Brita

Brita
Privately held family business
Industry Water filtration
Founded 1966 (1966)
Founder Heinz Hankammer
Headquarters Taunusstein, Germany
Key people
 Markus Hankammer (CEO)
Products Water filters
Brands Brita (outside of the Americas), Mavea
Revenue €469 million (2016)
Number of employees
 1697 worldwide (2016)
Website www.brita.com/intl/
Footnotes / references
[1]
A Brita kettle, boiling water that has passed from the top reservoir through a filter element (white) into the main jug at the bottom.

Brita GmbH is a German company that specializes in water filters.

The company headquarters are in Taunusstein near Wiesbaden in Hesse, Germany with production facilities in Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Italy and China.[1] Brita products are distributed in 66 countries.[2]

Products

A used Brita ("Maxtra" type) water purification filter cross-section with activated charcoal particles (black) and ion-exchange resin beads (white).

Brita produces water jugs (BPA-free, made of styrene methyl methacrylate copolymer), kettles and tap attachments with integrated disposable filters. The filters can be recycled.[3]

Their primary filtering mechanism consists of activated carbon and ion-exchange resin. The activated carbon is produced from coconut shells.[4] According to Brita, the filters have two effects:[5]

  • The activated carbon removes substances that may impair taste, such as chlorine and chlorine compounds.
  • The ion-exchange resin reduces the carbonate hardness (limescale) as well as copper and lead.

The filters do not purify water.

In the United Kingdom, Hinari and Breville sell electric kettles incorporating Brita technology.

History

Brita was founded in 1966 by Heinz Hankammer. He named the company after his daughter.

In 1988,[6] The Clorox Company, based in Oakland, California, entered in a licensing-and-distribution agreement with the German company for North and South America. In 1995, it added the Canadian rights by acquiring Canada's Brita International Holdings. In 2000, Clorox acquired the sole rights to the brand in the Americas[7] and Brita agreed to a non-compete clause until 2005. In 2008, Brita returned to the North American market under the brand Mavea,[8] only to withdraw again in 2016.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 Facts & figures. Brita UK. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
  2. ↑ "About BRITA Group". Brita UK. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  3. ↑ "Recycling service for cartridges," Brita UK. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  4. ↑ "Questions about products and water filtration," Brita UK. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  5. ↑ "How BRITA water filters work". Brita UK. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
  6. ↑ HBS case 9-500-024, Jan 15th 2002, Page 1
  7. ↑ "Clorox Secures Brita Business In Americas", HomeWorld Business. November 27, 2000.
  8. ↑ Carr, Coeli (2010-05-20). "Pouring It On". Time Magazine.
  9. ↑ "The Best Water Filter Pitcher," Wirecutter. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
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