Air Purifier by Blueair : Field of Dreams

Blueair air purifier was founded in Stockholm, Sweden in 1996. Former Electrolux executive Bengt Rittri had high expectations for his $2 million company. He believed in the old build-a-better-mousetrap theory, thinking a top quality product with exquisite design and breakthrough engineering would sell itself.

In the webmastering and internet marketing community we have a saying, paraphrased from the Kevin Costner hit film "Field of Dreams."

"If you build it, they won't come."

“A good design leads to a clear increase in demand” says Bengt Rittri, founder and President. But great engineering must fight even greater marketing for shelf space and web clicks. With Arizona ocean front for sale and free-gifts-just-for-trying-easy-credit-ripoffs holding major market share, Rittri was surprised when initial sales were slower than forecast. Underestimated manufacturing costs led to layoffs and outsourcing. To this day, he has kept the company lean, with many functions outsourced.

This web site has a primary theme: beware of illusions. First, invisible particles and toxic gasses, beyond what cheap air purifiers can remove, are harmful to health. Of course you must remove sources first.

But the second half of the site theme concerns broadcast media and internet marketing and marketing's relationship to product quality. In air purifier world, slick marketing often trumps quality engineering. Blueair is the perfect example of an engineering driven company that learned the hard way.

He built a better air purifier, they didn't come.

Advertising driven market share leaders, notably Sharper Image and Oreck, seldom make technical improvements. Run the ad, test the results, refine the ad...

"A good ad campaign leads to brand awareness and a clear increase in demand."

Can they both be right?

The going got tough, so the tough got going. Industrial designer Fredrik Magnusson was brought in to help Mr. Rittri develop the 501 air purifier. Blueair's commitment to technology leadership persists, which continues to develop new products.

The current top of the Blueair line is the very strong 601.

Blueair 601 review: Top Gun

The 501 air purifier, Blueair's second now:

Blueair 501 air purifier

The 402 is a smaller air purifier than the 501 and 601. Intended for use in single rooms, the Blueair 402 air purifier is rated for rooms up to 365 sq ft.

The Blueair 201 air purifier is the smallest member of the family. Designed for single rooms up to 200 sq ft, Blueair 201 features slightly different technology.

Blueair 201

The Blueair 250e has been introduced with new electronics and automated features.

The Company Learns Marketing

Marketing began on an upscale Tupperware party basis and evolved into a distributorship system with dealers in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia. Focusing on high-end medical applications, the company adopted the slogan "Clean Air is a Human Right." High minded idealists may like this comparison, but I believe clean air is fast disappearing from the planet. Nobody can grant a "right" to clean air, it is something to be achieved and defended in our personal spaces.

The Swedish headquarters handles product development, and marketing, while manufacturing is outsourced in Sweden (not China). The US corporate entityhas headquarters in downtown Chicago.

Blueair: Award-Winning Design

Contemporary styling earned Blueair the Excellent Swedish Design award. The 501 air purifier graces a permanent exhibit at The Swedish National Museum.

The unique filter system features an innovative blend of mechanical (HEPA-like) and electrostatic filtration, capturing 99.97% of particles at .1 micron. This is equal to the particulate removal performance of IQAir purifiers selling at higher prices. The time degraded performance and ozone emissions of other electrostatic air cleaners and noisy high internal pressures of true-HEPA air purifiers are gone.

For three years in a row, Blueair purifier air output tops the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) rankings.

The entire Blueair product line is listed with the FDA as “Medical Devices.” Top Energy Star rankings and eco-friendly recyclable design round out the picture: a fine company dedicated to quality.

The company's products are not perfect, please see individual model reviews for details and my suggestions for improvements.

Before I developed Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS), and needed an air cleaner just to function, I was a software engineer. In my last job, I reported directly to the company president, a brilliant orator who had 30 years industry experience, in sales! (expletive string deleted) Today I applaud quality companies which develop, innovate and improve health-promoting products. There are many ad-driven frauds.

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End Blueair air purifier, see Blueair 601 review: Top Gun

Blueair 501 air purifier

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