Face to face: interior talk

Nuno Morais, Senda, export manager.
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What are the latest trends in bathroom and sanitaryware?

Nuno Morais, Senda, export manager, answers We specialise in stainless steel bathrooms, which is a niche market.

I think the preference for this material is growing because it is long-lasting and it is resistant to vandalism. The initial investment is higher than other materials but customers do get a return on this investment in the long-run.

Abdallah Sabbagh, Condor, CEO, answers We have products that are made to measure and we are able to implement hotel logos or other designs into our sanitary products. Developers and contractors are generally asking for custom-made products at the moment.

What new technologies are being introduced in this sector?

Nuno Morais answers Stainless steel sanitaryware is generally seen as a commercial product but we don’t see it like this.

We believe it can also be used at home. Therefore we are producing a new coating, which will make it look more domestic. We also provide other finishes for stainless steel, such as highly-polished and satin.

Abdallah Sabbagh answers We provide a sensor in some of our products, which can be used to turn on water jets rather than the traditional push button. We also offer very small jets so 200 jets can be implemented into one bath tub, for example.

The jets have different power options also. This technology is popular in hotels at the moment. Our systems are also quieter than traditional systems and have less vibration.

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Which projects are you currently supplying your products to?

Nuno Morais answers We are involved in a project in Saudi Arabia and are supplying to a distributor. We also hope to be awarded the contract to supply our products to a hospital in Oman.

Abdallah Sabbagh answers We make some products especially for the Middle East, but at the moment we are not working on any projects here. In Europe we are supplying to five-star hotels.

Do your products have environmental advantages?

Nuno Morais answers We are working on producing waterless products. We already have a water-free urinal and we are testing a system, which combines a toilet and basin in the same piece. The water you use to wash your hands will then be disposed into the toilet, which is then used to flush the toilet.

Also, stainless steel is a material that can be recycled and it is lighter than ceramics so more of our products can be put into one container and transported from place to place, which in-turn saves on energy.

Abdallah Sabbagh answers The consumption of water is generally high when it comes to bathroom products but the flow of the pump can be adjusted on our products so that water is saved. For example, 200 litres per minute can be pumped out instead of 250 litres.

We also have a product called Aurealis, which is a hot tub with stainless steel jets. These jets come complete with heaters and ozone disinfectors so you can use the tub for a few days without having to refill it.

What do you hope to achieve next year?

Nuno Morais answers Despite what has been said about the so-called crisis, we don’t have a reason to complain because we are still growing.

We are not, however, growing at the rate we used to, but hope to see some improvement next year. Schools, airports and hospitals still demand stainless steel sanitarywear.

Abdallah Sabbagh answers The financial crisis has given us an opportunity to concentrate on developing new technologies, so we will be supplying these to a lot of projects in 2010.