KBzine: the original kitchen and bathroom industry e-news - since 2002
15th January 2010
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International News
Products BCG adds value to its keenly priced service with Airmiles Kitchen, bathroom and heating distributor BCG now offers its customers Airmiles against their purchases, following its launch of the travel reward scheme at the start of the year. |
Welcome to the A very international week for us on KBzine. First of all we had an email from Toronto from a householder seeking to get in touch with the Showerlux distributor in Canada. If anyone can help (and let us know) we would be obliged. We have Mail I feel like I've been searching for The Holy Grail for months. We are Torontonians from Canada. My husband, (who is blind), and I are seniors and have had an excellent set of shower doors made by Showerlux Inc. for several years. The product is still excellent but one of the catches on the top of the middle door has broken off. The doors jam, squeak, and won't function properly until it's replaced. There used to be dealerships in Toronto and surrounding areas, but all of them have been shut down. I have gone into the Showerlux website many times, tried to fax them with our request, and tried to email them. A few months ago there was even a website up with parts, that seemed to come from Germany. The email in Coventry wasn't answered, the fax wouldn't go through, nor would the telephone number I had here at the time. We've been thoroughly frustrated and don't want to discard a first rate set of doors. Meanwhile, the image below is a screen grab taken from our web stats analyser that shows recent visitor activity around the world (possibly even showing the lady who emailed us).
Updated every 15 minutes this particular snapshot shows someone reading KBzine on every continent, except for South America on this occasion. The message is: if you want to sell your products around the globe, KBzine can help you achieve this by introducing your company and its products every week - direct to the reader's Inbox. And with the exhibition season fast approaching why not ask us how KBzine can help maximise your efforts reaching the market place? Yours,
This Week's News
Tyneside firm has designs on markets worldwide
A Tyneside firm has designs on taking on the world with its range of innovative and sustainable 'Eco' products with the help of UK Trade & Investment. Cohda Design specialises in the design, manufacture and supply of innovative, contemporary products all with a focus on being sustainable. It has been summed up by the New York media as "Punk Rock ECO design”. The Gateshead firm, launched in 2006, has already gained world-wide recognition for its innovation and Eco credentials and has now signed up to UK Trade & Investment’s Passport to Export scheme in a bid to explore new markets. Richard Liddle, founder and Managing Director of Cohda Design, explains: “Our aim is to design, manufacture and supply innovative contemporary products that break down the pre-conceptions of what sustainable, innovative designs should be. “Our latest products include the Revive table legs, which are manufactured in the UK from previously redundant steel production equipment and can be attached and removed in seconds to produce a variety of permanent and semi-permanent tables. By using previously redundant tooling presses the legs save a lot of energy in manufacture, with even further energy savings when transported to customers due to the reduced weight of the designs compared to more traditional furniture. I feel like I’ve been searching for The Holy Grail for months. We are Torontonians from Canada. My husband, (who is blind), and I are seniors and have had an excellent set of shower doors made by Showerlux Inc. for several years. The product is still excellent but one of the catches on the top of the middle door has broken off. The doors jam, squeak, and won’t function properly until it’s replaced. There used to be dealerships in Toronto and surrounding areas, but all of them have been shut down. I have gone into the Showerlux website many times, tried to fax them with our request, and tried to email them. A few months ago there was even a website up with parts, that seemed to come from Germany. The email in Coventry wasn’t answered, the fax wouldn’t go through, nor would the telephone number I had here at the time. We’ve been thoroughly frustrated and don’t want to discard a first rate set of doors. National Kitchen & Bath Association reports the styles for 2010 The results are in from a recent survey of designers conducted by the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) of the US to reveal the key design trends for 2010. The results of the NKBA 2010 Kitchen & Bath Design Trends Survey confirmed the continuation of a number of existing trends in the marketplace, but also uncovered others that indicate shifts in the direction that kitchen and bath style will take this year. Below are 2010's seven kitchen trends and four bath trends: 1. Traditional is the new Contemporary: Traditional will continue as the most popular kitchen design style in 2010, with contemporary following closely behind, while the Shaker style is seeing a surprisingly strong resurgence. Shades of whites and off-whites will be the most common kitchen colors in 2010, while brown, beige, and bone hues will also be popular. 2. Cherry on top: Cherry will remain the most popular wood for kitchen cabinetry, followed closely by maple, while alder increases in use. As for the finishes placed on those cabinets, medium natural, dark natural, glazed, and white painted will all be common. Other colors of painted cabinetry and light natural finishes are in decline, however, as are distressed finishes. Digitally delicious! Belling launches interactive cookery book
Ideal for cooks of all abilities, the Belling Media Chef is the perfect kitchen accessory for those looking to create a culinary masterpiece. Pre-loaded with 48 cook-a-long demonstration recipes including three exclusive recipes from top chef, Brian Turner, the Media Chef allows the user to watch, follow and master recipes from its very own eight inch screen. It comes with a compact remote control, giving users the freedom to play, pause and rewind the demonstrations so that they can cook at their own pace. When not in use as an interactive cooking tool, the Media Chef can be used as a digital photo frame, calendar and mp3 music player. New manufacturing facility for metallic hoses Opening this month, Hydraquip's new metal hose division is located in a 6,000 sq ft modern industrial unit located in Bolton, Lancashire in the North West of England. The addition of this manufacturing facility continues and strengthens Hydraquip's position in the braided hose market and allows the company to offer a superior level of service combined with a quality product. To ensure that the high standards are met the team employed to operate this part of the business have a wealth of experience and knowledge in this field, having worked together at Flexible Hose Supplies' Bolton office for many years. During this period they have designed, manufactured and supplied metal and ptfe hose assemblies to a large and diverse customer base both in the UK and Globally providing solutions to numer Baumatic joins forces with Galaxy in series of consumer competitions
