Habitech NWDC facility off to a flying start

In these difficult times, a cutting-edge demo facility may not always be your top priority, but it's an invaluable selling tool nonetheless. To bridge the gap, a number of distributors are now setting up shared environments for custom installers to utilise. One such is the new Habitech and the North West Design Centre collaboration, and it's the perfect location to take potential clients in order to win their business.

The NWDC is located in Lancashire, and is part of the Dawnvale Group. Within the design centre are sales pods sponsored by numerous different companies and furnished with sample materials, carpets and wall coverings. Tucked away upstairs are the theatre kitchens; used by Celebrity Chefs, these provide world class induction technology and showcase the latest eco-friendly cooking equipment. There are even specialist bar mixology training rooms! However it was the newly constructed cinema, installed by Majik House of Lancashire, with a little help from the team at Epson UK, that really caught our attention.

Habitech NWDC highlights
Inside CI jumped at the chance to exclusively cover the November 28 launch event for the facility. Epson, Wyrestorm, Yamaha, Demopad, The Majik House and the NWDC staff were all on hand to help with the design element. The event proved hugely popular, with around 69 dealers arriving throughout the day. Epson had its flagship EH-TW9100 projector on show (first unveiled back at IFA), but the main attraction for me was the neatly constructed cinema room which was controlled via an IPad running Demopad software.

The  boys from the Majik House have created a great room with some special design elements supplied by the NWDC; I particularly loved the small pod seats and custom designed door in a metallic finish. The walls and ceilings have been especially finished with Venetian gloss plaster which is very impressive, while drop-down coving hides the lighting treatment, creating a great atmosphere. 

One overwhelming reason for a custom installer to use the NWDC has to be the ability to supply a client the complete package: if they want a state of the art bar as well as a high tech cinema you'll be able to quote it with confidence, as Dawnvale will take over the design and build. The finish of all the rooms is very high, with impressive attention to detail.

Habitech MD Jonathan Pengilley was delighted with the response from visitors: "The NWDC is a perfect match for Habitech," he told Inside CI. "It gives us a great venue to demonstrate the latest home entertainment technology and hopefully it will increase awareness within the Interior Design market sector about what is available." He cited the new Invisible speakers from Sonance as a fine example of this. "Designers are always telling us that their client hate the look of speaker grills, well now there is a way to provide great sound without seeing anything".

Phil Gibbs and Paul Bayliss, Northern and Southern sales manager for Epson UK, were equally impressed. "We're overwhelmed by the number of dealers we have seen here today, with all of them commenting on how good it was to see manufacturers, distributors and designers working together in harmony".

Inside CI also caught up with Adrian Ickeringill, EMEA General Manager for Wyrestorm, which was showing off its new QI (Quick Install range) and a new brochure, which will be downloadable from the Wyrestorm site as well as the Inside CI Wyrestorm Partner Page. "This is a great venue," he told us "and it's nice to see so many people taking the time to attend during such a busy trading period. We think the showroom will be a great tool for installers to use as a demonstration platform to clients".

Denise Jones Showroom manager for the NWDC was thrilled at the reaction to the showroom. "It's been an excellent day," she said "and we've had some great feedback from the suppliers and installers."

For more on the North West Design Centre click here
Visit Habitech online here and check our their Partner Page here
For more on Surface Wall Finishes visit their website here
Check out Wyrestorm website here as well its Partner Page here
Click here for more on the new Epson range and don't forget its Partner Page here
Visit The Majik House online here
For more on Yamaha visit the brand's online portal
Click here for more about Demopad