Considered by Whirlpool as one of its preferred
suppliers, American
Trim, L.L.C. (Lima, OH, U.S.) has worked on a number
of projects with the Benton Harbor, MI, U.S.-based appliance maker. Most
recently, the two companies worked together to develop a new washer console
design using metallic coatings and inks.
“
We participate in Whirlpool’s innovation process,” explains
Fred Turner, vice president of Sales and Marketing of American Trim. “We
meet with them periodically throughout the year and discuss innovations
that we see in the marketplace or concepts we have that we believe would
be applicable to their product,” he says, referring to the metallic
coating now used on Whirlpool’s washer consoles.
To ensure Whirlpool achieved the desired results, it worked closely with
the supplier from the start of the project. “I spent two informative
days locked up in the lab with a coatings specialist. Without his [and
all of American Trim’s] support we would not have been able to achieve
the appropriate look for the Whirlpool brand,” says Phil Lindeman,
lead industrial designer, Global Consumer Design for Whirlpool.
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An associate applies a metallic coating
to an aluminum console through a screen printing
process that combines the brilliance of the metal
with the color of the ink to produce a tinted
metallic look.
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Noticing a differentiating trend within the white goods industry,
the supplier presented Whirlpool with a metallic coating applied to metal
washer consoles.
As opposed to developing a coating that only looked different, Whirlpool
worked with the supplier to create a coating available in a variety of
colors, finishes, and textures. “Whirlpool and American Trim worked
together to realize that metallic-looking, textured coatings have a place
in the appliance industry and can be used to distinguish a brand and draw
the consumer to it,” says Mr. Turner.
“
One of the distinctions they have to try and put into place is the first
impression a consumer has when the product is sitting on the retailer’s
floor. [They have to] garner attention and interest from a consumer,” he
continues. “There’s many things they can do to achieve that,
but one of them is the appearance of the product itself.”
Mr. Lindeman agrees. “With more and more laundry pairs moving out
of the basement and up to the first and second floors, consumers are looking
for products that possess a higher level of design,” he says. “To
meet this need, Whirlpool’s Global Consumer Design Group took an
unconventional approach to console graphics and specified exposed aluminum,
as well as translucent and metallic inks.”
To achieve the metallic look the appliance maker was looking for, its coating
process needed to change. Traditionally, laundry consoles are pre-coated
with a white base coat and then decorated with the product brand and other
design elements. “This simplifies the screening process by minimizing
the amount of ink applied to the console. Words, lines, and tick marks
are relatively small and easy to print,” says Mr. Lindeman. However,
to achieve the desired look, described by Mr. Lindeman as “a certain
level of brilliance in the graphics theme,” Whirlpool needed to keep
a significant amount of the aluminum material exposed.
In order to do so, the appliance producer eliminated the pre-coat process
and implemented a screen printing process in which 95 percent of the aluminum
console is applied with the supplier’s metallic and translucent ink
coatings to produce a metal-like finished appearance. “American Trim’s
internal team of specialists ran multiple experiments on their production
lines to refine and evolve this new approach. After a couple of days of
adjusting materials and processes, the team made it happen,” Mr.
Lindeman says.
To create a product that truly met consumer needs, Whirlpool made adjustments
to its prototypes after directly testing the product with consumer focus
groups. “Through rapid prototyping, we would build Whirlpool a console,
which would then put it on a washer. Whirlpool would then take the prototype
to the consumer and validate if they had any interest in it,” explains
Mr. Turner. “With each of those [iterations], you would find a better
interest and you would keep fine tuning it until you felt you had what
they really wanted.” Using consumer feedback, Whirlpool made adjustments
to the original designs for 9 months until it felt the console would meet
consumer needs.
Because of the forming process, the coating is applied to help provide
durability and aesthetic requirements. “The development process is
unique not only that it gives you the aesthetic aspect, but that it gives
you the durability and the appearance aspect as well,” Mr. Turner
tells APPLIANCE.
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Whirlpool
focused on providing a distinct design that stood
out among
traditional “white” boxes and could be
integrated into several parts of
the home.
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The finished product provides the appearance similar to that of
bead blasting—a
process that results in an even, non-directional matte finish. In the process,
sharp or rough materials such as glass beads, sand, or ceramic particles
are used to decrease the brightness of the metal by creating a matte look
or a smooth finish. Unlike traditional brushed finishes that leave a unidirectional
pattern, bead blasting stainless steel leaves a multidirectional finish,
which allows it to withstand scratches from scrubbing and use.
Whirlpool has been able to achieve a similar look but in a fast and simple
manner. “Whirlpool has invested heavily in design over the last few
years. Coatings allow Whirlpool designers an opportunity to provide unique
solutions in a cost effective and timely manner. Similar concepts have
also been applied to other Whirlpool products that have consoles,” Mr.
Lindeman says.
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More
from our August 2004 Feature:
Finishing & Metal Preparation
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