Special Report Commercial focus
Neil Nixon reports from the headquarters of Vax Commercial and discovers an expanding product range being built on very firm foundations.
Founded in 2007 - some years after its well respected and widely recognised ‘con- sumer’ cousin - Vax Commercial offers an ever-expanding range of floorcare solutions for the commercial sector. Part of the TTI Group - a world-class leader in power tools, outdoor equipment, appliances and floor care, owning such iconic brands as Dirt Devil, Oreck Commercial, Oreck, AEG, Hoover, and Ryobi - the company is not short of innovation or investment in R&D. But howdid the commercial division evolve out of a focus on the consumermarket? “We started the commercial division with
just a couple of machines, to explore and understand the sector,” said Brian Davis, senior category manager, commercial. “This provided us the opportunity to listen to the market, develop a strategy and, most importantly, develop a range to meet the specific needs of the commercial sector. We created a range based on this research, and on our experience in the consumer market.” And how important was the brand recogni- tion created by the consumer range in es- tablishing a newcommercial floorcare brandwithin an already crowdedmarket? “Having a strong core brand, and a strong
reputation, has been invaluable,” said Mar- tin Farmer, national sales manager. “Vax is, after all, the leading floorcare brand in the UK. But we were very conscious that con- sumer products would not satisfy the com- mercial sector, and developed a new range accordingly. We were able to leverage the design expertise we have in-house, and utilise some of the technologies developed for our consumer machines. Only when we were extremely confident of the robustness and reliability of the commercial products did we take them to market. The legacy of the brand helps to open doors, but it is the quality of the commercial range that is win- ning us business.” Innovation and aesthetics within consumer brands are vitally important, and products in this sector are constantly being updated. Is this ‘never stand still’ attitude equally appli- cable in the commercial sector?
Above, the VCSD-05 battery powered ride-on scrubber dryer. Right, the VCC-08 vacuum cleaner.
things can go wrong, and this is where our established systems pay dividends. Our un- rivalled after sales service is available to Vax Commercial customers seven days a week via our trained customer care advisors - this offers a very effective way for our customers to informus of any problems or ask any technical questions. Via a single phone line customers can report a fault and, if a solu- tion can't be found on the phone and aman- ufacturer fault is identified, a replacement machine will be dispatched. On largerma- chines, a trained engineer will visit the site within 48 hours. Our service proposition was a key factor in us recently winning the Jan- gro business.” Vax, by virtue of its name, is best known for vacuumcleaners. Howtrue a reflection is this of the commercial range? “The commercial range extends way be-
yond vacuum cleaners, and includes carpet cleaners, steam cleaners, sweepers, and scrubber dryers - not to mention cleaning chemicals and solutions,” said Brian Davis. “Scrubber dryers have been part of our range for almost 12 months, and are doing extremely well. We have had to learn a whole new sales process as a result of intro- ducing this range, and our sales engineers are busy demonstrating their effectiveness at sites across the country. The walk-behind machines are selling very well, and the newer ride-ons are now starting to gain traction. I am extremely confident in this range of products, and expect to beat our sales targets at the end of year one.” Howimportant is TTI in the continued devel- opment of Vax Commercial? “With brands like Hoover, Dirt Devil (albeit,
Left, Martin Farmer, Vax Commercial’s national sales manager, with Brian Davis, senior category manager, commercial.
“We constantly review the performance
and aesthetics of our range,” said Brian Davis. “The commercial sector has specific targets to meet, for example regarding sus- tainability, and these drive our development strategy - as does legislation. We have re- cently installed an on-site test laboratory to enable us to speed up this development process. An early result of this investment is our Eco range, which will be available from October. This launch will coincide with the release of a number of other new prod- ucts, enhancing our commercial range.” Outstanding customer service has been one of the reasons Vax has been so successful in the consumer world. How important is this within the commercial sector? “Our focus is on the customer - full stop,”
said Martin Farmer. “Each member of our sales force is BICSc trained so they are able to assist and advise customers at point of purchase. Whilst our machines are ex- tremely robust and reliable, we appreciate
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not in the UK) and Oreck in the same stable, our ability to share innovations and product developments is invaluable,” continued Brian Davis. “As such, we are part of a global product development team in which each business benefits from the exchange of ideas. As a group we are currently focused on sustainability, developing quieter ma- chines suitable for daytime cleaning, and developing better battery technology to en- sure longer running times for cordless ma- chines. Our first battery-powered hard floor spot cleaner will be launched in January next year, and we are very excited about its potential. Ryobi, another TTI Group com- pany, has offered invaluable assistance in developing battery technology that will be a game changer in the commercial floorcare sector.” The current range has been carefully devel- oped,meeting the needs of the commercial sector. Beyond the newmachines and the Eco range due in October - and the arrival of the first battery-powered hard floor spot cleaner next January -what can we expect fromVax Commercial in the future? “We have a simple philosophy - if we can
develop a machine that makes the lives of our customers easier and more efficient, then we will develop it,” said Martin Farmer. “There are no limits to where the product range could go, as long as it meets an iden- tified need. Investment in R&D and product development is not an issue, ensuring we will continue to be at the forefront of our market long into the future.”
www.vaxcommercial.co.uk
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