldest son, joined the company and expanded research and development as well as in-house manufacturing. In the spring of 1998, IQAir shipped its first high-performance air purifier from its Swiss factory. In 2001, Klaus Hammes' second son, Jens Hammes, joined the business and helped expand IQAir to Asia and the Middle East.[7]

Products

IQAir currently has products in four product categories, namely air purifiers,[8] HVAC-based air cleaning, air quality instruments and the global air quality information platform AirVisual.

Technology

IQAir employs a wide range of particulate and gas-phase removal technologies in its air purifiers and air filters. The company has been a vocal opponent of ionizing and ozone-producing air cleaning technologies. IQAir’s air quality information platform uses artificial intelligence (AI) to calibrate and validate thousands of governmental and non-governmental air quality monitoring stations.

Company organization

IQAir is headquartered in Switzerland with major operations in Germany, the U.S., and China. Product development is based in Switzerland.[9] As of 2020, manufacturing is based in countries including Switzerland and Southern Germany.[1]

As of 2015, IQAir was family-owned and did not publish concrete information about its revenue or profits.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Bürgi, Marc (25 February 2020). "Luftreiniger: Der heimliche Verkaufsrenner in der Corona-Krise - HZ". Handelszeitung (in German). Retrieved 13 September 2020. Das KMU produziert seine Produkte am Firmensitz sowie in Süddeutschland und zählt rund 500 Mitarbeiter weltweit. Asien und Nordamerika sind für IQAir die wichtigsten Märkte. In China hat die Firma 150 Angestellte, 14 Niederlassungen und einen Marktanteil von rund 5 Prozent.
  2. ^ "Shareholder Agenda: Tea and Blank Pages". The New York Times. 23 August 2008.
  3. ^ "IQAir Perfect 16". Extreme Makeover.
  4. ^ "Baby Jaelyn Gets a Heart". Anderson Cooper Live.
  5. ^ "Our History | IQAir". www.iqair.com.
  6. ^ "Our History | IQAir". www.iqair.com.
  7. ^ Hügli, Von Daniel (12 August 2013). "Wir erhalten jede Woche Übernahmeangebote" [Every week we receive takeover bids]. Cash (in German).
  8. ^ "Compact Stand-Alone Air Purifiers". IQAir.
  9. ^ "Our History | IQAir". www.iqair.com.
  10. ^ Iseli, Marc (2 December 2020). "Das saubere Geschäft mit der dreckigen Luft - HZ". Handelszeitung (in German). Retrieved 13 September 2020. Zu genauen Gewinn- und Umsatzzahlen schweigt sich der Familienbetrieb aus.