“The project objective was to develop a credible, reliable, impressive and durable product, that also would be quite demanding to copy as such. We began looking for a partner locally, and Huld’s references convinced us. We knew immediately after our first meeting together that our choice was made.” says Jarkko Perälä, Project Manager from Salgrom.
Salgrom technologies is a Finnish trailblazer in fire safety and extinguishing technology. The company has developed Salgromatic Spider, a patented aerosol extinguishing system that automatically extinguishes fires in confined spaces within a few seconds. Huld’s experts have taken part in the industrial and mechanical design of the product, all the way from prototype phase to mass production.
There are over 250 million active freight containers in the world. Each one of them is vulnerable to fire without proper fire safety measures. The central goal when designing the product was to improve fire safety in confined spaces without human presence, that is, spaces were fires are not usually detected immediately. The product is designed to improve the fire safety of e.g. maritime and overland transport containers, and of electrical and data rooms that function without human supervision. The device is fully automatic and functions independent from its surroundings. The Spider weighs only 12 kg (approximately 26.5 lbs). The mounting unit consists of integrated magnets, so the device can easily be mounted on one of the walls in the space to be protected. The device is also completely maintenance-free and ready to function for over 10 years.
“The project objective was to develop a credible, reliable, impressive and durable product, that also would be quite demanding to copy as such. We began looking for a partner locally, and Huld’s references convinced us. We knew immediately after our first meeting together that our choice was made.“ says Jarkko Perälä, Project Manager from Salgrom.
Huld’s experts were included in the project and given the task to take the customer’s idea into a concrete level. With close cooperation between Huld’s industrial and mechanical designers, the goal was to ensure that the product not only looked good, but also worked for a long time in confined spaces, was easy to install and did not need maintenance. As far as the client’s business was concerned, it was essential that the product could be produced easily and cost-effectively. The client was convinced already after seeing the first design models, and the product could be designed further all the way to mass production readiness.
“We were sold already when we saw the first design models. It was amazing how well they had listened to our ideas and complied with our wishes. The first model looked already most impressive and credible. We were already completely sure that the end product would be an exquisite machine to revolutionize the fire safety business – and that everybody would want to buy it.“ Perälä says.
Product development projects concentrating on new innovations are often a series of testing different ideas, and plans can change very rapidly. Cooperation between the client and Huld’s experts was flexible from the beginning of the project. All wanted to pull together and find the best possible solution to face all challenges.
“It was great to take part in innovating and developing a product with such a vast potential. It is also nice to see how satisfied the client is with the project progress, and above all, with the end results”, says Huld’s project manager Janne Isokääntä.
The client’s representatives also trusted Huld’s experts when they expressed their views, and relied on their comprehensive experience on getting successful product development projects done.
“Industrial and mechanical designers at Huld did a great job. They came up with good technical ideas that made the product more usable. We had great confidence in Huld’s team and their skills all through the project. Customer feedback on the finalized product has been exclusively positive.“ Perälä continues.