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CLEAN LIFESTYLE Where Efficiency Turns Into Performance Royal Appliance adapts to radical changes in eco-labelling for vacuum products Michael Grefkes Director Marketing & Product Management, Royal Appliance International (…) the show in 2014 - especially in the floor care area - will be dominated by the ecolabel EUROPEAN ECO-LABEL Royal Appliance International is a fully owned subsidiary of the TTI Group and is responsible for marketing cleaning and floor-care devices under the brands of Dirt Devil and VAX in the European market. This year the group’s products are on show in a new location at IFA – Hall 3.1 stand 102. We asked Director Marketing & Product Management Michael Grefkes, what the main thrust is this year We are presenting a whole range of new products and the slogan for this show is “Where efficiency turns into performance”. We selected this slogan because the show in 2014 - especially in the floor care area - will be dominated by the eco-label, which has been introduced on September 1. The label is of course a legal restriction, which we clearly follow - and all of our products will be compliant to this eco-legislation. But for us, it is more than just having an eco-label. It's about products that not only comply with the legal requirements, but can do the job for the consumer better with higher performance. We are not just vacuum cleaner manufacturers; we are specialists for cleaning and floor care. We are also entering completely new The European Ecolabel was created in 1992. It is the only official label of its kind available in all member countries of the European Union. It is issued in France by AFNOR Certification, independent certifying organisation, as well as by ADEME.The Community Eco-label is based on the principle of a “global approach” product categories - for instance air purifiers, which we did not have until now. For us it's important to keep our core competency but also to add categories that are about cleaning in general. Which product categories are evolving the fastest? Cleaning overall is a growing category. Bagless cleaners, robots and stick vacs are the fastest growing products. And we see very strong demand for cordless products. At IFA we have the premiere for the VAX air cordless. The Vax Air Cordless is a high performance stick vac: very powerful, lightweight and cordless with a run time up to 50 minutes. It’s a bagless machine with a 1 L dust cup, meaning users don't have to empty it every 10 minutes. that considers the lifecycle of the product from raw materials extraction, manufacturing, distribution, and use to recycling or disposal after use. The quality and use of the product are also considered. This brand/label satisfies both: the need for reliable information on the ecological quality of products or services, the wishes of companies to enhance their How is technology evolving with the onset of the new ECO labelling and regulations you mentioned before? The investment in the optimisation and improvement of efficiency of the products is really very, very important. Our engineers have done a great job in developing machines with excellent suction and low energy consumption. They improved the product in several areas which will not be seen by the consumer immediately. We had to change the motor, but then had to optimise the whole system - the airflow, the seals, the filters and so on. We also had to design completely new floor tools to be able to get the best performance on hard floor or carpets. So it's not only about changing the motor, restricting the power of the products or the energy consumption, it's all about a highly efficient airflow, where different elements need to be changed and improved on a continuous basis. How important is IFA as a platform for your business and how do you leverage the show? For us IFA is the global event in the consumer electronics industry. It's not just a German event, even though it's on German ground. For us, it's a European event and we are seeing more and more international customers coming to the show, visiting us at the booth. It's the best global opportunity to present our new products and concepts to the international audience. efforts in environmental protection, through labelled products or services. The European Eco-label applies to products and services for consumers or business users. It can be used for products and services that meet the criteria specified in the certification standards for each category. FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE www.ecolabels.fr Hall 3.1 Stand 102 www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Saturday 6 th & Sunday 7 th September 2014 25
