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Room air disinfection with UVC
In addition to selling illuminated signs as the D/A/CH general agent for the US company "Westinghouse", sterilAir founder, Wilhelm Albert Kohler, first sold UVC emitter for room air disinfection under the name "Sterilamp" in 1939.
Registration as a sole proprietorship
After the war, the sole proprietorship "W.A. Kohler - Werkstätte für Elektromechanik und Apparatebau" was registered with the SEV (Swiss Electrotechnical Association) in Zurich in 1945 as a prerequisite for having its own production.
The 
brand is born
The first self-produced devices with up to four UVC light bulbs were installed in rooms with a high number of people. In contrast to the American approach (full irradiation of people and goods), sterilAir quickly developed a concept for zone irradiation in the overhead region. By natural or technical convection, airborne organisms are repeatedly brought into this UV irradiated zone and continuously inactivated.
Patent for
water disinfection
and own plant
Urs Kohler joins the family business. Construction of the "Factory for sterilAir air sterilisation devices" began as early as 1967. The then highly innovative aluminium shell construction was purchased in the USA and shipped to Switzerland.
As early as 1963, the patent for a "device for the sterilisation of service water by means of ultra-violet rays", granted in November 1965, had been submitted. In addition, sterilAir developed its own ballasts, which were manufactured by the Italian company, AROS.
International
patents
After the term "sterilAir Plafond Sanitaire" was internationally protected in 1969, a patent was filed in 1973 for the type of device with grid attachment required for this purpose and it continued to be used very successfully to improve general health and hygiene, especially in butcher's shops, hospitals and operating theatres.
New devices with
innovative design
While it was common practice until the end of the 1970s to sell meat and sausage products without refrigeration, the demand for UVC lamps was bolstered by increasing hygiene requirements and new markets were opening up. UV drinking water disinfection was given a strong scientific focus, and sterilAir acquired SEV approval for immersion lamps in 1983. Product development focused on air conditioning and ventilation technology as well as immersion lamps for humidifiers, air washers and process water.
An era of new product designs
sterilAir was the first company to switch from stray field transformers to electrical ballasts. This offered completely new design possibilities. The compact electronic ballast could now be installed directly in the products without an external switch box. This was followed by the development of a unique ceramic collar base, the so-called sterilAir base. It enabled a stable and one-sided mounting of the tube in a socket as well as a new type of cladding tube concept to protect the UV emitter from direct exposure to cold and moisture. In 2001, M. Graupner acquired the majority of shares and renamed the company from "W.A. Kohler AG" to "sterilAir AG".
Innovations pacesetter
In cooperation with "Westfleisch", a new conveyor belt sterilisation concept was developed, in which for the first time an under-belt assembly of UV units was implemented. The sterilAir T2002 set new hygiene standards in the meat processing industry.
In addition, a unique calculation program was developed in collaboration with ETH Zurich: This enables the inclusion of all necessary influencing parameters in airflow disinfection. In 2016 the software was extended by one component: the calculation of the necessary number of surface disinfection modules in relation to a static or moving surface (conveyor belt).
Expansion into the
current headquarters
The rapid growth of the company made it necessary to move once again to the current production and development site in Weinfelden. Since the move, independent and individual performance data can be produced in the in-house technical laboratory for calculating a UVC system under a wide range of conditions.
From T2002 to T2011
Compared to the T2002, the T2011 no longer required a large-area quartz plate and could be replaced with existing T2002 systems with identical external dimensions. The T2011 underwent several stages of modification to make it more robust against the adverse operating conditions of the meat industry and was only replaced by the T2018. The development of a new, intelligent control electronics made it possible to actuate the tubes via 4 contact pins. The new tube socket was internationally protected.
The E-Series is born
Revolution from sterilAir: the new modular concept called E-series is considered a modern quantum leap in UVC disinfection technology. For the first time, a single device series allows all three fields of application (air, water and surfaces) to be covered by a single device by simply exchanging individual components and numerous combinations. Customer benefits: flexible application possibilities and significant cost savings.
Expert knowledge in the in-house laboratories
In 2017, the technical and microbiology laboratories were separated. The latter was upgraded to a full-fledged S2 laboratory by appropriate personnel and material. This makes it possible to offer a complete service package from development and calculation of the UV installation to microbiological validation.
Revolution in conveyor belt sterilisation
T2018 is a new, more revolutionary and patented conveyor belt sterilisation system. It was developed with experts from the meat processing industry and sets new standards in terms of disinfection performance, installation, handling, flexibility, hygiene and maintenance.
The rest is
history
Today, sterilAir is not only a manufacturer of UVC hygienic lamps, but also sees itself as a solution provider with comprehensive conceptual advice and support services, from the first idea to the fully installed system.
