Generation 5000 - Miele

Interview with Dr. Eduard Sailer and Dr. Reto Bazzi on the Generation 5000
Simplexity and growth
Miele invested 51 million
euros in the Generation
5000 series of built-in appliances.
How were these
funds allocated?
DR. EDUARD SAILER: We invested
over 10 million euros
in a new production facility
at the Oelde works alone. The
production line for ovens is
now very fl exible and we can
manufacture over 700 different
model variations.
The lion’s share however
went into research and development.
Miele has a very large
proportion of components
in-house to ensure our excellent
quality. This means our
appliances incorporate a large
number of our own developments
that make them unique.
Electronic controls that manage
new functions such as
Moisture Plus are one example.
Design is another illustration
of our pursuit of perfection.
The design and user
interface of our ovens, steam
cookers, automatic coffee
makers and dishwashers harmonise
perfectly. This is something
we do better than any of
our competitors, since we design
and produce all the design
elements ourselves and purchase
nothing “off the rack” so
to speak.
How will a Miele oven in
2018 be different from
today’s models?
DR. EDUARD SAILER: In the
near future cookery appliances
will be increasingly individually
adjusted to suit the
needs of our customers. Cooking
habits and recipes are
strongly infl uenced by regional
differences. This will be increasingly
refl ected in the automatic
programmes designed
to cater to regional cooking
Dr. Eduard Sailer, Managing
Director Technology
styles. We already employ sensors
today in our appliances
that we can reliably monitor
with the help of dependable
automatic programmes. Future
appliances will be even
more intelligent. The challenge
will be not to overwhelm
the customer and offer easy
access to the entire range of
features. This is entailed in the
idea of “simplexity”, which is
the ability to make complex
technical processes accessible
to users via a simple user interface.
How will I communicate
with an oven in future?
DR. EDUARD SAILER: The Apple
iPhone user interface has
shown one possibility. We are
looking to make handling simpler
and more intuitive. Voice
control is another option. I
could also imagine that the
oven might communicate via
a network and be able to report
when food is done, for
example.
Dr. Reto Bazzi, Managing
Director Marketing and Sales
What is the importance of
the new built-in appliance
generation for Miele?
DR. RETO BAZZI: 40 percent of
Miele’s total sales world-wide
are from built-in appliances.
The Generation 5000 will enable
us to expand this segment
because the product range is
even more directly tailored to
meet customers’ needs. We
introduced new compact appliances
that fi t into a 45 cm
cabinet, an increasingly important
segment of some
markets. The new CombiSet
range is ideally suited to the
cooking habits of many Asian
countries. Miele developed a
particularly powerful gas
burner especially for these
markets. And we mustn’t forget
our ovens with the innovative
Moisture Plus function
and their fl agship 90 cm wide
model. An entire series of
product features and the homogenous
design of our appliances
are unique selling points
customers can only find at
Miele. The “Poggenpohl Porsche
Design Kitchen” with its
exclusive appliance series is
further proof of our design
competence. Technically the
appliances here were based on
the Generation 5000.
Miele has always stood for
quality and longevity. What
sort of meaning do these
virtues have in today’s fastpaced
world?
DR. RETO BAZZI: Miele today
stands for a triad comprised of
quality, design and innovation.
We are successful because
these values are in complete
harmony. We test our appliances
for a 20 year life span
and that will never change.
Even if customers don’t use
their appliances that long and
decide to purchase a new
model in just ten years, a Miele
appliance provides a feeling of
security from the very first
day. You know you have got
the best value for your money.
We call this “peace of mind”.
Where do you see further
growth potential?
DR. RETO BAZZI: I am certain
that Miele will continue to
grow by conquering new markets
and with product innovations
like the Generation
5000. Care and cleaning products
are a new area being offered
for the fi rst time in many
countries as the Generation
5000 is introduced. These
products are designed to best
suit Miele appliances and ensure
optimal results. Luxury
ocean yachts are another interesting
area. Miele is already
on board many yachts and
ships the world over. We are
looking to offer expanded
service in this area by continuing
to develop sales and marketing
structures.
Miele The Magazine // 47
INTERVIEW