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Weekly Email News for the Kitchen, Bathroom and Bedroom Industries
23rd April 2004

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Kitchens
Hettich says that kitchen furniture must adapt to the user – not the other way round. Unimpeded and fast access to cabinet contents is essential, as is themed organisation into separate function zones that provide an uninterrupted workflow
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Coombe Abbey was the setting for Carron Phoenix’s major product launch for 2004. Against a backdrop of 12th century tradition, Carron Phoenix hit a top note of modern design with its new offering of sinks and taps
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Ariston has given its Europrisma unvented multipoint water heaters a contemporary new look. All models in the range have stylish new casing combining curved contours with an attractive blue and white colour scheme
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A modern, high gloss design, Alnosign has introduced a third contemporary colour, vanilla, to the range, which also offers white and arctic grey
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Appliances
The Brandt CFA361 'A' rated stainless steel fridge freezer is designed for those who wish to make a statement in their kitchen, at an affordable price
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Hotpoint is introducing an extensive new collection of 60cm cookers this summer to further strengthen its cooking offering. Designed specifically for the UK market, gas, electric and dual fuel models bring together new styling and user-friendly features
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The new American Food Centre from Waterline is a quality, budget-priced, fully clad stainless steel side-by-side fridge-freezer.
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Among the latest fridge freezers from CDA are two models, the PC48 and the PC46.
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Bathrooms
'The Tri-Shell from Thomas Dudley Ltd is the market-leading, toughest heavy-duty plastic cistern.’ says the company
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Haro Sanitary currently produces and distributes anti-bacterial treated toilet seats in its product range 'CareLine'
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Roca Ltd, manufacturer of contemporary European style bathrooms has launched new sanitaryware, furniture, slim line basins plus new additions to the Aquakit Hotels collection
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For those in search of something vibrant in the bathroom, Twyford Bathrooms offers Energy in the Twyford Pure collection - a suite characterised by its curved organic shapes and clear contemporary styling
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Taps & Showers
Pegler has launched the Peglertherm 402UA which includes two angle combination valves
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Hansgrohe says it has once again broken the mould with the introduction of Raindance
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Cone from Ideal Standard is a new range of bathroom brassware and accessories designed by Robin Levien RDI
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Gnutti Ltd manufactures 'Caress' and 'Boater' shower roses in Italy. The company says that because they are made of stainless steel AISI 304, they are hygienic and durable
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Taps & Showers
Radiator and heated towel rail manufacturer Aestus has announced the launch of its new collection of radiators known as Collection Inox
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Vasco says that its design credentials are fully apparent in the company's range of 'all electric' radiators
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With a history of making quality towel rails for bathrooms, kitchens and en suites, Imperial has taken a fresh look at radiators and is launching some very striking new designs
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Tiles
Divine Art & Craft Ltd is a glass tile company that manufactures a range of handmade 100% glass tiles
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As trends have moved towards all things organic, demand for natural stone related products has risen dramatically and as a result, Instarmac Ultra Stone Fix was specifically designed to meet these customer needs
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Laura Ashley has launched a new range of ceramic wall tiles, manufactured under licence by British Ceramic Tile
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Charity Events
'At every TTA Gala Dinner we 'pass the pot' for those less fortunate than ourselves. In 2003 we collected over £800 was collected for The Lighthouse Club.' says the TTA
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Following on from the enormous success of its pink Aga, the company is supporting the Lavender Trust’s Lavender Week
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Hotpoint has announced a year-long partnership with the charity ChildLine, as overall sponsors of ChildLine's 18th birthday campaign - 'Safely to 18'
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Features
Part M of the Building Regulations concerns access and facilities for disabled people, including requirements regarding sanitary conveniences. Anna Burns, marketing manager of Twyford Bathrooms, looks at how it makes provision for those with special needs.
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Mixed Fortunes from The Appliance Giants
First Quarter financials from some of the global appliance giants paint a mixed picture at local levels but a clear indication of increasing globalisation. Maytag's policy of product diversification is already beginning to pay off, with healthy profits despite increased material and marketing costs. Merloni continues its worldwide investment programme with the opening of a new washing machine plant in Russia, while Electrolux has announced a new plant in Mexico as part of a global manufacturing strategy.

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Exhibitions & Events

Exhibition List
For upcoming exhibitions in the UK and the rest of the world in the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom markets.

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Insinkerator Advert


Kitchen Showcase 2004: Registration Now Open!
Kitchen ShowcaseFor professionals involved in the manufacture, design, specification, sale or procurement of kitchens and related products, there’s only one place to be this July. Kitchen Showcase 2004 at the Commonwealth Institute, Kensington, London.
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Glaverbel Glass at 'Street Dining Design' Exhibition, Milan
The International Furniture Fair in Milan is planning a special event where visitors will have a chance to sample fresh culinary ideas in a striking environment. Glaverbel's stunning red and black glass stand has been designed to show off the food to its best advantage.
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More Exhibition info at bottom of page.


