Our story
A story of invention. Driven by frustration with his old vacuum and a passion for problem solving, James Dyson invented the first bagless vacuum. No big companies wanted to buy his invention – selling vacuum bags was far too profitable. So James decided to set up his own company.
He called it Dyson.
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Year2022
The first wearable Dyson
The launch of the Dyson Zone™ air-purifying headphones created a whole new category. The first wearable ...
The first wearable Dyson
The launch of the Dyson Zone™ air-purifying headphones created a whole new category. The first wearable Dyson machine offers air purification on the go, channeling a continuous stream of fresh air to your nose and mouth without touching your face. Filters in the ear cups remove pollution particles and harmful gases such as NO2, while you listen to high-quality audio that cancels out the surrounding city noise.
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Year2022
A new global headquarters
Built-in 1927, St James Power Station once provided Singapore with electricity. Now, after a painstakin...
A new global headquarters
Built-in 1927, St James Power Station once provided Singapore with electricity. Now, after a painstaking restoration, this iconic building is Dyson’s global headquarters. The 10,000m national monument is now totally modernised, with 18 state-of-the-art research laboratories. Now home to more than 1,400 Dyson people, St James is a hub for Dyson’s research and engineering teams, as well as commercial, advanced manufacturing, supply chain operations, and group functions.
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Year2021
Dyson Farming produces sustainable strawberries
The latest addition to Dyson Farming’s circular farming system is its ...
Dyson Farming produces sustainable strawberries
The latest addition to Dyson Farming’s circular farming system is its new 15-acre glasshouse in Lincolnshire. It supports the advancement of high-tech, sustainable farming in the UK, avoiding unnecessary food miles that come from imported strawberries out of season. Powered with renewable electricity and surplus heat from Dyson Farming’s adjacent anaerobic digester, the giant glasshouse is 424m long with 832 rows of strawberries and 700,000 strawberry plants which will produce 750 tonnes of strawberries each year for British consumers.
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Year2020
Goodbye excessive heat. Hello flexing plates
In 2020, we revealed the latest technology in our Personal Care range, the...
Goodbye excessive heat. Hello flexing plates
In 2020, we revealed the latest technology in our Personal Care range, the Dyson Corrale™ hair straightener. Our obsession with making things better has led to this creation, the only hair straightener with flexing plates to shape and gather hair. We’ve used our technology in batteries to cut the cord, creating the only full-performance cord-free straightener. During the development of the Dyson Corrale™, we conducted over 6,000 hours of user assessments to form part of our development. We also had more than 800 people attend our user trials!
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Year2019
Taking the road less travelled
Over three years we'd researched and developed an electric vehicle, building on previous effort...
Taking the road less travelled
Over three years we'd researched and developed an electric vehicle, building on previous efforts to capture diesel particulate. Although the team developed a fantastic car that remained faithful to the Dyson philosophies, the project wasn’t commercially viable and stopped in October 2019. Our technology expertise from the project lives on in our battery, robotics and machine learning research, among other things.
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Year2019
Intelligent machines
From the clear bin in DC01, Dyson has shown the real-life performance of our machines. The Dyson V11™ vacuum a...
Intelligent machines
From the clear bin in DC01, Dyson has shown the real-life performance of our machines. The Dyson V11™ vacuum and the Dyson Pure Hot+Cool™ purifier, both released in 2019, feature LCD screens and increased connectivity, giving real-time insight into how the machine is functioning. Another, albeit high-tech, clear bin moment.
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Year2019
A global shift
Since 2011, we've had teams in Singapore developing our digital motors and have developed world-leading knowledge in te...
A global shift
Since 2011, we've had teams in Singapore developing our digital motors and have developed world-leading knowledge in technology and manufacturing there. In 2019, we made the decision to move our global headquarters from Malmesbury to Singapore to be closer to our supply chains, manufacturing and fastest growing markets.
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Year2018
Pulling the plug on corded vacuums
The Dyson Cyclone V10™ vacuum began a new era of cord-free vacuum technology. Its Dyson d...
Pulling the plug on corded vacuums
The Dyson Cyclone V10™ vacuum began a new era of cord-free vacuum technology. Its Dyson digital motor V10 spins at up to 125,000rpm, generating the suction of a full-size vacuum.
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Year2018
Cutting-edge engineering facilities
Dyson’s second UK technology campus, located on a former Royal Air Force base, opened in...
Cutting-edge engineering facilities
Dyson’s second UK technology campus, located on a former Royal Air Force base, opened in 2018. After years of planning and development, Hullavington now boasts some of the most advanced Research, Design and Development (RDD) labs in the world. Here, we're creating technologies that will shape the future.
