Last Thursday, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Slovenia presented the awards for innovations launched in 2008. In the national finals, the best among the 185 innovations contributed by over 500 innovators who applied at the regional level, won seven gold, eleven silver, and twelve bronze awards, and twelve diplomas. Among the recipients of the most coveted CCIS Gold Award were also the innovators from Gorenje, who won the honours for the new generation of 600-mm cooking appliances.

The development project took just over two years and it included an update and a revamp of the entire production technology, with 100 new technological tools being implemented. The new generation of the Gorenje cooking appliances, with its original solutions and patents, is a set of technologically and functionally most advanced and competitive high-efficiency products in the market. Furthermore, they feature exclusive model protected design.

"Gorenje developed a new comprehensively designed and technically updated generation of cooking appliances whose technological solutions, above all, enable vast power savings. Special shape of the oven, mimicking the vaults of the traditional baker's ovens, and variable infrared heaters aligned with the inclined surface enable a more uniform distribution of the temperature field during cooking, which results in optimum power consumption," reads a part of the explanation by the eight-member jury headed by Mr. Borut Likar, whose task was particularly challenging this year as all proposals presented were excellent.

All innovative concepts and original design and functional solutions employed in the new generation cooking appliances are unique in the industry. I find it particularly notable that they are all entirely the work of Gorenje's in-house development and design teams; therefore, the solutions have been patent protected. This was one of the most extensive projects in the recent years, encompassing as much as 70 percent of the cooking appliances program. Given the development and innovation policies of the company, Gorenje will surely continue to motivate innovativeness of our experts," commented Mr. Boštjan Pečnik, executive director for development at Gorenje, adding that the new generation of cooking appliances is expected to replace the previous generation in the market within a year.

Innovative thinking in a mature industry such as the white goods is certainly a challenge to any development engineer. The CCIS Gold Award For The Best Innovation of 2008 adds to our conviction that Gorenje is headed in the right direction and that we have the capacity to develop innovative products. The new shape of the cavity and the innovative concept of electronic touch control have led to excellent power efficiency, thus providing the entire range of appliances in the A energy class. In addition to the fact that our oven is among the largest in the market, this is certainly something to be proud of. Optimization of the oven cavity was a joint effort with the Fluid Dynamics and Thermodynamics Lab of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Ljubljana, where the virtual simulations of the temperature field and dynamic conditions in the oven cavity were conducted," commented Mr. Mitja Rudolf, head of cooking appliance development at Gorenje. Cooperation with the universities and institutes is a well-established practice in Gorenje's R&D projects and given the positive effects thus far it is bound to continue in the future.

Among the patents employed in the new generation of Gorenje cooking appliances, the most notable ones include the innovative DirecTOUCH electronic program module, a revolutionary novelty in the field of touch control, and the inclined oven cavity ceiling, mimicking the traditional baker's ovens to deliver excellent cooking results. Related to this outstanding property is the patented original solution for the upper heater which is placed at two height levels and hence aligned with the inclined surface. Another patent deals with the transmission of heat to the environment during oven operation: owing to the patented oven cooling system, the air between the oven and the adjacent furniture is cool rather than hot. Also related to cooling is the door cooling system patent, while other patents include the use of sensor-controlled electronic clocks, and the very appearance of the appliances which are available in two design versions: the minimalistic Pure and the dynamic Allure.