Alfred Kärcher is one of the many inventors and entrepreneurs that southern German Württemberg has produced since the beginning of industrialisation, such as Robert Bosch, Gottlieb Daimler and Count Zeppelin. With great energy, he dedicated himself to the realisation of his ideas. In 1924, the 23-year-old Kärcher completed his studies at the Stuttgart University of Technology. He first worked in his father's representative company, which he developed into a construction agency. In 1935, the engineer founded his own company in Stuttgart-Bad Canstatt to produce and market his product ideas in the field of heating technology himself. According to his own patent, Alfred Kärcher designed and built, among other things, the so-called 'Kärcher salt bath furnace' for tempering steel and hardening light metals in industry.
In 1939, the company moved to Winnenden, where the family company's headquarters are still located. At that time, heating equipment for aircraft engines and cabin heaters are also produced. After the end of the Second World War, the focus is on products for everyday use: round ovens, small stoves, hand carts and trailers for tractors.First steps in cleaning technology.
In 1950, Alfred Kärcher made a breakthrough in cleaning technology with the development of the first European hot-water high-pressure cleaner (Dampfstrahler 'DS 350'). The construction for heating the water proved so innovative that it is still the basis for all burners.
Like many others, Alfred Kärcher does not live to see the global success of his innovation. When he died on 17 September 1959 at the age of 58, his wife Irene took over the helm to lead the company for three decades. Today, their children Johannes Kärcher and Susanne Zimmermann von Siefart are responsible for the family business as the second generation. From 1974, Kärcher concentrated on high-pressure cleaning after a phase of diversification. During this time, the appliances also get a different new colour. Blue is replaced by the currently world-famous Kärcher yellow. In 1980, the company expands the product spectrum for basic need cleaning, initially to the application areas of transport and buildings. The range is supplemented by wet/dry vacuum cleaners, sweepers, schob/suction machines, car washers, steam cleaners, cleaning agents and drinking and waste water treatment plants.
One of the milestones in Kärcher's history is the introduction in 1984 of the first portable high-pressure cleaner HD 555 profi and thus its entry into the consumer market. In 1993, this palette was expanded to include products for indoor use. Since then, Kärcher also offers, for example, steam cleaners and hoovers for private households. In 2003, the RoboCleaner RC 3000, the world's first fully automatic vacuum cleaning robot, is launched on the market. In 2007, Kärcher enters completely new territory with a wide range of products for garden care such as pumps for watering, dewatering, mains water supply and accessories.