Awards & Standards
The April issue of Your Home, the high circulation home interest title, featured an editorial on 'Why Pay More' for kitchen appliances
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Roman Ltd won the Gold Award for Best Bathroom Product for its low level shower trays from the company's Wetrooms Range at the House Beautiful Awards on 11th March.
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People

Distributor Broughton Crangrove is strengthening its team with the appointment of Jim Thomson who takes on the role of Logistics Manager.
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PWS has announced the promotion of Steven Campbell to Area Sales Manager for the East Midlands
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Mandarin Building Products, the UK distributor for the Impulse range of sanitary ware, has announced the appointment of James Abrams as a Sales Agent.
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Brochures and Literature

Astracast has produced a new brochure -if you think you know the company's range of products then 'Take another look'.
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Bathroom manufacturer, Shires Limited, has completed a six month project to update its Shires Bathrooms Specifiers Manual
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Marketing & Promotion
Orama, the independent manufacturer of worksurfaces and associated decorative products has commissioned a custom-built mobile display vehicle in which to take the new Ardesco range on the road
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Maytag UK has just announced its trade and consumer promotions for spring 2004
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The BBC's Doctor Who surprised everyone on the Roman stand at KBB, when his Tardis materialised as a new Orbital shower.
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Internet
CreatingBetterHomes.com, the onIine exhibition for home improvements and building products has been given a radical virtual refit
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The new TTA website is proving popular. It was the star attraction on the TTA stand at Expotile where members were able to check out the link to their own websites.
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Training
The NVQ qualification for showroom staff was put together by The Tile Association and the Association for Ceramic Training & Development and is supported by the DTI.
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A series of support seminars run by Planit International, the industry software provider, have proved so successful that the remaining dates for October are all fully booked.
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Health & Safety
The Federation of Master Builders has warmly welcomed the announcement by Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Andrew Smith, to provide £3m in funding for the Worker Safety Advisers scheme
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Bedrooms
Heppelwhite says that it's new Panorama Collection is proving to be a hit with retailers who recognise the growing demand for contemporary bedroom furniture.
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Under the Commonfield Contemporary Door and Slide & Store brands, Commonfield Services Ltd is a core producer of folded steel and extruded aluminium framed sliding doors, now incorporating a choice of diffuse, coloured glass options.
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Exhibitions & Events
Dynamic Space® was on the booth of fittings manufacturer Julius Blum at ZOW 2004.
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The second Idéo Bain attracted 250 French and international exhibitors, who occupied over 30,000 m2.
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BolognaFiere and CMP Sinoexpo organise Expo Build China and Ceramics, and Tile & Sanitary Ware China, both held annually in Shanghai in April.
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Epoc Messe Frankfurt, Dubai, has finalised its plans for ISH Kitchen and Bathroom Gulf.
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The Salone Internazionale del Mobile (14 - 19 April 2004) for Italian and internationally made kitchen furniture.
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The 6th China International Building & Decoration Fair will be held from 6-9 July, 2004 in Guangzhou .
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ASFI the UK furniture supplies event is being re-launched for 2004
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Twyfords Advert
Despite a reduction in profits (attributed entirely to adverse currency movements) Electrolux has announced a doubling of its product development budget. Likewise, Elcobrandt, with sales for 2003 only up 1.3% on the previous year, has announced a development budget of 120 million Euros. Interesting news from Whirlpool Corporation, meanwhile, which has reported strong first quarter sales and earnings despite the continuing bugbear of currency fluctuations.
Polypipe Bathrooms and Kitchens

Whirlpool has started building a cooking appliance plant in Poland which aims to be in production early next year. The company recently presented its plans for the European kitchen market to some 2,000 retailers in Cannes.

We were very pleased with the response to our Special Mailing which was sent out this week on behalf of Franke. This service will be used on an occasional basis to provide the latest product information in email format. If you missed it, you can find it here.

DebbieFinally, Interbuild starts this Sunday at the NEC. If you are visiting, be sure to check out our show preview. We have extra information on 15 of the 45 companies we have in our special KBB Exhibitor List, which you will find here.

Debbie Schwarz,
Publisher
Mariadebbie@thekbzine.com

Maria Esnouf, (pictured right) will be pleased to talk to anyone about the benefits of advertising on The K&BZine.

Email Maria or telephone 00353 51877972


THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Maytag Reports Higher First Quarter Sales and Earnings
Maytag Corporation yesterday reported first quarter consolidated sales of $1.219bn, up 7.3 percent from $1.136bn in the same period of 2003. Earnings for the quarter 'met the company's expectations'. First quarter 2004 reported operating income was $63.6m, and reported net income was $38.7m, or 49 cents per share
.
[More on this Story]

Putin and Berlusconi open Merloni's Second Production Facility in Russia
The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, and the Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, together with Vittorio Merloni, have opened a new Merloni Elettrodomestici washing machine plant in Lipetzk (Russia). It is close to the refrigerator factory which the Company acquired in 2000.
[More on this Story]

Whirlpool Corporation Reports Strong First-Quarter Sales and Earnings
Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) today announced first-quarter 2004 net earnings of $101m, or $1.43 per diluted share, compared to $91m, or $1.32 per diluted share, in the same period last year. First-quarter net sales of $3bn increased 10.7 percent from the same period last year.  Excluding currency translations, net sales increased approximately 5 percent.
[More on this Story]

Electrolux Chief Exec Hans Stråberg Spells out Cost Cutting Strategy in Light of Falling Profits
At the recent AGM, Electrolux Chief Exec Hans Stråberg reported a disappointing first quarter, with sales down by 4.9% and operating income down 5.2%. Although keen to point out that the drop in sales was entirely due to adverse currency movements (without which sales would have been up by over 4%), he spelt out a strategy of cost cutting through rationalisation and globalised manufacturing, in addition to increased spending on product development.

