We will attending to the next STRATEGICAL WORKSHOP related the HABITAT cluster in Barcelona area. Looking for adding value to the products according last international trends. It will be the next 21 september.

Speaker; Mr. Joan Martí in charge about clusters at ACC1Ó

Stimulo look for next collaboration with local organizations to promote design, creativity and innovation.

>>> I want lo learn more about Consell Comarcal

Client: El Torrent Lighting
Country: Spain
Sector: lighting
Year of execution: 2009

El Torrent Il.luminacío is a lighting company has a long experience in decorative lighting, desk lamps both as suspension and wall.The new EU regulations are causing changes within the sector and an exponential increase of LED technology who has generated new opportunities for brands like El Torrent.

Strategy>>> from concept to production
Our challenge is to develop a new range of lamps that incorporate this new technology  to control the light, keeping the character decorative that identifies the current products,  El Torrent lighting  DNA. This new product incorporates a bigger effort from the engineering side than incandescent or compact lamps, therefore requires some technical solutions both in terms of efficiency and constructive light. El Torrent contracts Stimulo to apply this technology to its new products, minimizing the risk at stages of development and industrialization. The ultimate goal is to approach to a bigger market, specially contract projects for hotels and restaurants expanding the international character of the brand.

Conceptualization >>> elegant and unique
From Stimulo we understand that LED new technology allow us new technical and aesthetical solutions, specially at the top shade. From the beginning we focus on the shade structure;  rather than fill the space traditionally reserved to the lightbulb we propose to keep the space empty. Only the Light is the main character so the structure almost disapear when it’s switch off. Using warm textile fabrics and a dimmer to control the light intensity we surprise users with a warm and pleasent light.

Development >>> lumens and trends
In any lighting project the Light is the most important. In the case of LED’s is even more important because technology is constantly evolving. To achieve a standard of lighting efficiency  we have collaborated with a lighting engineering with a huge experience and knowledge in the LED lighting field . The result is a flexible type of LED that provide 20W of power.During the TREBOLA project new industrials and suppliers bring new and creative solutions in a sector tradicionally very close. As a result TREBOLA has an innovative structure.

Implementation>>> optimization continues
The implementation efforts focused on a permanet advisory with the technical department of the company to optimize the product for its mass production. As usual, this is a continuous process resulting in improved operations, material savings, improved processes of assembly, etc..

Results

A new product that incorporates more sustainable and efficient solutions on the environment, together with important technical contributions both functional and technical, with an innovative image. These points make El Torrent Lighting in a very competitive advantage in front the market:
> A technically more advanced product
> Fits in the national and international market
> Strengthen your brand positioning, associating the brand to positive values by the market such as energy saving and safety (cold light)
> Setting product and company a values, DNA, applicable to future ranges and collections

If you want to find us during our summer vacation, perhaps you can use the following map…
And in case you have a pannic attack, don’t worry because we will still have someone in the studio.
Enjoy your vacation!

Strategy>>> What could we do with our resources?
This was the question that Mr. Victor Lin, manager of AMICA company ask to us in the way to find new opportunities for his company to grow up in other sectors. Acording to him we can control the distribution channel, all the productive infrastructure in China, with injectors,  double injection processes, materials like elastomer plastic, and of course, the advantages of Chinese giant: the low cost labor. The firm AMICA until now had been virtually focus entirely to the production of lighters and accessories for the smoker, but their growth potential was limited, and risk inherent in the dependence of a few powerful clients. Their needs were obvious: what products could we develop according our skills to explore and reach other sectors?

Conceptualization>>> The Potential of Creativity
The project to develope is very ambitious, so we propose to Mr. Victor to join forces with our French partner DesignPool. In terms of creativity we are using a tool that we call Design Deployment. It’s a powerful new tool for raising creative development scenarios, generating new ideas, classify all of them to show them later to customers. Main goal to use DEPLOYMENT is to generate an enriquiement session with the entire team, plus some external collaborators invited for the occasion, which evaluate and enrich the ideas with their own comments and views. After this quick judgment from different perspectives (production, marketing, sales, strategy, etc.), we take decision about what ideas have more chance of success, which ones remained on standby and which ones will be processed in the future.

