History

Fisher & Paykel commenced business in 1934 as an importer of refrigerators and washing machines. In 1938 F&P started manufacturing white-ware under license to several major international appliance companies and in the mid-1960s moved to manufacturing products using in-house technology.

Fisher & Paykel's involvement in healthcare started in the late 1960s when F&P sought involvement in a business that could benefit from their growing manufacturing and electronic expertise. A prototype respiratory humidifier, developed in New Zealand for use with patients needing ventilation in hospital intensive care situations, was taken to production by F&P. Since then we have consistently developed innovations to improve patient care and developed world-wide distribution for these products.

On 14 November 2001, as part of a reorganisation, Fisher & Paykel Industries Limited was renamed Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Limited and a new company, Fisher & Paykel Appliances Holdings Limited, was established to own F&P’s appliances and finance business. In connection with the reorganisation, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Limited listed on the Australian and New Zealand Stock Exchanges and NASDAQ. In February 2003 the NASDAQ listing was terminated.

Over the years, the company’s product base has diversified from the invasive ventilation market into obstructive sleep apnea, and later into non-invasive ventilation, nasal high flow therapy and surgical humidification. A key feature of our success has been a consistent focus on our core expertise of heating and humidifying air. Today, the company employs over 3,500 people who are based in 36 countries and serve over 120 countries around the world. It is estimated that 10 million patients are treated using our products each year.