Falmec | SUPPLIER PROFILE


doing that,” Drumm says.


“In a couple of years, we’ve already turned over £2 million and that’s been in the most extreme circumstances. There are all sorts of brands out there that sell a hood in a box – we are specialists, that’s the difference. In time, people will be mentioning Falmec in the same breath as Gaggenau and Siemens.” With a team of five sales staff working across the UK now, Drumm says that by 2024, the size of this team will double.


There is no doubt that customers want to be wowed when they walk into kitchen studios and Blount has some key advice for retailers.


Noise


He says: “Where kitchen studios have started to install Falmec’s quiet system in their showrooms, they then like to take their customers and stand alongside the hood while they’re talking, because when it gets to the point to start talking about extraction, noise always comes into the conversation – and kitchen studio staff can then point out that the hood has been operating throughout the conversation.”


Drumm says that Falmec UK currently has around 450 kitchen studios on its books. “We’ve had such a hard time trading, but we’ve doubled the business year on year,” Drumm says. “We’re going to have a fabulous year this year and next year, because we’ve started from the bottom. “We’re growing all the time and we’re still trying to get around to see the kitchen studio owners.”


At a time where some major manufacturers have suffered from supply issues, Drumm says that the availability of components and stock has not been an issue for Falmec. “When nobody had stock, we had


Falmec Vogue


stock. While other manufacturers are struggling and unable to supply until next year,” Drumm says, “we’re moving stock every day of the week and our logistics partner sends it out.” Falmec UK employs a service engineer and Drumm believes that installation is the biggest issue, not the product itself.


“Installers need to get their head around how to duct down properly,” he says.


Drumm highlighted that Falmec produces online videos to show installers how the products work and how they should be installed.


Looking ahead,


We have a six-to-eight week maximum lead time. That product will be sitting here with their name on ready for when they [retailers] want it,


without fail Ron Blount, business development manager, Falmec UK


Falmec at EuroCucina 2022


At EuroCucina 2022, Falmec launched a new range, the Elements collection, a trio of extraction appliances that, Dumm says, redefines the humble cooker hood as a piece of designer furniture created to blend into the home décor.


“The Shelf, Monolith and Air Wall offer designers a totally alternative way of integrating extraction into the open-plan kitchen,” Drumm says.


“With the ‘Elements’ collection, the hood is no longer just a purely functional piece. It becomes a cleverly concealed integral part of the décor too.”


Shelf


At first glance, all you see is an black shelf, but take a closer look and you will notice that the Shelf also incorporates a very thin


suction element within the unit itself. Thanks to Multi-Air technology, the 1,200mm extraction


October 2022 ·


module is equipped with a removable fan to increase fume suction capacity.


At only 100mm deep, this slimline model can be extended by adding modules measuring 600mm and 900mm wide to customise and enhance the overall design.


Monolith


Finding a way to incorporate all the elements required for cooking on an island is how the Monolith came to life. It consists of a


900mm central suction element with 300mm, 600mm and 900mm-wide accessory storage modules that can be placed left or right for a totally customised set-up.


The black glass system is surface-mounted in a matt black aluminium frame and designed to cater for multiple practical kitchen functions, as well as the most important one – extraction. Boasting a powerful 800m3


/hour brushless motor, this model is dialogue ready and


includes a Carbon.Zeo filter for recirculation. Air Wall


With the Air Wall, the traditional cooker hood instantly transforms into an integral part of the overall kitchen design.


Integrating downdraft technology into a backlit, white tempered glass panel, the Air Wall purifies the air and also produces an ambient light.


Extraction takes place via a rectangular opening in the glass, allowing the passage of air and access to the hood’s controls. Key features include a 600m3


/hr brushless motor,


direct dialogue system between the hob and hood and Carbon.Zeo filter for recirculation. The vertical glass panel is equipped with a magnetic system for adding magnetic accessories anywhere on the surface. For total design flexibility and flair, the panel is available in 1,500mm and 1,200mm widths.


39 Falmec Spazio


Drumm says that the company is planning to have its own large warehouse in the UK and he is certain that it will have a showroom in central London. “We want total control over what we do,” Drumm says. “In the future, the product will leave Italy in its own trucks, will arrive in the UK and then will be distributed by our own trucks. “We want to do our own deliveries, so that we have control over it. We have some very expensive items floating around and they need to be treated properly.”


Drumm continues: “Not only are we delivering, but we’re having a direct contact with the studios and the customers. This was my experience at Blanco, where customers knew their driver’s name.”


In terms of strategy, Blount says it is already achieving what the company said it would do in terms of revenue and profitability.


“This is a good, solid business that is now dependent, in my opinion, on trustworthy, enjoyable relationships with good premium retailers,” Blount explains. “We have a six-to-eight- week maximum lead time. That product will be sitting here with their


name on ready for when they want it, without fail.”


I ask Drumm about the display commitments that Falmec would be looking for from kitchen studios. He says: “How dare manufacturers walk into a retailer and tell them what they should display in their showroom. “Retailers need to be big enough to tell them to ‘go to hell’ and work with other manufacturers – this is so arrogant, telling retailers what they should display.


“Among the big manufacturers, the weakest link is their cooker hoods. They don’t make them. It’s the cheapest product in their range, but they get the most margin out of it.” Central to the success of Falmec UK is the relationship between Drumm and Blount, who adds: “Sean and I go back 35 years – I was his boss. Showtime became Blanco’s largest single customer at that time. “It was a phenomenal business and Blanco had no market in Ireland at all at that time. Sean opened up the market with an old car and a few sinks on the roof rack. He built a hell of a business for Blanco. We have a close relationship, built on respect, admiration and trust.”


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