OUR OUTLOOK - Pressalit A/S

With a building sector hard hit by the global
recession, one might have expected the 2009
ISH trade fair to be a more modest affair. This
was far from the case, however. Exhibitors at ISH
2009 did their best to ensure that we forgot the
global recession for a while. On a Tuesday morning
in March, the Frankfurt Trade Fair opened its
doors and the nine halls that make up ISH 2009.
Once again, Pressalit was located in the central
“Fest hall” together with sanitation giants Hansgrohe
and Villeroy & Boch.
Pressalit agents got off to an early pre-fair start
when they were invited to the company’s kick-off
seminar at Hotel Marriott. Here they were introduced
to Pressalit’s two big product innovations
at this year’s trade fair. Naturally, we are referring
to Pressalit’s official world premiere of its selfclosing
toilet seat called AutoClose © and the exclusive
wooden seat “Opalion”, which saw the
light of day two years ago in connection with
Pressalit’s art gallery project.
Expect the unexpected
With the help of the slogan “Expect the unexpected”,
Pressalit seeks to illustrate that its products
are surprising and unexpected in such areas
as quality, variation, design, harmony and intelligence.
This year’s trade stand was also slightly
out of the ordinary, as it took the form of a multilayered
shell that opened itself to visitors. At the
outer layer were Pressalit’s black boxes or socalled
“DNA” – a number of historical objects
each relating something about the company’s
values and development since 1954. One layer
further in were the all-important toilet seats from
the sales product range, and at the core of the
stand were the new AutoClose © seats. Several
lifters ensured that the toilet seats were continually
opened so that guests could get a sense of the
AutoClose © function in practice.
“Judging by the response, it is safe to say that
visitors were positive about the new toilet seats,
and it was exciting to see their curiosity and interest
in our products,” says Annette Frimand Rasmus-
ISH – A STEP INTO THE FUTURE
For Willem Hendrikse from Wijnbeek
Sanitair BV, Pressalit A/S’s
distributor in Holland, ISH 2009
was a great success:
“Despite the difficult economic
circumstances, it was a very exciting week in
which we established an excellent starting point
for meeting future challenges. At the fair, Pressalit
truly lived up to its theme slogan “Expect the
unexpected”. Customers were clearly surprised
017#
ISH
2009
FACTS ABOUT ISH 2009
The ISH trade fair took place in
Frankfurt, Germany from 10–14
March 2009.
With approximately 220,000
visitors from 114 countries, ISH
is the world’s most important
trade fair for the HWS industry.
Here manufacturers from
around the globe present their
most important new bathroom,
ventilation and heating products.
Together with leading manufacturers
such as Villeroy & Boch
and Hansgrohe, Pressalit’s
stand commanded a central
location in the Fest Hall.
sen, Senior Product & Marketing
Manager.
Care is back
In recent years, Pressalit has
only presented toilet seats at
ISH. But this year the Pressalit
Care bathroom was once again
represented at the fair.
“Some of those already familiar
with the Pressalit name from
our toilet seats stopped by and
showed a keen interest in the
Care products, and it was clear
that our brand attracted customers
across existing business
areas,” says Nicolai Staflin,
Account Manager at Pressalit
Care.
and enthusiastic about the new self-closing
AutoClose © toilet seat which was introduced at
the fair and represents an innovation in its own
product category. The same applied to the presentation
of Opalion, the new wooden toilet seat
which sets new standards for craftsmanship and
design,” says Willem Hendrikse, who adds that
for Dutch wholesalers as well, ISH is THE trade
fair for the HWS sector and the place where
novelties and innovations are presented and
received with great interest.