Alfred Kärcher was one of those inventors-entrepreneurs that Württemberg has brought forth in great numbers since the beginning of industrialisation – illustrious names such as Robert Bosch and Gottlieb Daimler, or Count Zeppelin. They fought to realise their ideas with enormous diligence and commitment.

A former employee sees him in retrospect as follows: “When Alfred Kärcher was in his element, when we were running trials and test, the atmosphere was simply exciting. He just couldn’t be stopped, he had a constant stream of new ideas.”

In the early thirties Alfred Kärcher specialised in the design of industrial submersible heating elements, i.e. in salt smelters which were heated with immersion heaters. After numerous experiments, a hardening furnace for alloys was produced, the so-called “Kärcher Salt-Bath Furnace”. 1,200 units were sold up to 1945.

Alfred Kärcher was not to enjoy the fruits of his great invention. The company founder died from a heart attack on 17th September 1959 at the age of 58. He left behind his wife Irene, his nine-year old son Johannes and his three-year daughter Susanne.

Although still a family owned business, Kärcher is recognised as a World Market Leader with its diverse range of industrial cleaning machines generating a world-wide annual turnover in excess of around 1 Billion Euros. The company trades through subsidiaries in 36 countries and has an active sales presence in many more.

Kärcher UK was established in Banbury in 1976 and now employs over 200 personnel. More than half of the Kärcher staff operate out in the market offering service and sales support. Kärcher came to prominence with its steam cleaners targeting the automotive industry.

The following years have seen enormous growth from Kärcher with progressive new developments and expanding product range enabling it to become a single source supply for a technically advanced and sophisticated range of cleaning machines. Kärcher now offers a full range of Vacuum Cleaners, Sweepers and Scrubber Driers, Steam Cleaners and Carpet Spray extraction suitable for use in most market sectors, allowing them to continually expand into all sectors.