August 16, 2016 Last Updated at 15:45 IST Unilever acquires Blueair, will help millions more people fight rising urban air pollutionThis Canadian startup will sell you fresh air online Environment Ministry considers creation of air pollution research institute Blueair, a world leader in air purifying solutions with acclaimed leading — edge filtration technologies and design, announced on Tuesday it has been acquired by Unilever. Blueair founder Bengt Rittri said: "The acquisition will enable even more people to protect their health by using Blueair air purifiers to remove indoor airborne contaminants such as hazardous PM2.5 sooty particles, allergens, chemicals and viruses." Sharing the news, Bengt said: "We are saying yes to leveraging the help of Unilever — one of the world's most admired corporations for its sustainability practices — to help Blueair take the next step to become a truly global provider of its health-enhancing air purifiers. Moving forward, Blueair will be geared to help potentially billions of people rather than millions to create safer, healthier indoor environments as air pollution rises worldwide."

Bengt recalled how he had launched Blueair 20 years ago with the mission to start a clean air revolution by bringing people the world's best indoor air purifiers. "This mission remains embedded in Blueair today as we continuously work to elevate people's health and wellbeing in a world where WHO says air pollution is now the world's largest single environmental health risk, killing around 7 million people in 2012 alone," Bengt Rittri said. He noted that according to the UN organization over 80% of people living in urban areas that monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that exceed WHO limits. Demand for air purifiers has grown swiftly in recent years as awareness has risen about the multiple health and wellbeing risks posed by poor air quality at home and work. One landmark UK study published this year said: "Cradle-to-grave exposure to air pollution can contribute to cancer, asthma, stroke and heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and dementia," for example.

Bengt said: "That Blueair will continue to operate under its existing brand name in all its markets, including Sweden, China, the US, Japan, South Korea and India." Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals. Livingstone advised Blueair in the transaction.Founded in 1984, Haier Group is a Chinese company that produces home appliances and consumer electronics. It is headquartered in Qingdao, China. Haier has a wide range of products including mobile phones, washing machines, televisions, air conditioners, computers, and microwave ovens. Although Haier was founded 32 years ago, its history can be traced back to the 1920s. Back then, a factory that specialized in producing refrigerators was built in Qingdao. There was then no mention of Haier air conditioners! In the late 1940s, the company was made a state-owned enterprise and supplied the Chinese market with home appliances especially refrigerators. In 1984, as Qingdao Refrigerator Co., Haier started venturing into the world market by partnering with foreign corporations that were looking for affiliations with Chinese manufacturers.

In partnership with Liebherr, a Germany’s refrigerator company, Qingdao Refrigerator Co. manufactured refrigerators. This partnership together with other changes boosted sales and increased profitability of the company. air purifier nationalFollowing its good performance, the company absorbed other appliances makers thereby diversifying its products. how do you use the wii lens cleaning kitBy 1990, the company was already manufacturing computers and mobile phones. electronic air cleaner detergentThe company adopted the name Haier in 1991 before adopting its current name, Haier Group, in 1992. In the mid-1990s, the company started to open manufacturing facilities in other countries in order to expand its footprint in the consumer electronics and home appliances market.

The Indonesia facility was opened in 1996. In 1997, Harier Group opened two production facilities in Malaysia and Philippines. Today, the company has production facilities in various parts of the world including US, Jordan, Pakistan, Algeria, Tunisia, Nigeria, South Africa, and India. The HPB08XCM is one of Haier’s best-selling air cooling solutions. This portable air cooling unit offers a capacity of 8,000 BTU and it is suitable for spaces that are up to 250 square feet. Apart from cooling your room, this unit features a built-in dehumidifier that pulls excess moisture from the air to create an environment that is unsuitable for the growth of mold and mildew. This built-in dehumidifier is capable of pulling up to 3 pints of moisture from the air per day. The auto-evaporation technology employed by this unit makes it unnecessary for a user to empty the reservoir manually. Furthermore, the unit features castor wheels that make it easy for users to move it from one place to another by pushing it.

In case you are looking for an air conditioner for your small room, then you should consider the HPB08XCM. Below, you will find our review of this Haier air conditioner.Unilever Plc.’s acquisition of Swedish air purifier maker Blueair for an undisclosed sum could heat up the air purifier market in India. Blueair, founded in 1996 by Bengt Rittri, sells its premium air purifiers in around 60 countries. It ended 2015 with $106 million in sales and has a presence in China, and India, countries with possibly the worst air quality in the world. The acquisition will help Unilever’s Indian unit Hindustan Unilever Ltd enter a niche segment that is growing rapidly. Nitin Paranjpe, president of Unilever’s home care business, said in a statement that Blueair stands for “exceptional quality and design, as well as superior capacity and performance.” In another statement, Blueair’s Rittri said Unilever would “help Blueair take the next step to becoming a truly global provider of its health-enhancing air purifiers.”

“India is a key ingredient in Blueair’s global operations, although it is still very much a nascent market,” said a Blueair spokesperson. Blueair launched its products in India in 2015. Blueair, which will continue to be sold under the same brand, will become part of Unilever’s home care business. It will be sold alongside the company’s water purifier brand Pureit, which was conceptualized by Hindustan Unilever in 2004 and rolled out nationally in 2008. “This significant venture in air purification will further complement Unilever’s existing water purification business,” Unilever said in a statement. The company is expanding its water purifying business in India and elsewhere. In 2014, Unilever acquired a majority stake in China’s Qinyuan Group, a water purification business which then more than doubled the size of its business in that segment, the Financial Times reported in March 2014. Companies in the water purifiers space like Eureka Forbes Ltd and Kent RO Systems Ltd also have air purifiers as part of their portfolio in India.

The market for air purifiers is nascent but there are synergies and “we can offer solutions for clean air and clean water using the same platform,” said Mahesh Gupta, chairman, Kent RO Systems, which entered the air purifier business last year. In India, the growth of air purifiers took off in 2015 when Blueair announced that the US embassy had purchased 1,800 air purifiers from it ahead of the visit of US President Barack Obama in January. New Delhi is described by the World Health Organization as one of the world’s most polluted cities. Air purifiers have been available in India for over 20 years, but it is only in recent years that they have become popular with a certain segment of customers—high-income households in urban areas and institutions such as schools and hospitals. The market could grow to around Rs.1,400 crore (USD$210m) by 2021, according to a June report by TechSci Research. In April, TTK Prestige Ltd, known for its Prestige range of kitchen appliances, launched air purifiers.