REPIC, the UK's leading electronic waste recycling compliance scheme, has launched judicial review proceedings challenging the Government's failure to close loopholes in the recycling system of domestic appliances.

Amica, the leading Polish appliances manufacturer, has been honoured with a Product of the Year award for the second year running, by the Polish edition of Reader's Digest.

In response to the recent Local Government Association survey about major retailers' packaging, Envirowise, the sustainable business expert, has launched a new advisory tool to help companies reduce the environmental impact and costs of packaging.

The European Commission has unveiled a new label layout proposal for the mandatory EU energy label (A to G), reports The Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances (AMDEA). The proposal is currently being considered by Member States and other services within the European Commission and a final document will be provided in the near feature.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and fdf (Foundation Degree Forward) have joined forces to offer more support to smaller businesses facing skills gap issues. Foundation degrees offer businesses the chance of improving the professional standards of their staff with minimal disruption to productivity. The courses offer local delivery, distance-learning, part time and e-learning opportunities to provide maximum flexibility in study patterns to fit around workforce commitments.

BSH Customer Service, servicing the Bosch, Neff, Siemens and Gaggenau brands, has appointed Austin Woods to the new position of contact centre trainer & quality team leader. Austin Woods has been with BSH Customer Service since 2006. 

The focus of this year's retra Annual Industry Conference, being held at the Radisson SAS Hotel, Portman Square, London on Monday, 27 April 2009, will be the means of tackling business challenges posed by recession.

The trade press as much as the national media make for very grim reading at present.  The headline news - growing unemployment (hitting almost the 2 million mark), problems with credit insurance cover, prospects of further business rates rises, continuing closures of companies, including the biggest  household names, exports falling and the prospects of fiscal boost from the public purse in the forthcoming Budget disappearing - could drive anyone to depression.

Staff at Indesit Company's call centre in Peterborough ran a host of fun initiatives in support of Comic Relief 2009 on Friday, 13 March.

At the Bosch Dimension product showcase in Telford the company demonstrated its commitment to energy efficiency and protection of the environment which was reflected by its latest products, such as the ActiveWash dishwasher, EcoLogixx 7 condenser dryer and its latest generation of washing machines.

Called ‘Siemens Fusion', the new collection of Siemens built-in and freestanding kitchen appliances combines three essential factors: energy saving, time efficiency and modern design. 

Nespresso's new range of three coffee machines is aimed at style-conscious city dwellers.

The latest wall mounted bracket from Alphason has been designed for use in corners.

Morphy Richards is bringing back the popular small appliances brand Goblin with the introduction of a new range of floorcare products.

Stoves has introduced a nifty solution for those that want to increase their cooking capacity without changing their existing appliance.

Apple's third-generation iPod Shuffle is the first music player that talks to you, says the maker.

Smeg has expanded its popular retro refrigeration range with the introduction of a standalone tall freezer.

Spring cleaning is set to become a more colourful experience with the latest cleaners from Electrolux.

Neff's popular SlideAway oven door which disappears from view under the oven, has been rolled out onto six new models.

Panasonic has started off 2009 with a bang by announcing a raft of new products and technologies, including its first white goods products aimed at the European market. Also being launched over the next twelve months are a new range of eco products, an internet-based TV service, super-slim plasma displays and Blu-ray recorders.

The process of ‘spreading the word' about AMDEA's ‘Time to Change' campaign continues, most recently at events organised by the CBI and the Energy Saving Trust in London, Manchester and Glasgow.

DAB's profile has never been higher - even if it wasn't always for the right reasons. First the good news - and there's lots of it. According to the DRDB (Digital Radio Development Bureau), half a million DAB radios were sold in December 2008 alone, with cumulative sales now more than 8.5 million. Total sales for 2008 were two million pieces, a 3% increase, year-on-year. In the same period, analogue sales were down more than 7% and the consumer electronics market fell by 5%.

With this product, you get a high-end iPod speaker system with DAB/FM radio that retails for around £99.  The InFusion is a compact system that includes a built-in 25-watt speaker with sub-woofer, remote control and alarm. It also charges the iPod whilst it's docked.

A DAB sound system packaged with an FM tuner and CD player, that also allows users to plug in a USB stick or an SD card to record songs from the radio or CDs, as well as playback MP3 or WMA files from a PC. A multi-mode alarm system means users can be woken by a buzzer, radio, or music from an iPod, CD, SD card or USB stick. Other features include: 20 station presets, six-position equaliser, line output socket, headphone socket and an auxiliary input for iPod/MP3 playback.

