Bissell finds revolutionary technology in Holland, new product targets $500M carpet cleaning market

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By: Deborah Johnson Wood

There’s nothing like it on the household deep cleaning market. Bissell Homecare Inc. recently announced the launch of its PROdry carpet cleaner that deep cleans carpets using technology that enables them to dry in 30 minutes or less.

The technology, created by the Holland plant of Minneapolis-based Tennant Company, has been used in commercial carpet cleaning machines for years — machines that cost from $3,000 to $8,000 each. But now the technology is available to homeowners for under $200 retail.

“This is one of the biggest breakthroughs in carpet cleaning anywhere in the world,” says Jim Krzeminski, executive vice president of sales, marketing and product development at BISSELL Homecare. “People don’t have Saturday afternoon to set aside for cleaning and to open the windows and let the carpets dry. This product is as easy to use as a vacuum. Now they can take it out of the closet, clean the carpets and have them dry sometimes in less than 30 minutes.”

Bissell leased the patented technology from Tennant; development of the PROdry took nearly two years.

“We saw this commercial technology being used by Tennant’s Advanced Development Group, a neighbor of ours right here in Holland, and we struck up a conversation that would allow us to take this technology into the home in an easy to use product,” Krzeminski says.

Bissell is the leading manufacturer in the $500 million home deep cleaning market. An estimated 40 percent of U.S. households own a carpet cleaning appliance, second only to upright vacuums which are insome 90 percent of U.S. households.

“Floor care overall is a $4 billion market, and that’s measured retail number based on sales,” Krzeminski says. “We expect the PROdry to open up a huge market of households who want deep cleaning; it’s all related to the amount of time it takes to do the cleaning, and to have your life back in place in 30 minutes has never been available before.”

Source: Jim Krzeminski, Bissell Homecare, Inc.

Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at deborah@rapidgrowthmedia.com.