The Surprising Battle Between Dyson and Paper Towel Manufacturers

Yes, you read it wrong. In the paper towel and hand dryer industry from a war that has been going on for years we are talking about. Perhaps we have unknowingly taken a side for years on an issue that we did not attach any importance to or think about.

Right now, when we use an outdoor toilet, we are likely to encounter three parties involved in this war. Our old and faithful friend paper towelthe old-school hand dryer, and the machine that appears to be produced with alien technology, which will be our main hero in this story. Dyson Airblade hand dryer…

Let’s go back a little. In fact, there is not much time difference between the invention of paper towels and hand dryers!

Our humble friend paper towel for the first time in 1907 The hand dryer, which brought a new breath to the hand drying industry, was produced for the first time. in 1922 is coming to market.

Of course, the hand dryer in 1922 was quite different from the electric and fast versions we use today. It was a primitive model. For this reason, paper towels continued to enjoy unwavering popularity, as opposed to this machine that blew air as a result of the person constantly pressing a pedal.

Over time, models that were powered by electricity and dried hands faster with a more powerful motor also appeared and were slowly spreading. But generally speaking, the hand dryer industry in the 20th century He didn’t seem to be in much of a rush to improve..

Dyson’s decision to enter the hand dryer industry would greatly upset our old friend, the paper towel.

Dyson, who started research in 2003, in 2006 They launched a hand dryer called Airblade.

This new product had a very innovative design compared to other hand dryers on the market. In addition, due to the strong and fast air blowing, the most basic problem of hand dryers is “speed” It was a solution to the problem.

Confident in its product, Dyson has been more competitive than its older dryers, which has led to the emergence of paper towels, the strongest player in the hand drying lobby. actively involved in the war caused.

Dyson Airblade claimed to solve many problems caused by paper towels.

Dyson, which has been trying to sell its product by making sales calls very actively since 2006, has He had no intention of remaining silent. They mostly focused on two main points about the advantages of the product. Environmentalism and low cost!

Since paper towels are costly and have a very high carbon footprint from production to transportation, Dyson has decided to use their own product, Airblade, instead of paper towels. much more efficient He argued that it would happen.

Also, when using paper towels, Piles of napkins, clogged toilets, risk of theft of rolls and constant replenishment of paper towels There were also problems like this.

Here, Dyson’s telling the bitter truth put the paper towel manufacturers on the offensive. Their weapon would be “hygiene”!

Even before Dyson was introduced to the market, the main argument of paper towel manufacturers was hygiene. In fact, in order to put its old rivals in a difficult situation, it was published in academic journals that paper towels were proven to be more hygienic. They were funding research.

Peace had been achieved for paper towel manufacturers, who had funded dozens of articles, and Dyson had virtually penetrated this market. It fell like a bolt of lightning.

This caused paper towel manufacturers to continue their research funding frenzy and Claiming that hand dryers are unhygienic A lot of work has emerged.

Of course, Dyson was not idle during this process. He also decided to support science with the same tactic.

Dyson, like its competitors will produce results in line with their own interests. was funding research. Thus, over the years, two rivals have funded A lot of research has found place in the literature.

Made in this process There was only one truly independent study.

As a result, it was concluded that it would be more appropriate to use paper towels in places where hygiene is required, such as hospitals and clinics.

Of course, these hand dryer manufacturers It didn’t work very well. Because they argued that their products were at least as hygienic as paper towels.

The research wars have gone so far that Dyson actually crashed a conference of researchers doing research in favor of paper towel manufacturers!

He attended a conference and saw Keith Redway, a microbiologist for many paper towel manufacturers, who was thought to have conducted biased research, during his presentation. They cornered him with questions.

In fact, while they were attending that conference organized by paper towel manufacturers, the first thing an officer saw was the participants’ Dyson badges. He didn’t want to let him in.

Dyson’s microbiologist, Toby Saville, attended a conference where Redway refuted Saville’s work. Joining under a fake nameis known to have listened to the presentation.

As a result, Dyson wanted to dominate the market dominated by paper towels and found itself in a war.

Dyson, which entered a market where paper towels easily ruled and disturbed its rival greatly, found itself academic articles flying in the air He found himself in a war.

According to a study conducted in 2020, although sales figures are still in favor of paper towels, from 2012 to 2020, hand dryers have lost the market share of paper towels. He managed to steal 873 million dollars.

Which side do you support in this war?

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