Katadyn
| Katadyn Products AG
|
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|---|---|
 |
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| legal form | Corporation |
| founding | 1928 |
| Seat | Kemptthal , Switzerland |
| management | Beatrix Ammann ( CEO ) Adrian Schmassmann ( Chairman of the Board ) |
| Number of employees | 180 (2013) |
| sales | 50 million CHF (2013) |
| Branch | Water treatment, outdoor |
| Website | www.katadyn.com |
The Katadyn Products Inc. is a Swiss company that equipment for outdoor activities , expeditions and for disaster relief produces and sells.
Katadyn became known worldwide for its mobile drinking water treatment products . In addition to water filters and chemical agents for the production of drinking water , Katadyn now also offers gas and petrol stoves as well as freeze-dried special food.
With these products, Katadyn is an important supplier to the shipping industry, various armies and aid organizations that provide disaster relief or operate in areas with poor drinking water supplies. Katadyn is a world leader in the field of mobile drinking water treatment.
history
In 1928 Alexander Krause developed a new chemical treatment and preservation agent for drinking water. In order to be able to manufacture and sell his "catalyzing silver tablets" on an industrial scale , he founded a company in the same year under the name Katadyn, derived from the chemical process of catalysis . The process and basic recipe for these silver tablets with the active ingredient silver chloride has remained practically unchanged to this day. In 1952 Katadyn launched the world's first pocket filter for drinking water treatment.
Further milestones in the company's history:
- 1954: Relocation of the company headquarters to Wallisellen
- 1975: Acquisition of Keller AG, Bergdietikon , a specialist in the field of drinking water treatment through irradiation with UV rays.
- 1980: Foundation of Katadyn USA, first subsidiary abroad
- 1998: Management buy-out by Adrian Schmassmann
- 2004: Acquisition of OCO AG, Volketswil ZH
- 2007: Foundation of Katadyn Scandinavia and acquisition of the Optimus of Sweden brand (and - associated with this - the expansion of the product range to include gas and petrol stoves)
- 2009: Takeover of the German / Swiss company Aquafides, which, like Keller AG, which was taken over in 1975, is active in industrial and municipal water treatment.
- 2018: Takeover of the German company MSI, which specializes in emergency food.
Water treatment
Chemical drinking water treatment
In addition to mechanical water filters, Katadyn also produces a wide range of chemical agents for treating drinking water. Since the company was founded, this range has been based on tablets with the active ingredient silver chloride, which are now marketed under the brand name Micropur . Micropur is now available in different forms - in tablet form, as powder or liquid, for different dosages and different applications:
- Micropur Classic only contains silver chloride and is therefore suitable for eliminating bacteria and algae in clear water as well as for preserving water in tanks (with the correct dosage, 1 liter of water contains 0.1 mg of silver ions).
- Micropur forte also contains sodium dichloroisocyanurate (NaDcc) . This combination disinfects water faster than Micropur Classic and is also effective against protozoa such as giardia .
Water filter
In addition to means for chemical drinking water treatment, Katadyn has also been developing and producing mobile water filters since 1952 .
The basic structure and the functional principle of the Katadyn water filters have only undergone minor changes in the past decades: Water is filtered through ceramic filter cartridges or through a glass fiber filter fabric, the pores of which are 0.2 µ smaller than pathogenic protozoa and bacteria. This principle can be found in both drip filters and pocket filters. With the drop filter, gravity is responsible for the water transport. The advantage of this construction is its simplicity, robustness and the fact that the water is filtered without human intervention. The disadvantage lies in the duration of the filtering process: drip filters with three filter cartridges ( Ceradyn model ) have a filter capacity of around four liters per hour. It is much faster with pocket filters: water is sucked in with a hand pump, pressed through a ceramic filter and then filtered out. Their output can be up to two liters per minute.
Today's product range includes models for occasional use as well as for continuous professional use, models with additional activated carbon filters to reduce chemical pollution and to remove unpleasant odors, as well as custom-made products for military use. Katadyn currently has three lines: Endurance for long-term use under difficult conditions (cloudy water, a ceramic filter can filter up to 50,000 liters of water), Backcountry for regular drinking water treatment when traveling (high pumping capacity, ceramic filter is for up to 2,000 liters Water) and Ultralight for occasional use.
Devices for mobile seawater desalination
Devices for desalination of seawater complete the product range from Katadyn. The mobile desalinators sold under the name Survivors desalinate water using the reverse osmosis process . They are mainly used on ships and in the rescue sector (hand-operated desalinators for use on life rafts).
Industrial and municipal drinking water treatment
With the takeover of the Keller company in 1975 and Aquafides in 2009, Katadyn is increasingly expanding its range of industrial drinking water treatment. Keller brought his first know-how of drinking water treatment through UV radiation with him, Aquafides was a direct competitor until the takeover. Today, the area of industrial and municipal drinking water treatment is combined under Aquafides, the Aquafides product range has been expanded to include large, stationary Katadyn water filters.
Broadening of the range since 2004
food
In 2004 Katadyn succeeded in gaining a foothold in the field of freeze-dried special food with the takeover of the German company Trekking-Nahrungsmittel GmbH. The offer includes outdoor food, emergency and expedition catering packages, which are characterized by their long shelf life and can be prepared by adding water. The dishes are ideal as special food for extreme athletes. The Trekking Meals brand was internationalized in 2008 and since then has been the leader in the field of outdoor and expedition food in Europe as Trek'n Eat.
Stove
With the acquisition of Optimus - a Swedish manufacturer of camping stoves - in 2007, Katadyn completed its range of mobile catering. The range extends from the Swedish "cult cooker" Svea to classic gas and petrol stoves for outdoor and camping activities to medium-sized stoves that run on petrol or ethanol .
As with the water filters, Katadyn also offers special versions of these products for military use as well as for disaster relief.
Individual evidence
- ↑ katadyngroup.com ( Memento of the original from December 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Sales hurdle of 50 million within reach. ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on: katadynch.vs31.snowflakehosting.ch
- ^ "Katadyn, has since grabbed a dominant share of the water treatment market serving hikers, campers and the marine industry." Quoted from: Katadyn Bucks Trend, Chooses Manual Labor Over Automation ( Memento of the original from November 1, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Industryweek of November 6, 2009, accessed on August 17, 2012. ( Eng. )
- ↑ "Micropur MP 1 Tabletts from Katadyn (...) as the highest-scoring Overall disinfectant-based IWP" quoted from: Performance and Health Risk Assessment of Commercial-off-the-shelf Individual Water Purifiers , evaluation of the US Army of commercially available water treatment agents and devices, 2006, p. ES-2. (engl.)
- ↑ Application example - How USAID has been treating water in disasters for decades: Report on Mobile Emergency Water Treatment and Disinfection Units (PDF; 3.8 MB), WASH, 1989, p. 2.1., From p. 3
- ↑ Company profile on the Katadyn Group website ( Memento of the original from May 12, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on August 23, 2012.
- ↑ Official website of Aquafides
- ↑ The Katadyn Group takes over MSI GmbH, a manufacturer of specialty foods (01/30/2018)
- ↑ Product description of the Ceradyn drip filter on the website of the outdoor retailer Transa.
- ↑ Katadyn Multifilter on the Aquafides website ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
