Government legislative imposts due to an imperative to significantly reduce energy usage is a key driver in the design and manufacture of today’s commercial and residential vacuum cleaners. Visiting Nilfisk Advance group product manager Malene Kappel told INCLEAN that, “EU ERP regulations and labelling have resulted in lower wattage machines delivering fantastic dust and dirt pick-up results.”
Energy Rating of Products (ERP) was introduced for vacuum cleaners in the EU last September and there will be even stronger energy usage regulations coming into force in 2017.
Kappel, who was an ‘International Nilfisk Presenter’ at Nilfisk Australia’s Dealer Conference held in mid-January, has been with the Nilfisk Advance Group for some six years as manager of the company’s vacuum cleaner portfolio.
She has a wealth of marketing experience having previously worked for corporates including Bang & Olufsen Medicom and Qvortrup Medical.
In her international role, Kappel needs to recognise and satisfy disparate market needs, from Europe, which is very much a canister territory, through to the upright dominated US. Australia sits somewhere in between with demand for both types of vacs.
Nilfisk has its own manufacturing facilities for commercial vacuum cleaners in Hungary and China, complemented with design input from various countries including the company’s Denmark headquarters and the US.
Kappel’s key model presentation focuses at the Nilfisk dealer event were the VP600 canister and VU500 upright.
“The VP600 reflects today’s demand for lower energy consumption; quieter operation for day cleaning; and operator ease-of-use,” Kappel pointed out.
The VP600, with HEPA exhaust filter as standard, has a 350 watt motor that can be power-boosted to 800 watts. Even at the lower level the machine delivered demonstrable suction performance, impressing a tough audience of seasoned dealers.
Innovation is an overused word but the VP600’s ‘modularity system’ was well received. It offers three different cord connections being standard fixed, detachable and a rewind. The Australian offering will be the detachable and the rewind.
Turning to the upright, the VU500 is said to deliver exceptional cleaning performance in an easy to use, easy to maintain upright vacuum that is designed to withstand stringent environmental requirements.
“Automatic, self-adjusting brush height ensures proper cleaning performance and maximum productivity when cleaning different floor surfaces,” explained Kappel. “Its Advance Radius Turning System delivers exceptional manoeuverability to optimise operator efficiency,” she added.
The VU500 features three-stages of filtration, including HEPA, and it meets the US’s LEED requirements with CRI Seal of Approval (Silver) and low sound levels.