Fisher & Paykel unveils new design innovation

For immediate release

11 November 2008

Fisher & Paykel unveils new design innovation for United States

Fisher & Paykel Appliances is expanding its product offering in the United States with the launch of an innovative design extension to the company’s famous DishDrawer.

Designed especially to meet the demands of US consumers, the new variant combines the features of the traditional DishDrawer with a special deeper drawer which can accommodate charger plates, or oversized decorative plates, as well as large platters. The new design also has flexible racking systems, allowing customers to adjust to a much greater range of load types on a daily basis.

Chief Executive Officer of Fisher & Paykel Appliances, John Bongard, says the new  taller product will be available initially in the United States, followed by other markets including New Zealand.

“This product has been designed especially to fulfill a specific consumer need in the States where the use of larger plates are popular, in family as well as home entertaining environments,” says Mr Bongard.

The launch of the larger DishDrawer design follows closely on the heels of three prestigious design wins in New Zealand and Australia for Fisher & Paykel Appliances over the last month.

In Australia, the Izona CoolDrawer – the world’s first multi-temperature fridge drawer based on the design principles of DishDrawer - received both the HOME Beautiful and House and Garden Style magazines product of the year awards.

On this side of the Tasman, the revolutionary Izona CookSurface was a supreme winner at this year’s BeST Design Awards – New Zealand’s top national design awards given out by the Designers Institute of New Zealand.

Mr Bongard says the recent awards celebrate the constant design and innovation that have remained at the heart of Fisher & Paykel Appliances.

“While some production has moved offshore, we’re proud to keep our design resources strongly grounded in New Zealand, and producing innovations like this latest larger DishDrawer product,” he says.

“As a company we are small in global terms but this has given us the opportunity to be flexible.  New Zealanders are typically innovative people and we’re proud to employ extremely good designers and engineers capable of developing world first customer driven innovation.”

The story of DishDrawer has been one of the company’s greatest successes.

“DishDrawer was nine years in development.  We had to develop two drawers that fitted under the kitchen bench and each take full size dinner plates.  It was a complex exercise and we were first to achieve that with excellent results,” says Mr Bongard.

Internationally Fisher & Paykel Appliances is strongly focused on Australia and the United States where it has experienced consistent growth since entering the market in 1998.

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