Electrolux 让生活清洁起来

By Ariane Sains

Appliance maker Electrolux thinks a sharper design is the key to a better bottom line. Senior Vice-President for Global Design Henrik Otto, recruited from Volvo, believes consumers shouldn't have to waste time poring over instruction manuals to learn how to run their appliances. Features and control panels should be intuitive, he says.

To get there, the Swedish company has launched the Consumer Innovation Program, where teams made up of designers, engineers, and marketers work together from the beginning to create new products.

Johan Hjertonsson, director of the Consumer Innovation Program, says the number of new product launches has almost doubled since the program took effect. Notable hits include the Pronto combination stick/hand vacuum and the ICON wall oven.

While developing products for sale today, Electrolux also is keeping a sharp eye on the future. In last year's Design Lab contest, the company challenged university students from around the world to conjure up the home appliances of 2020. Of the more than 3,000 entries, just 12 made it to the final judging. But don't expect see any of these futuristic gadgets on store shelves any time soon.

For a look at some of Electrolux's current winners and future prospects, check out the following slides.

Ariane Sains tracks Swedish business and economics for BusinessWeek in Stockholm

The ICON wall oven, now sold in the U.S., is based on a line of professional appliances available in Europe. The oven uses convection technology, reducing the amount of time and fat needed to cook. The all-glass oven door stays cool to the touch, and a patented ball-bearing rack system allows racks to glide in and out smoothly, so your soufflé won't collapse as you take it out. The oven won the Good Design Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design in 2004.

The Oxygen 3 canister vacuum uses microfilter technology to trap allergens. Controls and accessories are located on the the handle, eliminating the need for foot pedals and bending. The brush adjusts automatically to different floor levels. The Oxygen 3 is also a looker, with a compact, round body and eye-pleasing colors. In 2005 it landed the Red Dot Design Award, one of the industry's most prestigious.

The Air Wash took first place in Electrolux's 2005 Design Lab contest for university design students. Wendy Chua and Gabriel Tan, students at the National University of Singapore, wanted this washer to look like a waterfall -- one without water. Clothes slide into the middle and are cleaned with pressurized air and negative ions instead of water and detergent, an environmentally friendly touch. There's no need for a dryer -- just grab your jeans out of the washer and throw them on. Since it doesn't use water, Air Wash can be installed anywhere, an advantage if space is tight.

The third-place winner in the Design Lab contest, Happy Feet, deploys charcoal and ultraviolet light to rid shoes of bacteria and kill off smell. Sang Hoon Park and Kim Jong Hyun, students at the Korea University of Technology and Education, designed the unit to look like a flower to reinforce the idea of freshness. Happy Feet has room for four pairs of shoes, and sensors activate the system when shoes are put on the device.

Help is on the way for consumers who can't decipher those cryptic icons on their washing machine. Washy Talky talks you through the process, right down to how much detergent you need to use. The machine was developed and launched in India. It is now being rolled out in Europe, and its maker hopes to bring it to the U.S in the future.

A dishwasher with a window? Launched in Europe in the fall of 2005, the Visi dishwasher is a product of Electrolux's new approach to design. Company engineers visited consumers at home and discovered that many would be interested in watching their dishwasher's cleaning process -- something that is already possible with washing machines. The result? A new way to enjoy a routine chore.

This is a prototype of a handheld steamer, stain remover, and freshener all rolled into one. If the cordless Breeze goes to market, it would be offered in a range of colors, with scent cartridges that could be personalized with perfume or aftershave.

With a sunny yellow drum visible through the transparent door and robin's egg blue knobs, this prototype for the Gentle Dryer aims to remind consumers of summer breezes and clothes drying on the line. The actual model would be outfitted with a special wrinkle-removing program to cut down on ironing time. Scent cartridges would also be an option.

Pronto, a hot seller in the U.S. and Europe (where it goes by the name ErgoRapido), is a combination upright vacuum and handheld unit. It comes in an array of flashy colors and is so stylish that consumers will think twice about stashing it away in the broom closet. Best of all, it is cordless, making quick clean-ups easy.