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Year2017
Engineering the future
The Dyson Institute enrolled its first undergraduates on campus in Malmesbury in September 2017. In March 2...
Engineering the future
The Dyson Institute enrolled its first undergraduates on campus in Malmesbury in September 2017. In March 2016, James Dyson had met with the Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation and decided to establish an engineering university at Dyson – the first of its kind.
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Year2016
Turning the beauty industry on its head
The Dyson Supersonic™ hair dryer was released in 2016 and offered a whole new way ...
Turning the beauty industry on its head
The Dyson Supersonic™ hair dryer was released in 2016 and offered a whole new way to style hair in an industry that had remained relatively unchallenged for decades. After four years investigating the "science of hair" and 600 prototypes, engineers developed a hair dryer that was small, light, powerful and minimised hair damage.
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Year2015
A light bulb moment
In 2015 the disruptive lighting technology, designed by Jake Dyson, was brought under the Dyson umbrella. Like h...
A light bulb moment
In 2015 the disruptive lighting technology, designed by Jake Dyson, was brought under the Dyson umbrella. Like his father, Jake's lighting solves a problem that disrupts conventional design. The lights have unique LED technology that uses a heat pipe to lower the temperature of the LEDs, providing precise, powerful illumination that lasts decades. So it could be 40 years before you need to change a light bulb.
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Year2015
Where we demo, we win
James Dyson opened its flagship Dyson Demo Store in Japan, the market that fell in love with his early invent...
Where we demo, we win
James Dyson opened its flagship Dyson Demo Store in Japan, the market that fell in love with his early invention, the G Force vacuum cleaner. Based in the heart of Tokyo, the store was launched to allow a hands-on experience of our latest technology. Dyson Demo Stores have since sprung up in cities worldwide with expert stores in over 300 cities .
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Year2015
Robotics: the future of home cleaning
After 17 years of research, design and development, Dyson launched its first robot va...
Robotics: the future of home cleaning
After 17 years of research, design and development, Dyson launched its first robot vacuum, the Dyson 360 Eye™ robot vacuum. 200 Dyson engineers had refined the technology first developed in 1999 – improving machine vision, navigation and traction.
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Year2012
Unprecedented precision
Dyson founded a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Singapore's tech hub, West Park. Here, high...
Unprecedented precision
Dyson founded a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Singapore's tech hub, West Park. Here, high-precision robots assemble around 15 million Dyson digital motors a year. These motors sit at the heart of Dyson's machines and the site is close to machine assembly at Dyson's main global factory in Senai, Malaysia.
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Year2009
Reinventing the vacuum cleaner. Again
Dyson launched the first cordless stick vacuum, the DC35, in 2009. The machine was en...
Reinventing the vacuum cleaner. Again
Dyson launched the first cordless stick vacuum, the DC35, in 2009. The machine was engineered to be cordless, light and powerful, possibilities enabled by the Dyson digital motor and Dyson battery technology. The possibilities of the cordless, lightweight vacuum moved the goal posts for home cleaning.
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Year2009
No blades. No buffeting. No stopping us
Dyson released its first bladeless fan in 2009, inspired by the design of an aircr...
No blades. No buffeting. No stopping us
Dyson released its first bladeless fan in 2009, inspired by the design of an aircraft wing. The invention of Dyson Air Multiplier Technology™ disrupted the air treatment industry as Dyson's AM01 fan was able to produce a powerful stream of uninterrupted airflow without noisy and visible fast spinning blades.
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Year2007
Specialist manufacturing
In 2007, Dyson opened its first RDD centre in Singapore, built for engineers working on the Dyson Digita...
Specialist manufacturing
In 2007, Dyson opened its first RDD centre in Singapore, built for engineers working on the Dyson Digital Motor in close proximity to its specialist manufacturing plant. Since 2008, the facility has grown seven times over and is now a centre of excellence for the development of motors, Dyson Air Multiplier™ fans and Dyson Airblade™ hand dryers.
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Year2007
Fashion meets form
Dyson went to Paris Fashion week for the Issey Miyake Spring/Summer 2008 collection, entitled "The Wind". Miyake ...
Fashion meets form
Dyson went to Paris Fashion week for the Issey Miyake Spring/Summer 2008 collection, entitled "The Wind". Miyake approached James Dyson to collaborate on the fashion show's set design. The model's clothes swayed in a breeze generated by Dyson engineered wind tunnels, hoses and cyclones inspired by Dyson vacuum cleaner technology.
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Year2007
Digging into dirt
In 2007, the only in-house lab of any floorcare manufacturer in the world opened at Dyson. We wanted to really unde...
