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Byline: Andrea Lillo The kitchen and bath industry will head to Las Vegas later this month to see the newest innovations for the home at KBIS. We asked three exhibitors [...]

When looking back on the history of InSinkErator(r), it's clear there are two keys that have contributed to this company's 90-year run of success: technology and industry partnerships. Since the [...]

WHEN THE IDEA OF A SMART HOME FIRST APPEARED IN MOVIES, it depicted kitchens that could produce gourmet meals with the push of a button and robots that could clean [...]

What if you created a system that allowed you to siphon great ideas from your employees and customers and turn them into business opportunities? And what if, along the way, [...]

A buzzword in hospitality is efficiency, and it pertains to business operations and new environmental practices. In the laundry room, high-efficiency equipment and new cleaning methods can provide both. Steven Hietpas, national sales manager of commercial laundry for Whirlpool, said the main improvement with high-efficient equipment is the quicker drying time. "It's not unusual to see washers working fine, dryers working fine, but two or three carts of wet towels waiting to be dried," he said. Then, the natural reaction is to buy a bigger, better dryer. In reality, Hietpas said the washer is the issue. "There are two ways to remove [water]--burn it out in the dryer ... or spin it out in the washer," he said. A high-efficiency washer will spin faster, partially drying linens. It also reduces lint and linen break down--byproducts of intense burning while in the dryer, Hietpas said. He estimates "a mid-level hotel could save nearly $500 per month in labor and natural gas costs using high-speed washers compared to slow-spin models." And these newer models no longer need to be cemented into the ground, making retrofits much less costly. Another new laundry system that adds efficiency uses ozone. According to Eric Eitner, GM of the Motel 6 Nothlake-Speedway (Texas), injecting ozone into the wash cycle acts as a bleach. This saves money in chemicals and energy. "It serves two functions," Eitner said. "It's not only making the linens cleaner and in better shape, but also [it is only] using cold water rather than hot, which equals major energy savings." In Eitner's particular setup, a box automatically pumps in ozone and mixes in the proper amount of other cleaning chemicals depending on the cycle. Maintenance staff only needs to clean the ozone filter each day, which is a two-minute process, Eitner said. By Chris Crowell ASSOCIATE EDITOR

By Doug Smock, Contributing Editor, Materials and Fastening An innovation thrust at the OEM is yielding a sweet new look and a better bottom line Whirlpool significantly boosted its design […]

HOW DOES WHIRLPOOL COOK UP GREAT IDEAS TO GET BACK ON THE FAST TRACK? BY TURNING PEOPLE LOOSE ON THE CHALLENGE OF INNOVATION, AND THEN TURNING UP THE HEAT ON […]

Let's face it -- washing clothes is not thought of as one of life's great pleasures. But Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Whirlpool Corp. are out to change that notion. [...]

Isolate-and-Absorb Strategy Quiets Dishwashers Redesigned parts create less noise. New features reduce sound transmission. Tests show materials selection and placement are critical issues. When Whirlpool began reducing noise levels in [...]

Innovation is a major force behind the tremendous productivity gains in the U.S. I suggest that these gains are spilling over from the workplace into the home and creating new [...]

Did you hear the one about the oven that was used to refrigerate food? Seriously. Whirlpool Corporation (www.whirlpool. corn has created the Polara, an electric range that can be programmed [...]

Whirlpool Corp's 850-watt, VIP countertop microwave oven adds a new dimension to microwave cooking. The oven's quartz grill at the top sends down radiant heat to brown and broil the top of food. Food is browned and heated evenly by a dual-entry microwave system that sends microwave energy from above the food while a lower inlet below the turntable lets in microwave energy at the bottom., Radiant elements bring new dimension to microwave cooking. The word 'crisp' can be deleted from your vocabulary when describing foods prepared in an ordinary microwave oven. Along with sogginess, uneven [...]

Whirlpool Refrigerators Gain Clear Advantage Whirlpool Corp.'s Evansville, Ind., division has found a way to supply refrigerators with clear utility doors that show what's inside the butter compartment, instead of [...]

Two-piece roll-formed oven frame reduces material, scrap and labor costs. The aluminum frame on Whirlpool's line of Eye-Level ranges also served as a drain-a financial drain. The rising cost of [...]

Whirlpool device traps CFCs `Simple' process, first in U.S., also recycles R-12 BENTON HARBOR, Mich. -- Whirlpool Corp. here has developed a simple system to capture and recycle chlorofluorocarbons from [...]

General Electric, the longtime industry color trend-setter, is seeing that status openly challenged by Whirlpool and its already-introduced new colors as it unveils its new colors at the National Assn. [...]

Whirlpool designs new method to capture R-12 An appliance manufacturer and an automobile producer said they are taking steps to prevent the unnecessary release of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants into the [...]

Refrigerator Design Calls for Advanced Foam System Fixture tool changeover from one model to another takes five minutes or less. A new line of 'world-class' refrigerators by Whirlpool Corp., Benton [...]

LED Signboards Lessen Downtime Display devices used as part of Whirlpool's in-plant data highway. At Whirlpool Corp.'s washer facility in Clyde, Ohio, in-plant communications is taken very seriously. As part [...]