On the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Loimaa factory, Vallox brings to the market a totally new product category for the company; Vallox Pureo air handling units. They are targeted at the ventilation of offices and commercial premises. Developing a new product category has required determination and perseverance. The hand of Product Manager Juuso Nyström is clearly visible in the product development.
Juuso Nyström was employed by Vallox appr. two years ago for this project and now he is eagerly waiting to introduce the new Vallox Pureo product line to the customers. Nyström knows the products through and through since he has been in the key position in their development.
-When I came to Vallox nearly two years ago only the initial plans for this new product category existed. From then on we started to fine down the plan and then to materialize it.
First Nyström clarified the prerequisites for the new category. Research covered e.g. the requirements and expectations of the potential customerbase and seeking out the building regulations and guidance in different market areas. Based on the results, Nyström compiled a long list of technical requirements for the forthcoming units.
-Block defrosting automation, technical performance, thermo technical properties, serviceability, installability, different requirements for the automation and so on, recites Nyström recalling the list of technical requirements definition about a year and a half ago.
Ambitiously, the objective was to exceed the minimum requirements. Then Nyström started to negotiate with the manufacturer, which belongs to the business cluster of Vallox owners. In the end, four different teams were involved: in addition to the manufacturer of the main unit, one team focused on developing the control panel, another the controller and then there was also a software team to set up the selection program for the units.
Today Nyström is proud to stand next to the first Vallox Pureo air handling units ready for shipping to the customers. Nyström describes that his work as Product Manager was like one of the puppet master, coordinating and controlling wholeness. The pandemia created some extra challenges since the teams were located in different countries. The flexibility and using digital tools helped to overcome those challenges.
-You must know what the each team is doing at any particular time. It is really important to have an integrated schedule to proceed smoothly. And of course understanding the technology is helpful, but equally important is to be able to ask the right questions from the right people.
According to Nyström, it is a unique experience to work as a Product Manager in a new product category. The best part of the job is creating something new.
-Installation of the 0-series i.e. the very first units from the pre-production, was a great moment. That’s when the hard work done for a year and a half materialized. It really created faith that we had succeeded.