Unilever, the parent company of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), has acquired Swedish firm Blueair, a leading player in mobile air purification technology, for an undisclosed sum. With this deal, Unilever is making its foray in air purification, a move that will complement its existing water purification business.Started in 1996, the Stockholm-based company had sales of $106 million last year and is one of the largest makers of premium air purifiers in China, the U.S., Japan, South Korea and India, HUL said in a statement. “The Blueair brand and products are widely known and represent exceptional quality and design, as well as superior capacity and performance,” said Nitin Paranjpe, President of Unilever’s Home Care business. Blueair founder Bengt Rittri said that the acquisition will help widen the reach of Blueair purifiers. “Blueair was unveiled 20 years ago with the mission to start a clean air revolution by bringing people the world’s best air purifiers,” said Mr. Rittri.Blueair’s air purifying products remove up to 99.97% of all contaminants from the air, including hazardous sooty particles, allergens and viruses, according to a company statement.

Cashing in on the demand for air purifiers in India, Blueair launched its operations in India in May last year and aims to make India one of its top three markets globally in five years. The company introduced four indoor air purifier models priced between Rs.40,000 and Rs. 95,000, along with a mobile app to gauge the level of air pollution in a particular area.“Blueair will continue to operate under its existing brand name in all its markets, including Sweden, China, the U.S., Japan, South Korea and India,” said Mr. Rittri.edelbrock air cleaner stud size More In: Industry | air duct cleaning lansing michiganBlueAir 503 HEPA Silent Air Purifier Cleaner 26" x 20" x 13"ac coil cleaning tampa Blueair 603 HEPA Silent Air Purifier Cleaner +5 Yr Ext Warranty, 640 Sq Ft Room, 5x/Hour, Surround Air, 3 Speeds, 35-71dB, Filter Change ID, 35Lbs USA

PD60 ST500 Watt Step up, Step-down Voltage Converter Transformer for International Use of Electrical Appliances rated 400 Watts or less, UL ApprovedSmart home devices, wearables and a kinetic battery charger stepped from the Chicago area into the Las Vegas limelight this week at consumer technology trade show CES.Fibaro, with U.S. operations based in Glenview, unveiled its Swipe gesture control pad for smart devices. "You can swipe your hand without any touch, and you can associate any smart home device to it," said Rich Bria, managing director for the U.S.Users can program Swipe to recognize patterns and prompt sets of tasks. A swipe can turn off lights, lower shades, lock doors and turn on an alarm system at the same time, he said. The $149 device can be mounted or installed in wall. But all of the company's products are wireless, making them usable by renters and not just homeowners. "There's nothing you're hardwiring that you couldn't walk out with if you left," Bria said.

Fibaro and others aim to make the connected home more affordable and easy to install than it has been in the past.1871-based smart home device startup Oomi by Fantem, another CES exhibitor, uses NFC wireless technology to pair devices."There's a lot of interoperability among the manufacturers where things work together more," Bria said. "Over the years manufacturers have really started to pay attention to how consumers are adopting smart home technology, and getting away from that siloed approach. "The user interface is becoming easier. With our online guides, we're really simplifying some of the messaging," he said. "And retail is starting to pick up the pace and educating people." First Alert, the Aurora-based smoke detector company, unveiled several Onelink by First Alert smart devices that work with the new Apple HomeKit, a framework for communicating, controlling and connecting different brands of smart home devices. The Wi-Fi Environment Monitor ($99.99) senses carbon monoxide levels and temperature and humidity, and then notifies users of changes on their iOS devices.

First Alert also introduced a thermostat ($249.99), safe (starting at $499) and a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm ($109.99-$119.99), all with Wi-Fi connectivity.The alarm, which notifies users on their iOS devices of emergencies, has a sealed battery and lasts for 10 years. It is offered in a version that doesn't require damaging walls to install, making it also suitable for renters, said Tim Russo, vice president of marketing.In other areas of CES, which runs through Saturday and will see about 20,000 new tech-centered items unveiled from businesses around the world:• The ReliefBand wearable from Rosemont-based ReliefBand Technologies was a finalist at The Bump Best of Baby Tech Awards. The drug-free wearable is used to treat nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.• Mira Fitness, the activity tracker jewelry company, has added a pendant and a new bracelet design concealing its Opal tracker. Mira is a venture of Lake Forest-based Omron Healthcare.• Air-purification company Blueair AB, which has its U.S. headquarters in Chicago, picked up Envisioneering innovation, design and style awards Wednesday for its Blueair Sense+ air purifier, Aware air monitor and Friend app.

The Sense+ and Blueair Aware connect to the app to give a detailed view of indoor air pollution.The app also displays outdoor air quality at location around the world.• Evanston-based Ampy attracted a lot of attention, particularly at a pre-show startup showcase in downtown Vegas that had a crowd of tech enthusiasts curious about the battery charger that runs on kinetic energy.The company, started by a trio of Northwestern University doctoral engineering students, completed shipment in December of items to Kickstarter campaign supporters who committed more than $300,000 to the project. It has raised $875,000 in seed funding to integrate the chargers into wearable devices.The Ampy team is at CES to generate interest in future projects."Going to CES is about meeting with potential licensing partners and meeting with potential buyers," said co-founder and CEO Tejas Shastry.The CES marketplace for startups — Eureka Park, where Ampy and Oomi by Fantem are exhibiting — has seen exhibits funded at more than $1 billion since 2012, according to show producers.