[More on this Story]

ElcoBrandt Presents Second Year Financial Results and Announces Investment in Innovation
ElcoBrandt, the French household appliance manufacturer, has announced its second year trading results with an increase in turnover, an increase in market share and a long-term future commitment to its brands, including Brandt and De Dietrich.
[More on this Story]

John Lewis Joins KBSA
One of the UK’s most well known and respected department stores, John Lewis has joined the KBSA. John Lewis has 26 department stores throughout the UK, 23 of which have fitted kitchen departments. All 23 John Lewis fitted kitchen departments will become retail members from April 2004.
[More on this Story]

Kitchen Group Launch New Kabera From K
Specialists, The Kitchen Group, has kicked off 2004 with the launch of five brand new kitchen furniture ranges to add to its popular K and Apple brands, the first of which is Kabera under the K brand
.
[More on this Story]

Producers' Waste Company Names Philip Morton as Chief Executive
Philip Morton has been named as Chief Executive of REPIC Limited, the UK electrical and consumer electronics producers' waste management company. Until recently Philip was Managing Director of Cleanaway, a Board Director of Cleanaway Ltd. and a Member of International Board of Cleanaway Global.
.
[More on this Story]

In-Sink-Erator gears up for Summer with BBQ Promotional Gifts
In-Sink-Erator is running a Summer 2004 promotion which will give kitchen retailers the opportunity to earn points and claim a range of superb gifts
.
[More on this Story]


Stoneham Invests in Storage System from OHRA
Kent-based Stoneham kitchens has long had the word ‘storage’ in their every day vocabulary – usually associated with the internal fittings and systems designed into its high quality kitchen ranges. Stoneham has come to know the value of using premium space effectively which is why they turned to German specialists OHRA to provide a solution to extend the external storage of their raw materials
.
[More on this Story]

Twyford Bathrooms and the Environment
Twyford Bathrooms has achieved registration to BS EN ISO 14001:1996. ISO 14001 can be treated as a business opportunity for all involved. It encourages businesses to partake in waste minimisation by selling and buying the by-product outputs of processes instead of paying for them to be sent to landfill.
[More on this Story]

Kaindl Causes a Stir at ZOW 2004 - Strong New Product Range Makes an Impression
M. Kaindl Holzindustrie once again impressed visitors to this year's ZOW with its know-how and products and its feel for trends. Kaindl's new top-of-the-range 'Spectrum' collection with its 117 attractive designs attracted particular attention.
[More on this Story]


KBSA CORNER...

International Kitchen and Bathroom Association will be Good for UK
The recent launch of an international kitchen and bathroom association, The International Kitchen Bathroom Association (IKBA), should be welcomed in the UK as it is sure to benefit the future development of our industry
.
[More Here]


COMPANY NOTICES

Notices from The Insolvency Courts, January - March
The following Notices have been posted from the Insolvency Courts relating to Kitchen and Bathroom companies from January - March 2004. Some of the recent companies include D&P Home Improvements of Readingh, Lakeland Design Profiles of Preston, Flu-Care Ltd of Bristol, Concept Kitchens (Leyton), RDM Fabrications of Chingford, Thames Fitted Furniture of London E17, Mr Wilson's Kitchen Store, Manchester.

[More Here]


SPECIAL FEATURES

National Charity Works with Trade Partners to find Solution to Bath Water Scalds Affecting Young Children
Child Accident Prevention Trust, the Thermostatic Mixing Valve Manufacturers’ Association (TMVA) and BuildCert recently launched a new generation of thermostatic mixing valves, TMV2, at a seminar in London.

[More on this Story]


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Archive Section

We have archived items from the following Channels: News, Appliances, Awards, Bathroom Products, Events, Kitchen Products, Literature, Marketing, People and Taps & Showers.


SUBMITTING EDITORIAL

Should you wish to submit editorial to THE K&BZINE, please email Debbie Schwarz or telephone 0208 656 9878, mobile 07889 664061

Editoral is FREE OF CHARGE but may be edited to house style.

Write to us at:
The K&BZine, PO Box 1488, Croydon CR9 7WH


ADVERTISERS

Should you wish to advertise on THE K&BZINE, please email Maria Esnouf or telephone 00353 51877972 or email Tony Higgin or telephone 01923-461527, mobile 07977-981753.

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Copyright © 2004 The B2BZine Company Ltd.
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