Posts Tagged ‘New Products’

Marc Nover, President of BLANCO America

2009 was a year to remember (and an economy to forget about)! Despite the tough economic climate, BLANCO’s strong financial position, geographic diversity and quality (German-made) products allowed us to leverage every opportunity for long-term growth. And we’ve succeeded. The changes made in 2009 are already impacting our positive sales numbers moving into 2010.

BLANCO introduced 69 innovative new products in 2009 – including STELLAR, PERFORMA, ARCON™, PRECISION™ 16”, MicroEdge™ (FLOW™) and SILGRANIT® II! We launched the exclusive STEELART® brand at K/BIS (Kitchen and Bath Industry Show) – BLANCO STEELART represents the pinnacle of handcraftsmanship and precision technology in sink design.

These new products were extremely well received by the design community. MicroEdge won significant design awards including a Red Dot award for FLOW, Good Design Award, Professional Builder’s Top 100 Most Innovative Products, K+BB’s Product Innovator Awards and Interior Design’s Best of Year. SILGRANIT II was picked as one of Better Homes & Gardens’ Top Products of 2009. In all, we received about 50 million press impressions in 2009 in TV, radio, online and print. More than 5x the exposure we received in 2008.

From a quiet, but competent family-owned company since 1925, BLANCO has emerged as a solid worldwide leader for innovation, quality and design in the sink and faucet business.

So what’s new for 2010?

We have another fantastic year planned for 2010. And while 2009 will be a hard act to follow as far as new product introductions – we will be launching eco-friendly green products including water-saving faucets as well as some interesting surprises. We have new sink designs and colors that are so “on trend” – they’ve already won international design awards in Europe. BLANCO will also launch a new line of faucets that affirm their status as the jewel of the kitchen. And a new, improved website that will make it easier to find products, specs and information on everything BLANCO. Several existing new products will continue to lead our Designer-focused collections including STEELART-MicroEdge, ARCON, FLOW, PRECISION 16” (R0 and R10) – and we plan to participate in both K/BIS (Chicago, April) and ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair, NYC, May). We have much to be thankful for and much to look forward to in 2010 as we continue to grow as a company and as a brand.

BLANCO continues to garner news coverage for awards won (Red Dot, Professional Builder Top 100 New Products) as well as for launching innovative new styles and technologies. In a year where many competitors kept their heads down, BLANCO has earned over 45 million PR impressions!

Below, please enjoy our latest public relations hits from Houston House & Home, KBDN, HousingZone.com, Professional Builder, Professional Remodeler, iReport, Surroundings and K+BB. MicroEdge™, FLOW™ and SILGRANIT® II are just some of the new products making headlines.

Houston House & Home featured SILGRANIT II in its Recession Redo's.

SILGRANIT II is what's new in KBDN.

MicroEdge as featured on HousingZone.com for being a top 100 product.

MicroEdge as featured in Professional Builder

MicroEdge as featured in Professional Remodeler for Top 100 New Products Award.

This trend article about BLANCO sinks appeared in Houston Chronicle and on CNN's iReport.

Metropolitan Home Showtime Kitchen with BLANCO appeared on the design blog Surroundings.

K+BB featured BLANCO's Red Dot award-winning FLOW sink.

MicroEdge wins 100 Best New Product Award.

BLANCO is the proud recipient of  Professional Builder’s 100 Best New Products Award. Blanco is awarded this top honor for its brilliantly sleek MicroEdge sink technology. MicroEdge’s unique, ultra fine rim gives this top-mounted sink a flush look that’s easy to install and to keep clean.

Professional Builder’s 100 Best New Products Award recognizes the most noteworthy new products introduced each year. The editors’ choices are based on technological advancement, significant product improvement, new product line introduction and increasing the competition of a product line. All of the winning products are featured in the September issue of Professional Builder.

“We are honored to receive the Professional Builder’s award,” says Tim Maicher, Director of Marketing for BLANCO, Inc.  “Being recognized in such a way is truly humbling and further strengthens our on-going commitment towards excellence. Our MicroEdge sink is the first breakthrough in stainless steel sink design since the introduction of the undermount sinks more than 10 years ago – and to be awarded by Professional Builder for all our hard work is an achievement we are grateful for.”

About MicroEdge Technology:

MicroEdge’s unique ultrafine (1.25mm) rim gives this sink its near seamless edge – an exacting finish so demanding, only BLANCO could make it a reality. Expressed with brilliant precision, MicroEdge elevates the sink to a stunning centerpiece, the perfect way to accentuate the richness of dramatic stone, warm wood or other dynamic surfaces. MicroEdge top-mounted sinks can be positioned easily and secured with mounting clips or alternatively, can be installed as a traditional flushmounted sink by an experienced solid surface specialist. Available in a wide range of 17 sink styles in four design families, MicroEdge retails starting at $850.

We want to share some exciting preparations for this year’s K/BIS in Atlanta next week. BLANCO is introducing an unprecedented 69 new products (30 STEELART® sinks and 39 BLANCO sinks – including 19 new forms and 20 SILGRANIT® II SKUs). The new booth will be simply stunning, with a fully functional SILGRANIT II test area – challenging designers to scratch the sink. This lively hands-on demonstration area will undoubtedly become the highlight of this year’s exhibition hall. Running water kitchen vignettes and gorgeous product showcases for STEELART and MicroEdge™ will be sure to draw designer, dealer and media attention.

STEELART is being relaunched as a true brand – moving us from a product to portfolio, from a shape to true design, from renown status to INDUSTRY LEADER, from friend of the designer to a designer resource.

STEELART is a powerful leading brand... a true design resource for customers and designers alike!!!

Prior to the show, we mailed a Scratch-Test Challenge Kit to designers to drive further traffic to K/BIS and to the BLANCO booth. The ingenious kit offers designers their own test fork and is a strong visual/physical tool that reinforces SILGRANIT II’s strengths while inviting them to participate at the BLANCO booth.

Scratch-Test Challenge Kit mailed to designers.

While at the show, we are leveraging the booth to its full advantage by hosting a Satellite Media Tour. Janice Costa, editor for Kitchen and Bath Design News, will broadcast live via satellite to over 200 TV and Radio morning shows (including THE DAILY BUZZ). Janice will be featuring some of the hottest new products at K/BIS and the first product on her hit parade will be BLANCO’s SILGRANIT II. We will be receiving a podcast of the show following K/BIS and we’ll share it here with you.

A booth tour video will be available after K/BIS for you to present to customers.

If that wasn’t exciting enough, we are also filming a K/BIS booth tour with Janice after her live broadcasts are completed. The booth tour will be available to you to present to clients who were unable to go to K/BIS this year. If they didn’t go to the show, we’ll bring the show to them! Your clients will be able to witness all of the new product buzz and experience the hands-on test area.

Buzz is the word for K/BIS. While some may be intent to focus on the anticipated lower attendance – we’ve choosen to fully leverage this opportunity to shine and position BLANCO for the future. Whether our customers (or consumers) are at the show or not – we’re tapping into the power of video to share the experience with them. In addition, we have over 40 media outlets touring the booth and the reach of those potential press hits will drive sales long after K/BIS is over. Importantly, we’ve choosen to set our sights on asking for the order. For those who have committed to their business and are going to K/BIS – we will be there to ask for the sale and to support their needs. Just as you are opening doors in your own markets.