Blueair spins off CabinAir division to develop Integrated air purification solutions for vehicles

Stockholm, 17 January 2019.CabinAir, founded as a Blueair subsidiary to develop integrated, active air purification solutions for cars, trucks and other road vehicles, has been launched as an independent company via a management buy-out. CabinAir was first established in 2016 as a subsidiary of Blueair, one of the world’s leading producers of air-purification solutions for home and professional use.

“While the technology for integrated air purification for cars has its roots in the same technology as Blueair, the consumer products business is very different from the Tier 1 automotive components business,” explains Daniel Hagström, CabinAir CEO. “There’s no overlap on timelines, marketing, relationships with customers, corporate cultures, product design, certifications, and so on. So, turning this into an independent business was a common-sense decision.”

Hagström adds that the timing is good for the launch, as people are spending longer hours traveling to and from work and school, exposing themselves to nitrogen oxides, black carbon and ultrafine particulate matter, which in turn impacts health.

The poor in-car air quality is due primarily to the direct flow of exhaust from the vehicles ahead, as well as tire and road wear products, and the relatively small volume of enclosed space inside the passenger compartment, which CabinAir’s technology addresses.

Healthier air, increased road safety

CabinAir’s two-stage technology combines the effect of an optimized mechanical filter with active particle charging technology, removing more than 95% of PM2.5 and harmful ultrafine particles on single pass. With CabinAir’s Active Air Quality Solutions, the in-car air is kept within WHO recommended levels throughout the ride, which can reduce the risk for long term health issues.

Traditional systems need to recirculate the air in the car in order to reach acceptable low levels of particulates, but CabinAir’s system does not, which means less risk for increased CO2 levels which can cause drowsiness.

Aiming for T1 certification

CabinAir was built from the ground up to become a T1 supplier to the automotive industry.

“R&D as well as manufacturing facilities are being designed meet all certifications and standard requirements of OEMs. CabinAir is ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 9001:2015 certified,” Hagström says.

CabinAir has already signed its first OEM contract with a premium car manufacturer.

The company is based in Stockholm, Sweden. Jorma Halonen, a former deputy CEO of Volvo Group and President and CEO of Volvo Truck Corporation, has been named chairman of the board.

Board and owners

Jorma Halonen, Chairman of the Board

• Jorma was the deputy CEO of Volvo Group 2004-2008, President and CEO of Volvo Truck Corporation2001-2004. Prior to that he was CEO of Scania in Finland and LatAm 1990-2001 and has also more than 18 years’ experience from the IT industry, including Philips Telecom, and being member of the board in over 60 global companies.
• Kommunikationskonsulten i Stockholm AB, Mats Ödman, Board Member

• Investment and consulting company of Mats Ödman. Mats has more than 35 years of experience from corporate communications at some of the largest publicly-traded companies in Sweden, including Autoliv, Fermenta, Gambro and Pharmacia. At Autoliv, the global automotive safety leader, he was VP Corporate Communications for almost 20 years. He is now also a Senior Advisor at Fogel & Partners, an independent Stockholm based advisory boutique.
• Solutus Group AB, Daniel Hagström, CEO and Board Member
• Investment and consulting company of Daniel Hagström. Daniel is the CEO of CabinAir and has 20 years of experience of building global teams and companies especially in the automotive industry for companies such as ReformTech, Proximion, Allgon and Danaher Motion. Daniel has genuine experience of setting up factories, R&D and sales teams throughout the world, especially in China.
• John Hudson, Board Member
• John has served as CEO, President and former CFO at TMD Friction, one of the world’s leading automotive brake friction companies for more than 15 years. Previous experience covers companies such KPMG, ICI International Pharmaceuticals (now Astra Zeneca), EVC International NV and EVC Speciality Film business. John has a broad experience of the automotive industry and financial roles in various industries globally.
• StoBene Partners SA, Isabelle Stoffels and Andrea Benenati, Board Members
• Swiss and Hong Kong based investment firm StoBene is an independent asset manager and investment firm for high net worth individuals. StoBene has offices in Geneva, Zurich and Hong Kong. The partners Isabelle and Andrea has long background and experience from the financial industry and have had leading positions in several of the leading global banks in Europe and Asia.