Fisher & Paykel Healthcare

What began in 1934 as an appliance import business by founders Woolf Fisher and Maurice Paykel, evolved into a global leader in medical devices. The shift into healthcare started in the late 1960s from a need identified by Dr. Matt Spence at Auckland Hospital. He saw that patients on mechanical ventilators suffered from dry tracheas and sought a solution. This led to a collaboration with engineers Alf Melville and Dave O'Hare from Fisher & Paykel Industries. The result was a prototype humidifier, ingeniously crafted from a fruit-preserving jar. Fisher & Paykel's appliance division took this prototype and turned it into a manufactured product, selling the first respiratory humidifier in 1970. This marked the company's entry into the healthcare sector, which grew steadily over the following decades. A major turning point occurred in 2001 when Fisher & Paykel Industries split its operations. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Ltd. became a separate, publicly listed company on the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges, a move that allowed the healthcare business to focus on its specialized market. Today, the company designs and manufactures a wide range of products for respiratory care, acute care, and the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea, sold in about 120 countries.