The competitions mark the nationwide launch of Galaxy's new probiotic chocolate drink, and will see Galaxy offering as a prize a month's supply of the drink, and Baumatic giving away a stylish retro-style fridge with a 4-star ice-box to the winner of each competition. The funky 50s-style fridge has an impressive A+ rating for energy efficiency, an adjustable thermostat and an auto fridge defrost function. Vado has purchased a new 22,800 sq ft warehouse in Cheddar. Situated on a 1.4 acre site, the new building effectively doubles the company's available warehousing space and also provides much needed office space for the extra two people a month being taken on! The new building will also house a recreational room for staff enjoyment, a new bank of meeting suites, plus another showroom area for customers. Sarah Williams, VADO's Commercial Director, comments: "We are committed to taking the business forward and even during these bleak financial times we are planning for a very bright future." T: +44 (0) 1934 744466 National Sleep Foundation launches air purification product for the bedroom The National Sleep Foundation of the US has partnered with Austin Air Systems, a leading indoor air cleaner manufacturer, to launch a new National Sleep Foundation-branded air purification system specifically designed for the sleep environment. The National Sleep Foundation Bedroom Machine by Austin Air is making its debut at the Big Sleep Show in Washington, DC today. Developed and designed by Austin Air, the National Sleep Foundation Bedroom Machine will use an advanced HEPA filter system, designed to remove common bedroom pollutants, such as cooking gasses, dry cleaning chemicals, and other airborne irritants and allergens. The unit was selected for use in a new Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health study on asthma and bedroom air quality and a number of University of Buffalo New brand launched: 'Trade' by Roper Rhodes
'Trade' is brought to you by the Roper Rhodes Group, the UK's renowned independent supplier of toilet seats, bath panels and bathroom furniture. As the name suggests, it aims to target trade customers and those consumers who are comfortable shopping in a trade counter environment. The new brand will be available via trade counters nationally and delivers fantastic 'value' products at unbeatable prices. "We know this market wants great value. It's all about keeping it simple they just need to know what they are buying and what the specifications are," says Zoe Jones, Marketing Communications Manager. Coolectric to cease as Viking UK importer Coolectric has announced that it will cease to distribute Viking appliances in the UK with effect from 31st March 2010. Coolectric cites the very difficult trading conditions of the last two years as a key factor in this decision. Managing Director Mark Bristow, comments: "Whilst there maybe a long term future for the Viking brand in the UK, the investment required in the short to medium term is neither sensible nor sustainable. "Coolectric will focus on its core business of supplying Liebherr refrigeration to kitchen and electrical retailers." T: 08444 122655 Freestanding induction by Amica
Amica is pleased to expand its portfolio of highly desirable cooking appliances in the UK with the 601IE3Ta, a 60cm oven which combines the versatility of freestanding with the efficiency of induction. The 601IE3Ta freestanding cooker is attractive in stainless steel and black and easy to control with knobs and an electronic programmer for simple selection. A new year and a key appointment at Kaldewei
Marc joins Kaldewei from Crown Paints where his sales record is exemplary; a major achievement being taking on management of the worse performing sales region in the country and elevating it to the top of the table within just nine months. Throughout his varied career within the building trade market, Marc has gained valuable insights from roles which include training as a painter and decorator, runn RETRA meets Chinese delegation
A delegation from a variety of Chinese government organisations recently visited retra to discuss the electrical retailing industry, particularly focusing on the services retra provides for its members, and how it develops and manages relationships between retailers, manufacturers and other parties. Merlyn Industries UK Ltd introduces National Specification Manager
Peter's 13 year sales career has been built in the contract industry and spans the leisure, flooring and bathroom sector. Peter's "pedigree" is exemplary and includes industry household names including Domus Tiles and Porcelanosa.. Black box signals U-turn in bad driver behaviour, turning White Van Man into Golden Boy The knave of Britain's highways and byways will be transformed into the king of the road by the latest technology, says mobile resource management company, Trimble MRM. The 'Driver DNA' Box can be attached to any vehicle and records where it is travelling and even how it is being driven. Trimble then sends the diagnostic information back to the business so managers can monitor bad driving habits and how well the car is running.
Delegates will hear from high profile speakers including the Minister for the Marine & Natural Environment, Huw Irranca-Davies MP and Jonathan Porritt, Director of Forum for the Future. Baroness Barbara Young, Member of the Government's Climate Change Adaptation Sub-Committee and former CEO of the Environment Agency will give the keynote speech at the gala dinner. The KBzine Archive Search We keep an extensive archive of news stories and product information that have featured in past issues of The KBzine. If you would like to run a search of the The KBzine web site using the search tool below please just go ahead by entering in the name of the person, product or company or any other key words that you are looking for. How to contact us at The KBzine:
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