Development>> Development Plan in the short / medium term
As a result of this creative laboratory, we make a selection of concepts to fix projects planning . In short-term we stard developing around 15 products working around 15 products simultaneously, and a similar amount of proposals keep in stand by to develop in the medium term. All these proposals have particular concepts innovations, always using materials such as elastomers as a key element (this process fit specially to AMICA), and other features that make them attractive to companies in the promotional sector. We pay special attention to optimization products in terms of using less material and minimmum pieces to help and simplify manufacturing operations, reducing the maximum cost of products. The team is prouded to realise in less than least 3 months, a new line of products.

Implementation>>> launch
Meanwhile production was seting up the new production lines of products, Stimulo assumed all tasks related to product communication . New products becomed into stars; according this status we organize several photo sessions to explain clearly their competitive advantages. After unify all communication area , was designing a range of low cost packaging for each product, a catalog and a new website. Stimulo also designed the booth of the fair HKG transportable, where the products were presented in society.

Results

> Caught the attention and received new orders from major customers of the promotional sector.
> PIntroduce successfully in the industry in record time.
> Positioning AMICA as a company able to create, develop and innovate new products, not only as a manufacturer

“Within a year AMICA past from a simple manufacturing company, a strategically one, able to develop innovative products tailored to our customers.”

Victor Lin
General director.
Amica Techmatch

Strategy >>> Market opportunity
Promeba Company raises us to develop a new emergency evacuation chair. They are chairs that the law obliges to place in ambulances, and are used to evacuate patients from building without elevator.
It is a complex product and the demand is low, therefore production series are short and high price.  The market leader is a product manufactured in the United States that has a proven quality but an excessive price. And that is precisely the business opportunity that Promeba detects. Create a new Chair with similar or better features than the existing one, but at a cost which is expected to be reduced by 50%.

Conceptualization > > > agile and reliable
Due to the nature of the project, it is considered that the user must be in the central axis of the development process. An ergonomic study was conducted in order to get a more convenient, more efficient and a safer chair. Conceptualization tasks were focused on obtaining a lightweight product and easy handling, to achieve an agile product that reduces the reaction time of rescue for the personnel. Fruit of the study of the product cycle use, was also decided to create a collapsible tubular structure that allows you to store the product without losing stability when used. Regarding aesthetic is intended to strike a balance between a strong and agile image by using a benchmarking of related sectors such as strollers for children, golf carts, wheelchairs for disabled people, etc

Development > > >   strength made in Spain
In order to minimize costs, the company decided to work only with materials and processes that the company dominates and outsource only pieces of foam backrest and seat. Structure is constructed from standard tube, and to save manufacturing operations and to win rigidity at the same time, was decided to use castings injected aluminum pieces which act as a link between the tubes. Via parametric software, mobile chair (kinetic analysis) parts were made, detecting the most unfavorable cases and calculating the efforts that the pieces should support under maximum load conditions. Thanks to the 3D was possible to reduce the development times to 4 weeks and the total time until the completion of the prototype just reached 3 months, significantly cutting the time to market.

Implementation > > >   Continuous optimization

The deployment tasks were focused on the continuous advice to the company’s technical department to optimize the product for its serial production. As usual, this is a continuous process which leads to improvement operations, savings in material, improvements in assembly processes, etc. Regarding communication, stimulo generated high quality virtual images to edit promotional material for trade fairs of the sector.

Results

A new product that incorporates important technical solutions to both functional and technical, with an innovative image, and at a price significantly lower than the competition, which leaves PROMEBA in a situation of competitive advantage versus the market:

> It’s a technically advanced product.
> Adapted to the national market.
> Reduced costs by 50%.
> Remarkable increase in demand.

“Stimulo is in charge about all the technical development, this is one of advantatge for PROMEBA of working with Stimulo. We share the same 3D softwares so they know how to optimize the design to streamline the production “

Miquel Manaut. Technical Director. PROMEBA.

Strategy > > > Challenge: questioning the cooler market!
Juan Ramón, commercial director of PICSA, came to the meeting with an experimental prototype of a new system to cool water inside the bottle. Looking carefully, set us the following challenge: “we have patented the system, but we need help to transform the idea into a product!”

In the past 40 years, the water cooler sector has evolved very little, never adressing the serious problem of the sanitation. Enterprises have to assume high maintenance costs to address the risk posed by poisoning the consumer. But PICSA has an alternative that solves this problem very easily: cooling water within its own packaging through a cold plate.