The Avanti Flow is a table top digital music system which offers DAB, FM and internet radio listening. Its built-in Wi-Fi technology means users can quickly connect it to a wireless home network, and also stream music to it from a PC. There are 30 DAB presets and 10 FM presets, plus connections for an iPod or MP3 player, as well as a 3-mode alarm.

You get a DAB radio, along with a CD player, FM radio and a connection for MP3 players with the maple finished XDR-S100CD. There are also built-in stereo speakers, a pause/rewind feature, Electronic Program Guide, alarm and sleep timer, as well as 20 DAB and 20 FM presets.

This ultra-slim system is bound to turn a few heads in-store, with its paperback-depth space saving design and power door. There's also 40-watt power output, DAB radio with FM/AM reception, iPod dock, MP3 playback and CD player. The SC-HC3DB is also environmentally friendly, using just 0.2 watts of power when in standby mode.

The banks are still lending although the present situation has made them more cautious. Gone are the days where a round of golf with your bank manager led to your loan request being granted. Now banks have strict hierarchical structures for dealing with loan applications. You need to disclose the purpose of the loan - this determines which package you apply for. You also need a solid business plan with cashflow forecasts; copies of your personal and business bank accounts; details on other loans you or your business might have; any potential bad debts.

The selected words in sentence construction give a good indication of someone's ‘preferred' language.

Some of us use visual words such as: see, looks; picture this, and other colourful adjectives. A visual may say ‘Can you see what I mean?'

Overall, the total refrigeration market is down 9.2% in volume and 6.7% in value, based on GfK figures for year on year Jan 07-Dec 07 against Jan 08-Dec 08. One of the biggest falls is in side-by-side refrigeration, which is down 14.4% in value and 14.6% in value. This could be in part to a slight price increase of 0.3%, with the average price per unit £685.06 against £683.35 the previous year.

New for Siemens is the in-door sensor technology, which gives more accurate temperature control. This freestanding frost-free fridge freezer features a sophisticated electronic control system on the exterior of the fridge door to maintain temperature and promote safe food storage without continually opening the door to check.  This 70cm wide appliance is A+ rated for energy efficiency and comes with climateKontrol for full air circulation throughout the fridge, bacteriaKontrol to prevent build-up of bacteria, child lock and AirFilter.

New Zealand brand Fisher & Paykel has launched an integrated, multi-temperature refrigeration drawer that functions as a fridge, pantry, chiller, freezer and wine cooler. At 90cm wide, it slots in perfectly with modern kitchen designs and is ideal for island units and long runs. There's great potential for sales as this is designed to be an add-on product to complement existing refrigeration. A+ rated for energy, it has 123-litre volume and comes as a standard integrated version. There's also an EZKleen stainless steel skin to match the brand's designer product range.

MasterCool is a large capacity flagship range due to be launched this spring, which combines European design with the American concept of size and user convenience. The range includes refrigerators, freezers, fridge freezers and wine conditioning units, all with high energy efficiency, an intuitive user interface and simple installation. Available in widths between 44cm and 90cm as fully integrated units, they also feature multiple halogen spotlights inside the cabinet, microclimate controls and through-the-door ice and water dispenser.

In terms of technologies, the A+ rated DKP825B is the first cooling appliance on the market with in-built ICS (Intelligent Control System). With three temperature settings, the independently controlled delicatessen drawer will automatically choose the ideal temperature for any delicate or sensitive foodstuffs, such as meat or fish. Further vegetable compartments preserve the crispness and freshness of the foods while an LCD display will indicate the separate temperatures of the fridge and freezer simultaneously. 

A great success story for the consumer electronics industry, the satellite navigation (or sat-nav) sector has seen high levels of growth over the last few years. Figures from data specialist GfK show that sat-nav was the fastest-growing consumer electronics sector in 2006, and the figures for last year are also encouraging. Sales volume has seen significant growth from 2,316,377 (January-December '07) to 2,725,841 units (January-December '08). Overall sales value has decreased slightly, but this can be attributed to average prices falling rapidly, as the products become more mainstream and also to heavy discounting during the current economic downturn.

In these difficult times people are tempted to buy cheap electrical equipment. That's usually a mistake. If a radio, TV or whatever costs twice as much but lasts five times as long as the cheapest available - and performs better into the bargain - which is really the best value for money?

Vogel's - over 35 years of innovation - industry expert in the design, placement and manufacturing of mounts and furniture for audio/video equipment. Today, the company is the European market leader and one of the most trusted and well-known experts in the industry. Our in-depth knowledge and experience in this category and our understanding of consumer insights can help you and your business achieve maximum sales and profitability.

Rhian O'Neill, Marketing Communications Manager at Hoover Candy Group, explains that understanding the cooling requirements of your customers is the key to gaining sales and repeat business.