[News Inside] The Apple of the Home Appliance Industry, an Icon of Innovation

by Kwon Jaehee

Published 24 Jan.2021 13:16(KST)

Dyson Founder James Dyson

James Dyson, founder of Dyson.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jaehee] There is a figure who surprised the world in the red ocean of the home appliance market.

That is James Dyson.

He brought to the world the world's first vacuum cleaner without a dust bag and a bladeless fan, which were only imaginable before, through technology. As a result, he was knighted by the Queen of the United Kingdom in 2007.

Dyson, regarded as a successful 'inventor,' is neither an engineer nor a business major. As an industrial designer, Dyson holds the philosophy that solving everyday inconveniences is the top priority. This philosophy is considered the background for Dyson products becoming luxury home appliances worldwide today.

James Dyson was born in 1947 into a middle-class family in Norfolk, northern England. After majoring in industrial design at the Royal College of Art in the UK, he worked at the engineering company Rotork, designing a high-speed landing craft called the 'Sea Truck' that could transport cargo quickly, developing his engineering sense. Four years later, he started his own business and invented the Ballbarrow, a garden wheelbarrow with a ball-shaped wheel filled with water that does not tip over. The company he established to sell this, 'Kirk Dyson,' became the origin of Dyson today.

In 1979, while using a vacuum cleaner, Dyson found a clue that would lead to the Dyson we know today. After prolonged use, the dust suction power decreased compared to when it was new. He disassembled the product to find the cause and decided to develop a new vacuum cleaner to solve this problem. After about five years of research and development, he accidentally discovered the 'cyclone' technology at a sawmill, which separates air and sawdust using air rotation. He applied this to a vacuum cleaner and invented the world's first vacuum cleaner without a dust bag in 1984.

He searched for manufacturers to produce the vacuum cleaner he invented but was repeatedly rejected dozens of times. Finally, he established his own company. In 1993, he founded Dyson and began selling the cyclone vacuum cleaner he made directly in the European market. Within 18 months of its launch, it caused a sensation by ranking first in the UK market.

Since then, he has continuously released creative and inconvenience-solving home appliances such as silent hair dryers and bladeless fans, elevating Dyson products to the status of luxury home appliances worldwide.

The reason Dyson could release home appliances that solve users' inconveniences while also possessing aesthetic appeal is due to Dyson's philosophy and the 'Design Research and Development Center' that realizes it.

About 40% of Dyson's global employees are design engineers. Designers and engineers with various backgrounds, from industrial design to software engineering, incorporate new ideas into products.

James Dyson is known for hiring recent university graduates to foster flexible thinking. He believes their creativity, fearless spirit toward failure, and innovative ideas greatly contribute to new product development.

Recently, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused a shortage of ventilators in the UK, he developed and produced ventilators at his company's factory.