Digging into dirt
In 2007, the only in-house lab of any floorcare manufacturer in the world opened at Dyson. We wanted to really understand what was in house dust and commercial bathrooms. But we couldn’t find that expertise anywhere else – so we decided to build our own lab. The research conducted helped us develop our filters and seals to only emit clean air from our machines.
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Year2006
The fastest, most hygienic hand dryer. Hands down
After extensive research into the hygiene of hand washing, Dyson la...
The fastest, most hygienic hand dryer. Hands down
After extensive research into the hygiene of hand washing, Dyson launched its Airblade™ dB hand dryer. The Airblade™ technology uses a 640km/h blade of filtered air to 'scrape' water from a user's hands in 10 seconds. It offered a hygienic, quiet and more efficient solution to bathroom hand drying.
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Year2005
Re-inventing the wheel
Dyson unveiled new Ball™ technology on the DC15 vacuum cleaner. It was the first vacuum to ride on a ball i...
Re-inventing the wheel
Dyson unveiled new Ball™ technology on the DC15 vacuum cleaner. It was the first vacuum to ride on a ball instead of wheels and was inspired by James Dyson's 1974 design of the Ballbarrow. 166 patents protect the technology: that's coincidentally one for each week of its development.
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Year2003
Moving production
With suppliers of Dyson vacuum cleaner parts located all over Asia and contract manufacturers stationed nearby, Dys...
Moving production
With suppliers of Dyson vacuum cleaner parts located all over Asia and contract manufacturers stationed nearby, Dyson moved its production to Malaysia. We built a new RDD center in Senai, in the Iskandar Malaysia development corridor. This meant we were closer to our supply chains and it opened up opportunities for our international growth.
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Year2002
Laying foundations for the future
James Dyson felt strongly that young bright minds shouldn't miss out on an engineering care...
Laying foundations for the future
James Dyson felt strongly that young bright minds shouldn't miss out on an engineering career, as he nearly did. So in 2002, he set up the James Dyson Foundation to challenge misconceptions about engineering, combat the national shortage in engineers and encourage and inspire the next generation.
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Year2002
Powering up
Dyson wanted to develop a smaller, lighter and longer-lasting motor than existed in the market at the time. After recruiting...
Powering up
Dyson wanted to develop a smaller, lighter and longer-lasting motor than existed in the market at the time. After recruiting an entire class of motor specialist graduates and millions of pounds of investment, the Dyson digital motor was born. All the machines that featured the motor after that point were able to be lighter, more efficient and more powerful.
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Year2001
More cyclones. More suction
There was an engineering breakthrough when engineers found that by replacing one main cyclone with s...
More cyclones. More suction
There was an engineering breakthrough when engineers found that by replacing one main cyclone with seven smaller ones, you could generate 45% more suction power. The new Root Cyclone™ technology was first released in the DC07 vacuum cleaner.
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Year2001
Risking it all
In 1999, Hoover began manufacturing vacuum cleaners that infringed patents held on Dyson cyclone technology. A long leg...
Risking it all
In 1999, Hoover began manufacturing vacuum cleaners that infringed patents held on Dyson cyclone technology. A long legal battle ensued. In 2001 the courts found in Dyson’s favour and Hoover was ordered to stop selling its machine.
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Year2000
It all came out in the wash
Dyson's CR01 was a revolution in laundry. The washing machine had two drums that rotated in opposite...
It all came out in the wash
Dyson's CR01 was a revolution in laundry. The washing machine had two drums that rotated in opposite directions, simulating hand washing and it was faster than any competitor product. However, the washing machine proved too expensive to manufacture so we made the decision to stop production in 2005. It was an important learning curve for us.
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Year1999
Looking to the future of floorcare
Work started on Dyson’s robotic vacuum cleaner, the DC06 in 1999. By 2003 it had three on...
Looking to the future of floorcare
Work started on Dyson’s robotic vacuum cleaner, the DC06 in 1999. By 2003 it had three on-board computers, 70 sensory devices and 2,000 electronic components. We knew it wasn't right yet and we didn't want to release it prematurely, so we went back to the drawing board.
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Year1998
Building a responsive space
A long building with an iconic wave roof designed to "float above the trees", our new office, factor...
Building a responsive space
A long building with an iconic wave roof designed to "float above the trees", our new office, factory and RDD space opened in Malmesbury in 1998 . The building was architecturally designed by WilkinsonEyre to be responsive to its environment and occupants. It gave us the space to flex and grow with our research, development, design, commercial and management functions.
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Year1995
Reduce, Reuse, Recyclone
In 1995, Dyson released a vacuum made from recycled plastic: the DC02 Recyclone. Doing more with less is...
