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SHOWROOM STYLE A preview of K/BIS 2011
New and hot bath and kitchen products to check out
A
s most of you know, for the past 12 years of my 35+ years industry career, I’ve been
finding and writing articles and columns on the best bath and kitchen products that I find in the U.S. and all parts of the world! Last year, I pre- dicted that Safety Tubs (
www.safety-
tubs.com) would win with their Kid’s “Fierce Fire Engine Bathtub,” and in 2009, I picked QuickDrain USA (www
.quickdrainusa.com) six months before K/BIS with their linear shower drain system. Considering the limita- tion of bath category awards at K/BIS 2011, there are so “many many” bath/plumbing products that have risen to stardom and are available in your showrooms today! The K/BIS 2011 will be held in Las
Vegas April 26-28, and I’d like to give you a preview of some of the hottest new products. For many of you who will be home staffing your showroom, I have put together a nifty list of bath and kitchen products that includes their websites and booth numbers. In my June column, I will write an article on the industry’s other hottest new products, some which I will need a careful hands-on evalua- tion before I list them.
Showering – turning your shower into a spa retreat
One of the “Best Picks” of K/BIS
2011 is Jet-Pro Shower Spas (
www.jetproshowerspas.com), Booth C-4480. This is one of the hottest new bath product categories in years! Turning the shower into a “Spa Re- treat” is one of the top 5 trends in baths today. These pre-plumbed shower columns (panels) that are IAPMO pending approval uses the existing shower valve. You remove
the shower arm, quick connect to the 1/2" I.P.S connection and fasten to the wall, all in 15 minutes or so. These units were tested under normal water pressure and were engineered to work effectively. The panels come in a wide variety of panel colors. I checked out this company, as they are rock solid and their products are sold through “channel distribution.”
Plumbing fixtures –
creative designs and more minimalism American Standard Brands
(
www.americanstandardbrands.com), Booth C-7038, include American Standard, Jado, Porcher, and Safety Tubs, and are a bright light in plumb-
One of Schor’s ‘Best Picks’ of K/BIS 2011 is Jet-Pro Shower Spas (
www.jetproshowerspas .com), Booth C-4480. He believes this is one of the hottest new bath product categories in years.
ing their homes to maintain their in- dependence. All in a 5’ space with added accessibility. TOTO USA (
www.totousa.com), Booth C-5928, has expanded their offering of LED lighted lavatories and a wide variety of new products that are being kept under wraps. INAX (
www.inax-
usa.com), Booth C-6802, the Japan- ese giant has woken up here after years of dabbling in the USA with a variety of eco-inspired products in- cluding the “Regio”, the Ultimate everything Toilet that retails for $7350. The Penguin Toilets LLC (
www.penguintoilets.com), Booth C- 7278, is the only toilet with built-in overflow protection. Sinks and bath- tubs have had overflow drains for years so why not toilets. I am waiting for testing reports. Jason International
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shower door field. Their New RODA Collection of 8 different styles and configurations proves that point.
Magnification and back-lit lighted mirrors – A showroom must
Most plumbing and bath show-
rooms are missing this lucrative op- portunity in this category! Aptations (
www.aptations.com), Booth C-4036, has a wide selection of traditional and contemporary, lighted and non-lit, wall mount and countertop magnifi- cation mirrors and lights in the world. All is a wide variety of finishes. Their new LED casts a bright warm light to illuminate and aid in grooming and the LED diode will last up to 50,000 hours, these mirrors are still virtually maintenance free. The NEW Sergena Back-lit Mirror and Lighting Units is
ing fixtures and faucetry in 2011! Safety Tubs, winner of one of the “BEST of The BEST” K/BIS 2010 Awards has another clear winner, Safety-Tubs for Kids – “Pretty Princess Castle Tub”. This is A MUST SEE! Kohler Company (
www.kohler.com), Booth C-4519 & C-4614, has the NEW “Elevance” Rising Wall Bath for the growing number of aging Americans renovat-
(
www.jasoninternational.com), Booth C-7118, The Original Jacuzzi Family since 1982, has launched their NEW “MicroSilk”, a revolutionary new form of hydrotherapy which is unavailable from any other bath man- ufacturer. Native Trails (
www.na-
tivetgrails.com), Booth C-4896, offers some nifty new copper basins and bathtubs. BASCO(
www.bascoshow-
erdoor.com), has dominated the
BY PETER SCHOR Showroom specialist
the most innovative new product cat- egory for today’s bathrooms and showroom sales. The 36"x24" mirrors can be mounted vertically and hori- zontically and come in three (3) dif- ferent designs. Aptations is also the master distributor for the ClearMirror, the fogless shaving in the shower and code approved, mirror.
Faucetry – Improving in styles, efficiency and eco-friendliness
The Italian product lines are back
strong. La Torre (
www.latorre-spa- it), Booth C-4236, a quality faucet manufacturer, has been in the U.S. for five years and is now stocked in At- lanta. La Torre distributed in 40 coun- tries and five continents. At the LaTorre Booth, there will be the fol- lowing other Italian manufacturers: Bagno & Association (
www.bagnoe-
associati.it), a beautiful and high- quality product manufacture and a strategic partner with La Torre. This line offers a broad range of bathroom accessories, not only to coordinate with La Torre products but all styles; and Designo Ceramica (www.diseg-
noceramica.com), a high-quality manufacturer of Italian fixtures made from Fine Fire Clay, has some of the most unique designs in the world, with amazing capabilities to make products like you have never seen.
Bath Accessories Mr. Steam (
www.mrsteam.com )
offers a wide variety of exciting towel warmers and
MR.STEAM’s Spa Packages. The spa packages pro- vide the potential for enhanced relax- ation including the mental, physical and emotional benefits associated with Steamtherapy™. Complete with AromaSteam™, ChromaSteam™ and in-shower Musictherapy™ speakers. They offer a wide variety of residential towel warmers. The Series 200 Towel Warmer have an energy- efficient stainless-steel heater for controlled, quiet heat, and all- welded steel construction for strength and durability. Every Series 200 towel warmer comes standard with an aro- matherapy oil well and are available in three designer bathroom finishes —Polished Chrome, White and Oil -
•THE WHOLESALER® —APRIL 2011
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