CAIRE, President and CEO, Earl Lawson

Currently, a vital need in the fight against the novel coronavirus is oxygen. Despite being critical for the effective treatment of COVID-19 patients both under hospitalization and post-discharge, affordable and sustainable access to oxygen has been a particular challenge for healthcare facilities. The crisis has put immense pressure on health systems with hospitals in hard-hit regions across the world running out of oxygen resulting in the unnecessary loss of lives. Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, many hospitals and healthcare facilities have long struggled to secure reliable access to medical oxygen. Recognizing the importance of a sustainable medical-grade oxygen supply, one prominent company that has been designing and delivering leading technologies to support oxygen delivery for more than 50 years is CAIRE Inc.

Headquartered in Ball Ground, GA, USA, CAIRE is a global manufacturer of commercial on-site generation systems and medical respiratory-focused oxygen therapy equipment. With its unwavering focus, experience, and dedication to oxygen, it offers the most innovative and effective products and services for home care, hospice, long-term care, hospitals, military, and key industrial applications.

“At CAIRE, O2 is what we do. Our legacy includes individuals whose expertise in air separation technology for large-scale commercial applications made it possible for pioneering in-home care, including the first portable oxygen concentrator – the first to gain FAA approval for commercial air flights – breaking down the boundaries of restrictive mobility for oxygen users across the globe,” asserts Earl Lawson, the President, and CEO of CAIRE.

Delivering a Broad Portfolio of Advanced Oxygen Solutions

CAIRE’s commercial division, AirSep, has supplied more than 5,000 medical facilities in more than 50 countries worldwide with a primary or backup oxygen generation system. These systems operate automatically and can be used for medical oxygen supply, critical care units, hospital pipeline supply, military field hospitals, on-site emergency preparedness centers, and disaster relief. Its smallest oxygen generators can deliver 8 cubic feet per hour while its largest installed plant can produce 100 tons of oxygen per day! 

Serving the home healthcare market, CAIRE’s leading respiratory care oxygen therapy solutions offer providers a complete line of time-proven and trusted stationary oxygen concentrators, portable oxygen concentrators, and liquid oxygen systems that patients can use at home or in daily activities outside the home. 

Innovation runs throughout CAIRE’s lineage, with the greatest point of pridebeing the awarding of the U.S. government’s highest honor for technological achievement, the National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 2013 to AirSep’s senior vice president Norm McCombs. This pioneer of the portable oxygen concentrator changed the means by which oxygen users could achieve greater mobility without dependence on oxygen cylinders.

Lawson further emphasizes, “CAIRE enjoys a leading edge over the competitors because we offer a broad portfolio that covers the entire continuum of care to support patients throughout their disease progression from hospital to home, and commercial applications that support a variety of enterprise and business innovations. No other company in the world can claim to have the range of oxygen-generating products that CAIRE has delivered and installed,”.

Moving Ahead With Innovation and Technical Excellence

Throughout its history, CAIRE has focused on raising the bar in advancing O2 delivery. On a commercial scale, it has led the way with its oxygen generation products ranging from standard generators to custom-built large-scale onsite oxygen generation systems, well known in the trade as Pressure Swing Adsorption (“PSA”) or Vacuum Pressure Swing Adsorption (“VPSA”) systems, that can produce 100 tons of oxygen per day. These systems have been optimized to offer the customer a solution that requires low capital expenditures upfront and low ongoing operating expenses – translating into improved reliability, efficiency and safety with a low total cost of ownership. 

On the respiratory side – innovative ‘smart’ therapeutic oxygen equipment continues to evolve and improve the health of individuals suffering from respiratory conditions, and support the homecare provider by creating operational efficiencies in equipment fleet management. 

CAIRE’s premier portable oxygen concentrator – the state-of-the-art FreeStyle Comfort embodies this effort showcasing innovation in its ergonomic shell and advancement in therapeutic oxygen delivery.Connecting to this medical device, and CAIRE’s other premier portable and stationary oxygen concentrators, is a wireless telehealth solution that allows the homecare provide rto remotely manage equipment which furthers efforts to better serve the patient. 

Cultivating Strong Customer Relationships and Healthy Work Culture

CAIRE understands that like each individual, each business has unique needs. Thus, it takes a customer-by-customer approach and builds a strong customer-client relationship through trust backed by its expertise and support. Its business solutions incorporate packaged systems, bundles, and key products that enable healthcare providers to effectively manage their patient populations and eliminate operational pain points.

Apart from having a clear focus on creating happy and satisfied customers by providing the best products and services, CAIRE also heavily focuses on offering the best working environment for its employees. Bringing together a strong, multi-talented team of individuals with unique backgrounds and varying perspectives, the company engages strategically and drives innovations that not only improve patient care but meet today’s and tomorrow’s commercial needs. “At CAIRE, we are committed to creating a team environment that inspires all of us to collaboratively work in the pursuit of excellence. Building a portfolio of reliable and quality solutions that can stand up to the test of time is in our DNA,” affirms Lawson.

Over the past year, the company has experienced a sustained, increasing demand for its oxygen therapy solutions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, all while overcoming global supply chain and logistical challenges. 

A dedicated team, at all levels of the organization,have embraced a spirit of service and unparalleled support to go above and beyond in delivering on the CAIRE promise. To date, they have shipped thousands of critically needed oxygen systems to over 117 countries to support the treatment of patients with COVID-19. 

Planning Expansion While Ensuring Service Excellence

Currently, CAIRE is laying the pathway to portfolio development and expansion for both its commercial and medical divisions, and expanding its service levels in key global locations.

Its goal is to not only be the therapeutic oxygen equipment supplier of choice, but to be the leader in development and innovation around gas delivery through a broad spectrum of respiratory needs. 

Through its commercial division, it plans to continue installing medical oxygen generators to meet critical healthcare needs in key geographies who have found themselves with oxygen supply shortages throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We look to the ongoing installation of medical oxygen generators in parts of the globe that desperately need access to therapeutic oxygen, as well as the application of that technology to support green initiatives such as wastewater management,” concludes Lawson.

On the medical-respiratory side of the business, further distribution and expanded access to the FreeStyle Comfort is planned. This wearable device with smart oxygen delivery can assist those who are prescribed oxygen therapy as they embark on regaining their health and physical activity as they face a diagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) or even in recovery from the COVID-19 virus.

Also in June 2020, CAIRE further expanded its medical offering through the acquisition of  Spirosure Inc, an innovator in the development of clinical tools to improve the management of patients with asthma. Through its new CAIRE Diagnostics division this innovative technology which measures Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide, also known as FeNO – a key indicator of allergic inflammation in asthmatic patients with be a central focus.  This acquisition is part of a broader strategy to evolve into a provider of a range of respiratory therapies beyond oxygen.

CAIRE is meeting the ever-evolving global oxygen needs with a sense of urgency to not only provide aid to our neighbors today meeting critical, lifesaving needs, but also with a passion to make a difference in the future through the development and innovation in commercial and medical gas delivery.