Soft Clean EBK 360 is Great for Mohawk Carpeting
The communication between the manufacturers of
carpets and those of vacuum cleaners has always suffered, causing their
relationship to be a rather dysfunctional one based on an easily identifiable
pattern. In fact, it has always been a chase, with the latter constantly
fearing being left behind. Every new initiative carpet manufacturers have ever
taken has had an immediate response from vacuum cleaner manufacturers.
Both of
them have always been driven by their purpose to respond to the needs of their
end users, but they did not seem to realize it for years. In fact, what they
did not realize was that they could achieve even greater things if only they
communicated properly. Thus, for a very long time, carpet manufacturers would
focus solely on making carpets that would lure their customers with better
performances, longer life expectancies and more beautiful designs. On the other
hand, vacuum cleaner manufacturers would focus solely on improving the cleaning
performance of their products.
Coming back to the cleaning challenges posed by the
modern soft carpets, some cleaning equipment manufacturers have had a much
easier job than others. Wessel-Werk is a clear example of the privileged
position some have benefited from. Their built their entire manufacturing
process starting from the EBK 360 power brush, which is their latest proposition
in terms of power brushes. In fact, this part has proved to be so much more
than that, making a huge impact on the profile market. The reasons are quite
obvious. Wessel-Werk’s EBK 360 power brush produces great power to ensure an
impeccable cleaning performance on carpets of different heights and does so for
prices calculated to suit all end users, regardless of their financial
possibilities. Although the response to this power brush was a very good one,
the manufacturer decided to improve it even further and designed the Soft-Clean
version, which is now available for sale. As expected, this has led to the
introduction of Soft-Clean pieces on canister and central vacuum cleaners alike.
Basically, this was that first step that needed to be taken for the two
industries to start developing a transparent and fully collaborative
relationship which would open new doors for them to serve the best interests of
their end users. Somehow, it acted as the push they needed to realize that they
often share not only a purpose, but a wide range of other aspects as well which
starts at their target demographics.
Unfortunately, this adversity between the two
industries has marked their evolution over time, rising problems on a regular
basis for over forty years now. It all started with ASTM and their launch of
testing protocols which the manufacturers of commercial and residential vacuum
cleaners operating on the profile market at the time took advantage of. This
initiative turned vacuum cleaners into the most sought after appliances of the
time. However, the advertising campaigns behind them were rather inconsistent
with the reality, so the need for a regulatory commission was evident. This led
to the foundation of the ASTM F11 Committee on Vacuums, but it lacked
objectivity too, issuing standards while ignoring the needs and requests of
carpet manufacturers completely. As expected, this stirred quite a reaction from
carpet manufacturers, although only a few years later. They set up the Carpet
and Rug Institute (CRI) in order to be able to tip the balance in their favor,
which they did, first through their cleanability protocols and then through
their appearance retention ones. Moreover, they created a rating system and a
paid approval system for cleaner manufacturers, thus excluding the cleaning
equipment manufacturers from their business. This is the history behind the Green
Label program and the Seal of Approval program initiated by the Carpet and Rug
Institute back in 2000 and 2005, respectively.
As far as the actual products are concerned, the
early 2000s brought along the California Shags which were incompatible with
most of the power brushes then available on the market because of the long yarn
which usually got entangled around the brushroll. Then, the mid 2000s brought
along the frieze carpets. Today, the market is faced with the challenges of
ultra-soft carpets which are bigger in every sense but only serve to promote
them as a central piece of the market in the long term. In the end, the secret
to success is proactivity, especially when it comes to developing new products.
However, it is usually threatened by the element of surprise, which explains
the overall activity of cleaner manufacturers. The sales numbers are the most
eloquent. While they were rather reasonable with the former two types of
carpets, they skyrocketed with the latter. In other words, soft carpets have
long outrun their predecessors in terms of popularity, which has spread to both
consumers and manufacturers. The competition between carpet manufacturers has
been fierce over the past ten years with each of them trying to develop the
softest carpet. So far, the leader is Mohawk with their carpet design which
banks not only on an outstandingly soft texture, but also on durability. As
expected, the offer is extremely diversified, soft carpets being available in a
wide range of weights, textures and styles. However, the cleaning demands still
stand out as the main problem with this new trend in the carpeting industry.
At the same time, though, things are looking up on a
collaborative level because of this very problem. The extraordinary challenges
posed by the modern soft carpets appear to be the common denominator that can
bring the carpet manufacturing and the vacuum cleaner manufacturing industries
together. Carpet manufacturers seem to finally understand that they need good
cleaning equipment while vacuum cleaner manufacturers are putting much more
effort into understanding the demands of soft carpets so as to be able to
provide viable cleaning solutions. In fact, the ASTM F11 Committee on Vacuums
has initiated a new program on Research/Evaluation of New Floor Covering. What
is also impressive in the present context is that the committee has been
tackling this collaboration issue directly by integrating a significant number
of professionals from various fields, including carpet and vacuum cleaner
manufacturing. As already mentioned, this level of collaboration was impossible
to achieve a few years back.
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