UNGER HAS ALWAYS BEEN ONE OF THE LEADING BRANDS ASSOCIATED WITH WINDOW CLEANING.
When you say their name, it is usually followed by something about their unmatched quality. But we also have quite a few products to thank them for. Henry Unger was a window cleaner first. He knew the needs of the window cleaner, and he created products to help the industry. They’ve been in the game for a long time. But the story actually starts outside of window cleaning. And everything you know about Unger, I bet you don’t know their origins.
The story of Unger actually starts at a vegetarian conference. Really! This is where Henry Unger met his soon-to-be wife. After the show, he went to Germany to be with her. From there he saw what the German window cleaners were using and saw a huge opportunity.
After moving to Germany and not knowing a lick of German, he started to let the German window cleaners know about squeegee’s over chamois. Henry was a true salesman and had great people skills. The language barrier didn’t end up being such a huge hurdle.
From there, he started importing squeegees from the US
After a short while, Henry started manufacturing his own squeegee’s. And THIS was the beginning of the story of quality from Unger. He started with a German-made stainless steel squeegee. He found that stainless steel was a much better option than brass. And brass was the main option for tools at the time. 
From that point on, the innovation kept on rolling
From there, he found a flaw in the horsehair brushes that window cleaners would use to scrub the windows. Using a brush you are up to your elbows in dripping water, and he thought, “there has to be a better way”. And there was. He decided to take a lambswool “sleeve” and wrap it on a piece of aluminum with a handle. That would keep a window cleaner dryer and give them a better experience. So yeah. Unger was the inventor of the bar and sleeve!
Remember, this was a long time ago, when the choice in tools was VERY limited. And being a window cleaner himself, he could find the flaws and make a better product.
Another HUGE innovation for our industry was the window cleaning traditional pole. He wanted a way to keep people off of ladders. He took a beach umbrella, and cut the top off of it. You could jam the tools into that and now clean from the ground! I could imagine what window cleaners thought when they saw that!
The bucket on the belt? Well, that was also Unger!
They were the FIRST ones to come out with a bucket on a belt made for the masses. Remember that Henry was a window cleaner, well the bucket on a belt also came from the mind of a window cleaner. Someone brought the idea to Unger, and they brought it to market.
ALWAYS keeping the window cleaner itself in the forefront of their decisions
From there he went town to town, spreading the word of his products and company. Always striving to put quality first. And soon after, he was selling all over Germany.
In 1978 they decided to move back to the US and started all over again for Unger USA. He got out and sold his products to everyone and every supplier. Unger was one of the only companies in the US with a full line of gear. All made by a window cleaner for a window cleaner.
Fast forward to 1995, Unger was sold to Henry’s sons. And they took the company to a whole new level. After that, they also added all of the other products you see. Even though they are now in different sectors of janitorial they are still keeping their focus on window cleaning.
The newest innovation from Unger is in their water-fed window cleaning tools. If you haven’t gotten your hands on the newest nlite pole, you are missing out!
The pole is incredible
The Elite poles and products are still made with the German-engineered quality they have always had.
