These are the brand new products of the 5X5® innovation track 2020

The participants of the 5X5® innovation track 2020 are:

• VALO BLINDS x COMATE
• DOVY KEUKENS x ROEL VANDEBEEK
• ISOMO x BLACKBIRDS
• ELIET x VERHAERT

They proudly present their new products.

X DesignRoll 2.0
Minimalist design in XXL format

VALO

The next generation of roller blinds
X
Comate Mechatronic Engineering & Design

The architectural trend towards clean lines was the starting point for the development of DesignRoll 2.0. The product combines XXL formats up to 6 metres wide with an extremely slim tube. An innovative system that blends perfectly with ceiling-high windows and in narrow niches!

What is the new product exactly?
"Glass panes are becoming larger and larger, glass facades of 10 m are no longer an exception. Clean lines prevail and architects want to keep the niches as narrow as possible. That's why we developed a minimalist roller blind in XXL format. In Valo's developments three elements are always important: minimalist design, innovative technology and a sustainable character."

What is so unique about your new product?
"In modern architecture, clean and pure lines are the most important thing. In this development, we have succeeded in combining these pure and minimalist lines in XXL format. We are going bigger in dimensions and slimmer in terms of the tube. A real win-win. Our DesignRoll 2.0 goes up to 6m width on a very slim tube."

What was the biggest difficulty with the product renewal?
"The biggest challenge was putting together the right combination of materials to achieve a quality result. Finding a balance between the technicality and the minimalist design was a real challenge."

What was for you the biggest added value of working with the designer?
"If you are constantly working on your product you start to get a bit of tunnel vision. The nice thing about working with designers is that they broaden your view again. For us, it was the first time we had worked with a design agency, and it was a very exciting and instructive journey.

X Twin
Één handle, Two directions

DOVY KEUKENS

We make your kitchen in Belgium

X
Roel Vandebeek
It's a Roel

One handle on each cabinet door is practical but less aesthetic. TWIN is one vertical handle that opens two cabinet doors in two directions. In a cabinet wall this creates ease of use, visual refinement and a slim design. Surprising and well thought-out.

What is the new product exactly?
"The TWIN consists of two slim, vertical handles that are positioned directly above each other, making it seem as if there is only one vertical handle for opening two cabinet doors. The left handle is directly above the right handle. Or is it the other way round? Is the handle for opening the right-hand cabinet door above the handle for opening the left-hand cabinet door? Who knows? That depends on the user, who is left- or right-handed."

What is so unique about your new product?
"The surprising effect. When the cabinet doors are closed, all you see is one vertical, slender line. You don't know which handle is meant for opening the left or right cupboard door. The well thought-out effect. To create added value with less material. Ease for the user to be able to open the cabinet doors with a handle, and still create a visual refinement in the handle line of the kitchen."

Is there a funny anecdote from the project?
"In one of the first sessions where the interior architects of Dovy and designer Roel Vandebeek sat together, frequent puns came up where one didn't understand the other very well and that led to some funny scenes. The interior architects are purebred West-Flanders and Roel is a purebred Limburger from Maasmechelen. When a West-Fleming asks for the characteristic that typifies Roel, the answer is 'It's a Roel'. Which rule? What rule are we talking about here?'

What was the biggest difficulty about the product innovation?
"The fact that Dovy is a high-tech company where 20 kitchens a day are made. That makes for strict production planning and leaves little room to integrate and implement the new concept into the existing production line to follow the flow of the business." What was the biggest added value for you from working with the designer? "Getting a different view and perspective in the way of thinking. Gaining new ideas and insights from someone outside the company and even outside the kitchen sector. But also working with someone who thinks completely 'out of the box', without taking into account the possibilities and limitations of the company. This also allows us to show another side of Dovy. To provide convincing proof that we not only make customised kitchens, but also think effectively with the customer."

X Sowsies
Remarkably quiet!

ELIET NV
In harmony with nature
X
Verhaert
Masters in innovation

ELIET JETZER® offers a solution to the problems of climate change for gardens and parks. In a JETZER treatment, JETZER PODSTM are injected into the soil of the lawn to a depth of about 20 cm. The channels thus created increase the infiltration capacity of a lawn for rainwater. The JETZER PODSTM are capsules filled with granulate according to the needs of the lawn. If this granulate is super-absorbent polymer, for example, then 10 litres of rainwater can be stored in the lawn soil per m² of lawn as a buffer for dry periods.

What exactly is the new product?
"ELIET JETZER® is not a product but a concept or a solution, or call it a treatment. When treating a lawn, 100 JETZER PODSTM per m² are injected into the soil to a depth of 20 cm. These JETZER PODSTM are capsules that can be filled with granulate. The constituents of this granulate can be filled as desired depending on the specific needs of the lawn/grass soil. An interesting filler can be a water-containing polymer. Through a JETZER treatment with such pods, an underground buffer can be created in which 10L of rainwater can be captured per m². This is a water reserve that helps a lawn to bridge a dry period. Injecting the pods creates vertical channels in the lawn soil that also ventilate it and increase the infiltration capacity for rainwater. This ensures that rainwater is better absorbed by the soil and runs off less quickly, thus helping to prevent flooding and erosion."

What is so unique about your new product?
"ELIET JETZER® makes it possible to give a lawn an 'all-in-one' treatment without major damage, thereby tackling specific problems and also making the lawn resistant to the effects of global warming. The JETZER technique is unique and innovative because it perforates the soil and introduces granules in the same operation. Since no tools are used to open the soil, there are no wearing parts. ELIET JETZER® offers a solution to an important and growing problem and is, as a result, future-proof.

What was the biggest difficulty with the product renewal?
"The project contains several challenges: in addition to the design of the autonomous self-propelled machine to inject the JETZER PODSTM into the ground, there is also the development of this JETZER PODSTM itself and the design and engineering of the production process to manufacture the JETZER PODSTM. Since we are dealing with very diverse assignments, it requires a broad expertise."

What was for you the greatest added value of the cooperation with the designer?
"Since ELIET already has its own R&D department and, as such, wishes to do as much of the designing as possible under its own management, we see Verhaert as a sparring partner with whom we check our designs. If there are problems or if strategic design decisions have to be made, it is always nice to be able to fall back on a multidisciplinary agency that helps disentangle problems and make well-considered choices."