From a pear tree to market leadership

The creation and successful filling of a market niche using a household device - that is the life's work of the German entrepreneur Heinz Hankammer.

In 1966, he had the far-sighted vision of optimising normal tap water with the simplest means possible and developed a filter for producing completely desalinated water, as pure as distilled water. Brita, his daughter's name, was chosen as that for the company.

The whole family helped Heinz Hankammer set up his small business, the first production being accomplished under a pear tree in the family's garden. What started as a one-man operation soon developed rapidly into a modern, medium-sized company that increasingly expanded into international markets with above-average growth rates.