Brita's history began in 1966 when company founder Heinz Hankammer had the idea to optimize tap water in a smart and convenient way. Since then, the company based in Taunusstein, Germany has grown from a one-man show to an international business with 1,953 employees.
In the 1960s, Heinz Hankammer founded the company BRITA, inspired by his daughter's name. The idea behind it is to optimize tap water. First for car batteries and then for home use. In the 1970s, he launched and patented the first water filter jug. What started as a production in its own garden has grown into an international company over a period of 50 years.
Brita GmbH is a German manufacturer of water filters headquartered in Taunusstein near Wiesbaden, Hesse. The company's manufacturing facilities are located in China, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Brita products are distributed in 69 countries.
The first water filter jug, officially called Haushaltswasserfilter I, was a funnel placed in a transparent container. Simple and functional. The shape of the funnel and its bright orange color conveyed the style of the 1970s. However, the filtering principle was visionary. Hankammer used ion exchange resin and activated carbon to reduce taste and odor-impairing substances along with lime. The result was softer, tastier water.
Today, Brita operates in 69 countries on five continents.
BRITA's history began in 1966 when company founder Heinz Hankammer had the idea to optimize tap water in an easy and simple way. In 1967, the AquaDeMat, a water demineralizing filter for car batteries at gas stations, went into mass production for the first time.
In the early 1970s, BRITA launched the first water filtering jugs for home use. This event marked the beginning of BRITA's success story.
Founder Heinz Hankammer became chairman of the newly formed supervisory board after running the company for 33 years. In 1999, Markus Hankammer took over as the sole CEO of the BRITA Group. BRITA has set new sustainability standards by creating a new recycling program.
Expanding into Asia, they experienced a tremendous turning point during this period. The world's eight largest water filtration markets are located in the East.
Markus Hankammer, CEO of the BRITA Group since 1999, still marvels at his father's foresight. How, at the time, he “confidently realized that an unknown technology had turned into a global niche market without doubting it.”
Expanding the business worldwide is an important strategic goal. The first markets were Spain and France. Great Britain joined in the 1980s and is still an important market today. Currently, BRITA operates Asian subsidiaries in Japan, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
The water filter jug Navelia won the Japanese Good Design Award in 2008 and the famous Red Dot Award in 2009.
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https://www.brita.co.uk/group-history