Reduce, Reuse, Recyclone
In 1995, Dyson released a vacuum made from recycled plastic: the DC02 Recyclone. Doing more with less is a key part of our philosophy as engineers. And although the DC02 Recyclone was discontinued, we learned a lot from the project. "Using energy and materials sparingly and ingeniously is a prerequisite of the job" – James Dyson.
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Year1995
The cylinder vacuum
Dyson's first cylinder vacuum, DC02, featured the same Dual Cyclone™ technology as DC01, but was engineered to s...
The cylinder vacuum
Dyson's first cylinder vacuum, DC02, featured the same Dual Cyclone™ technology as DC01, but was engineered to sit neatly on the stairs. A specially-designed Antarctica Solo edition to commemorate Sir Ranulph Fienne's solo trek across the icy region raised £1.8 million for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. The explorer's signature was printed on each machine.
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Year1994
A place to call home
Dyson's success meant we quickly outgrew our production site in Chippenham. Dyson's operations moved 10 miles ...
A place to call home
Dyson's success meant we quickly outgrew our production site in Chippenham. Dyson's operations moved 10 miles up the road to a vacant building in Malmesbury, formerly used by a lighting manufacturer. This campus has developed with the business and remains Dyson's UK headquarters.
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Year1993
Say goodbye to the bag
When Dyson manufactured and launched the DC01 it turned the vacuum cleaner market upside down. By 1995 it ...
Say goodbye to the bag
When Dyson manufactured and launched the DC01 it turned the vacuum cleaner market upside down. By 1995 it had become the best-selling vacuum cleaner ever produced. Its patented Dyson Dual Cyclone™ technology captured dirt and didn't lose suction. It also had a clear bin so that users could see how much dirt the vacuum collected. A revolution in home cleaning.
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Year1993
Signed, sealed, delivered
We opened our first production facility in a former Royal Mail sorting office in Chippenham, Wiltshire....
Signed, sealed, delivered
We opened our first production facility in a former Royal Mail sorting office in Chippenham, Wiltshire. The first DC01 vacuum came off the production line on 1 July 1993. In-house production was central to Dyson's control of the product from start to finish.
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Year1983
Then there was G-Force
After 3 years of development, 5,127 prototypes, and two more years trying to find a licence, James Dyson la...
Then there was G-Force
After 3 years of development, 5,127 prototypes, and two more years trying to find a licence, James Dyson launched the first ever vacuum that didn't need a bag: the G-Force. The bagless vacuum's licence had been rejected in Europe by manufacturers who feared a loss in profit from replacement bags. So instead, James was only able to sell it in Japan.
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Year1979
It all started here
James was fed up with the lousy suction on his new Hoover. He emptied the bag to try to improve it and noticed ...
It all started here
James was fed up with the lousy suction on his new Hoover. He emptied the bag to try to improve it and noticed the layers of dust inside clogging the pores. Inspired by the technology found in industrial saw mills, he rigged up a mini cyclone on his hoover at home from cardboard and gaffer tape. It cleaned the carpet much better.
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Obsessed with improvement
At Dyson we are focused on solving the problems that others have ignored; solving them first using our technology and ingenuity. In order to achieve this, we need to pioneer technologies that are different and authentic. This is the core of what we do and who we are. We must strive to create the future, every single day by developing new things, different things, things that go against the grain with a diverse and global team of ingenious minds.
Inventing the future
Dyson employs over 14,000 people and is present in more than 80 countries. And while we are growing fast, we want Dyson to remain a start-up in spirit with the freedom of experimentation and learning, constantly reinventing our products as well as reinventing how we work, how we sell and how we support our owners. At the same time, we are working through the James Dyson Foundation, James Dyson Award and Dyson Institute to inspire future engineers and pioneering a new approach to engineering education.
Unconventional
Our philosophy remains the same as it was almost 30 years ago when James Dyson invented the first cyclonic vacuum cleaner. We remain family-owned. We don’t bow to outside shareholders or report to the stock exchange. Instead we plot our own path, unshackled from conventional thinking.
Leaders not followers
When you work for Dyson, we give you the chance to do things you can’t do anywhere else. You could start out demonstrating our machines in one of our Dyson Demos and end up leading one of our commercial teams. It’s an adventure. It’s challenging, stretching and not for the faint-hearted. Underlining everything we do in this diverse environment is the need to always show respect, supporting each other as one team to overcome whatever challenges we encounter. We drive empowerment, development and equality in an inclusive environment for our people around the world.
People stories
Tom
Lead Reliability Engineer, UK
Shaping projects from start to finish