Conceptualization > > > Office or home?
The main requirement of the product is to make it able to integrate into both offices and kitchens, the latter being the space featuring the greater difficulty, since space is limited. Therefore, the concept was created adapting it to household sector trends. It is a compact product, dimensions surprisingly low, taking into account that it contains 10 liters of cold water. It is suitable for home environment and closely linked to products in the water sector. It uses cool colors, smooth surfaces to facilitate cleaning, and an outstanding ventilation systems to promote the image of power in the equipment.

 Design>>> Appealing and Functional
In order to become the shortest counter-top water-cooler in the market we had to make an effort to reduce the height to the minimum. The final dimensions are possible thanks to the fact that the bottle is placed horizontally, so the machine doesn’t need to be excessively tall. This is great news if you want to sell this product in the domestic market.Surfaces are continuous, resulting in a compact rounded shape, only interrupted to lay out the air vents and the dispenser cap. Colours are cold blue, clearly linking the product to the water field.When the design was ready, a User Reaction Test was conducted among clients, sales men and suppliers. PICSA was really happy to find out that most people found it extremely appealing

Development>>> The crystallization in a high performance product
Development was conducted entirely in China. Stimulo temporarily moved their Engineering Department to the factory in order to carry out the technical development of the apparatus. This substantially reduces implementation time and implicit risk telephone communications or via email. After adjustments, the design received the approval from the customer and proceeded through software 3D, the definition of the internal structure on which is mounted cold group and the contact plate. And the geometry of the parts that make up the outer shells was also defined on that basis. With the help of DfMA systems, streamlined processes, minimal handling and assembly operations were optimized to contain the cost to the minimum. Two functional prototypes were conducted to compare physical and functional aspects, and test the performance of the system cold.

Industrialisation> > > From prototype to mass production
The approval of the prototype, gives the green light to the factory to perform a pre-production, which optimizes the production line and the finishing touches to the product  to improve performance and production aspects.With the help of DfMA systems, strea-mlined processes, minimal handling and assembly operations were optimized to contain the cost to the minimum. Two functional prototypes were conducted to compare physical and functional as-pects, and test the performance of the cooling system.

Implementation > > > Introducing the new cooler to the market 
Stimulo designed the packaging, assembled the instruction manuals, and took responsability for communication tasks. Stimulo issued press releases, designed catalogues and stands for Alimentaria fair 2006 and the London AVEX 2007. Finally, the project was ready for mass production.

Results

> Excellent reception at the Alimentaria Fair 2006  and at the AVEX 2007, where the new ecobot system got the attention of the sector.
> Product Award in the “Cooler Innovation Awards 2007″ held in London (second prize).
> Ways of collaboration are established with internationally recognized company for the distribution of the product.

“The degree of commitment and the willingness shown by stimulo greatly exceeded  our expectations. More than a few suppliers, are now partners.”
Juan Ramón Déniz
Commercial Director
PICSA

Stimulo takes a step forward in its internationalization process by opening an office in the golden financial district of Guangzhou. An extremely well conditioned building at the heart of the Chinese city.

The main goals are to give a better service to its Asian clients and to increase its presence in the Chinese market.

10 AM

Shenzhen, China

Eva is waiting for me at the front door at city of Design Technological Park in Central Park, Shenzhen. The event starts in a few minutes but we talk about how City of Design supports designers and creative community to grow up their business; as a visitor you have the opportunity to see innovative award-winning works, the latest industrial design products, patented products and noble brands from Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Today the main event is the Shenzhen & Shanghai Culture Industry Collaboration, Double City Symposium. The most interesting is the open speech between several professionals about the current design situation in China. After the celebration we walk around the Park looking for all the facilities. City of Design main goals are:

- Promote Manufacturing through design

- Enhance brand awareness by innovation

- Upgrade enterprises with intellectual property

- Realize full integration of designers, companies, products, brands and intellectual properties through point-to-point and point-to-area connection.

From Stimulo we are pretty sure to meet again Eva and her team.

Regards.

Related info: http://www.cityofdesign.com.con/2008/index.asp

It has been one month, but it has been like one single day. From Stimulo we want to thanks Habitex people for their support during our one month stay in Houjie office, Guangzhou.

It has been an interesting experience working directly with all members of the company, from metal prototyping to lighting test.

For the last 5 years we have been growing up together and we hope to face new challenge in the current global and competitive market world.

Xiexie

Xavi Majoral