Special Feature Health
Special Feature Health and Wellbeing IFA 2010… Feels great! Health and wellbeing growing fast as a “new” consumer sector Companies with health and well-being products at IFA say the sector is growing fast, as consumers seek the “feel good factor”. Proof in the importance of this growth is a change in paradigm for Sharp. The company recently changed the title of what was its “Appliance System Group”, to become the “Health and Environment Systems Group”. The company had already been making white goods for more than 50 years, and while in Germany they are only beginning to market their products, their background goes back a long way. In Eastern Europe, Italy, Spain and France, they are already known for such things as their fridges, but, as department general manager Kevin Ogasawara explains, the general thrust of sales is changing. Kiyoto (Kevin) Ogasawara, Department General Manager, International Product Planning Department, Health and Environment Systems Group – Sharp When we changed the name, it was a kind of commitment to health and the environment. We are working towards energy saving and a healthier life for people using our devices, thanks to such things as our Plasma Cluster technology. This technology refreshes the air and disables bacteria. It’s all about making a better life for the consumer. We have seen that Plasma Cluster technology is being used in your air filters and air conditioners as well as your fridges. Could you tell us more about it? Certainly. Thanks to this technology, our air purifiers are able to quickly and powerfully clean the air of an entire room by removing airborne allergens and substances. The plasma discharge generates and emits the same positive and negative ions that occur in nature, so they can be generated in high density in a living environment. The positive and negative ions adhere to the surfaces of suspended airborne microbes and form highly oxidising hydroxide radicals that physically break down and remove the proteins on the surfaces of these microbes. Safety data gathered by the Mitsubishi Chemical Safety Institute on this technique has included skin irritation and corrosion tests, eye irritation and corrosion tests and inhalation toxicity tests. The Plasmacluster Ions are able, for example, to cut through and remove proteins in suspended allergens generated by dust mite faeces and dead mites, reducing their effects; they cut through and remove the cell membrane proteins on suspended mould surfaces, inhibiting their effects; they break down and remove the spike-shaped proteins of suspended viruses, reducing their effects. Plasmacluster ions remove hydrogen from adhering odour molecules, breaking down and removing odour. What areas is this technology being used in? Our Plasmacluster technology is used in many applications, such as air sanitation devices, home central air conditioning, ion lighting, smoking area systems, toilets with bidet seats and ion duct conveyance systems, just to name a few. You are demonstrating your air filters at IFA. Are these available in Europe? Yes, they are currently available, but we are still looking for different new channels to market. Hall 18 Stand 102 Onset of Wellness Philips continue to push well-being products such as their “wake-up lights” and personal care products into the market, while anyone touring the stands in the white goods section will note massage products from Medisana and Homedics, and air and water filters as well as electronic bidets from Woongjin Coway. Jamie Faulkner, European Marketing Director for are looking to try to tell a complete wellness story. We want to not only expand the massage area that we are in at the moment, but to move into other areas such as sensory products. It’s all about the environment around the person when they are relaxing. If they are having a massage, then lights sounds and aromatherapy all come in to improve that environment.” electronics company in Korea, and is the leader in that area when it comes to well-being products. The company’s overseas business unit general manager, Justin Sim tells us that their air purifiers are particularly popular among buyers this year. “We have the solution for those who simply want fresh air and those who need clean air for respiratory problems”, says Mr Sim. Coway will no doubt be taking on added importance in Europe as they have announced the opening of their first European head office, in the Italian city of Milan. Coway Hall 3.1 Stand 203 Medisana Hall 3.1 Stand 201a Homedics told us “It’s our second year at IFA, and we Woongjin Coway pertains to be the third biggest Philips Hall 22 Stand 101 Homedics Hall 5.1 Stand 203 30
Special Feature My beautiful laundry Hall 3.1 Stand 101 The latest clothes washing technology at IFA combines quality with energy-saving They consume precious resources in the form of both water and electricity, but washing machines and dryers are also where some of the most innovative new technologies and ideas are happening. IFA International looks at a selection of some of the latest products. By Gary Smith Studies show that too much or too little detergent is used 90% of the time. This is bad news for the laundry, the environment, and the household budget. So Bosch has introduced an innovation that makes it virtually impossible to get it wrong. I-DOS is an intelligent, fully automatic dosing system, which will be available with the latest models of the Logixx8 range later this year. There are tangible benefits for the environment, for which too much detergent is just as damaging as the excessive water consumption that results from additional rinsing. Bosch’s new Avantixx range provides innovative and efficient laundry care for the high-performance segment. Along with a variety of automatic washing machines, the range includes one all-rounder, the new Avantixx 7 Wash&Dry washer dryer. This integrated appliance is a fully-featured premium washing machine and an advanced condenser dryer in a single package, boasting first-class consumption figures and outstanding washing and drying results. The Bosch Avantixx 7 is the only washer dryer on the market that needs no extra water for the drying cycle. Typically, washer dryers draw cold fresh water to help condense the moisture out of the air circulating through the machine. Bosch’s novel condensation technology, however, manages with nothing more than cool air, which the machine sucks in from outside through a fan to mix with the moist internal air. Overall, the machine reduces water consumption for 7kg of laundry washed and dried on the standard programme – all of it used by the washing cycle – to 57 litres. The machine’s electricity consumption figures are just as impressive, a mere 0.81 kWh per kilogram of laundry washed and dried. The Gorenje RedSet WA 72145 RD washing machine featuring an AquaStop function has a striking appearance as well as The WA72145RD by Gorenje. Hall 2.1 Stand 101 The new Avantixx 7 Wash&Dry by Bosch housing technology with an AAA rating, which accounts for this machine's ranking among the most efficient in the market. A raft of technological improvements mean that this appliance uses up to 20% less power than stipulated by the A-class standards, and no more than 49 litres of water per cycle. Miele’s SteamCare technology applies steam to laundry in the washing machine drum and offers two practical benefits. Textiles are smoothed, reducing the need for ironing by up to 50%, and the function can also be used to refresh garments. According to a survey carried out by the Berlin Institute for Social Research, ironing is one of the most unpleasant chores in any household so SteamCare technology from Miele addresses a real need. A water tank with its own separate steam generator allows steam to be applied both continuously and in pulses, or a combination of the two. This allows the application of steam to be geared to textiles, ensuring the gentle care of even the most delicate garments www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Wednesday, 8 th September 2010 31
