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Condair celebrates 75th anniversary

Humidity control specialist, Condair, is celebrating its 75-year anniversary. Having been founded in 1948 as Defensor AG in Switzerland by chemist, Dr Bernard Joos, the company is marking the occasion across its many offices around the world.

Damien Power, Area Sales Manager for Condair in Ireland, commented: “75 years is a wonderful milestone to achieve as an organisation. Condair’s longevity is testament to its ability to innovate and develop marketleading technology, and to deliver it with expert knowledge and service support. The company has continually operated at the forefront of the humidification sector and continues to lead the field in engineering excellence.”

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The first product offered back in 1948 was an air spray disinfection system, which “defended” against cattle infections, hence the company name at the time of Defensor. It soon became apparent that the humidification properties of the atomiser were greatly beneficial in several manufacturing sectors, particularly cheese ripening rooms.

Through the 1950s and 1960s, Defensor continued to develop humidification technologies. Spray and evaporative humidifiers were introduced, along with the invention of the electrode boiler steam humidifier and the pioneering use of resistive element heaters to boil water and humidify the air.

In 1975 Walter Meier, a Swiss importing business, acquired Defensor. In 1981 it also acquired Plascon, bringing together the two leading humidification companies. The 1980s also saw expansion into North America with the acquisition of Nortec, a significant distributor for both Defensor and Plascon, along with the rebranding of Plascon to Condair.

The organisation continued to grow and develop until 1995 when the world’s largest humidification company was formed with the fusion of the Defensor and Condair companies under the new name of Axair. Further acquisitions in the sector resulted in a total of 12 humidifier companies being owned by the Walter Meier Group by 2012.

The decision was then taken by the principal shareholder, Silvan Meier, to consolidate operations under the motto of “one brand, one company” and bring together all its interests in the humidity control sector under the banner of Condair.

Damien Power continues: “Today Condair operates sales and service organisations in 23 countries, has distribution partners in a further

50 regions, and manufacturing facilities in Asia, Europe and North America. The company has been the driving force in the sector, having invented systems such as the electrode boiler steam humidifier, which is probably the most widelyused type of industrial humidifier in the world.

“The company continues to innovate with new smart features such as IoT connected devices. In addition, innovative new products like centrally managed, whole-house residential humidifiers, controlled by a phone app, are again pushing the boundaries for the industry.

“Condair also champions the positive purpose of the sector. The company’s slogan of Humidity for a better life communicates both the health benefits of maintaining an optimum indoor humidity, alongside the more traditional manufacturing benefits. We deliver solutions that protect people’s health and we’re committed to increasing awareness of this, and to fulfilling our duty to make the built environment healthier. We are very proud of our company’s values and heritage over the last 75 years, and of the major industry firsts we have unveiled over that time.” concludes Damien.

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