Everything’s so Yellow: Great products For a ‘Clean Sweep’

Karcher has grown from its beginnings in 1935, to an AED 8.5bn (EUR 2.12bn) globally recognized brand. If the bright yellow of its machines is what comes to mind at the mention of the word ‘Karcher,’ be advised, there is much more than what the eye beholds! In a span of 80 years, Karcher has reached the leadership position in cleaning solutions with its 100 subsidiaries and 40,000 distributors, all of whom contributed to the sale of 12.72 million machines in 2014. 

Since its creation, Karcher has pioneered technological innovation in the cleaning industry. The company currently holds over 1,500 patents and registered designs in cleaning. In 2014, the number of employees at Karcher worldwide stood at 11,230 of which more than 900 are employed in the R&D department. “Our engineers are incredibly ingenious and it shows on the great products and innovation they regularly come up with. These product are both sturdy and efficient and perform very well in the Middle East,” said Mr. Richard Nouira, MD of Karcher FZE.

As a measure of innovation, patent registration and licensing in recent times have become a defensive strategy rather than a mechanism detailing creativity from in-house research and development. At Karcher, “We do not pursue a strategy of piling on patents, instead we focus on investing along our value chain to supply best-in-class machines, from conception to delivery, to end-users and professionals alike” commented Mr. Nouira. 

Karcher was the first company in the cleaning industry to receive the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications for its quality and environmental management systems. The research and development processes at Karcher occur across 19 production facilities in the world. The facilities are built and operated by Karcher for “Karcher quality”. 

Since 2013, Karcher made a clear distinction between its consumer and professional line of products. The consumer line retained the bright yellow which was introduced in 1974 to coincide with a shift in core business concentration to high-pressure cleaning, while the professional products were changed to ‘anthracite’. 

To fulfil best customer service and after sales services, Karcher has 50,000 service points globally to handle its product range of over 3,000 machines.