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Product Background
 The Hunter Fan Company needed to re-establish their position in the growing and changing air purification market. At the time, a high end retailer had been successfully selling a private label ionizer at a high price. Meanwhile, Hunter's method of filtering and ionizing the air was better than the competition however, the design was very dated. They identified the need for a new design that had the style and presentation of a modern technology product in a new configuration to allow a vertical tower style design.
The Challenge
 The new air purifier had to be competitive in both aesthetics and function while reaching a moderate price point to attract home improvement and mass market retailers. In addition to the challenge of the redesign, the timeline was extremely tight. With a tradeshow only 3 months away, the design, engineering and prototyping had to be complete and approved in only 10 weeks!
The Design
The new Hunter Fan air purifier combines Hunter's effective cleaning solution to the growing world of upright ionizers. It uses an upright tower profile that brings air in through the front filter area and exits it out the top, which in addition to cleaning the air also helps overall air circulation in the room. It uses an unique axial fan that lends to the upright layout of the overall mechanism, allowing a more even use of the filter space and staging the fan at the top of the product. Since the competitor unit does not use an actual filter, this also gave Hunter a leg up on the competition. Not only does this product ionize the air, but it truly filters the air for a more substantial benefit to the environment. The redesign, developed as a platform for product variations, uses different internal components and user displays for product differentiation.
The Catalyst Difference
Speed to market and designing for the real world gives Catalyst PDG the competitive edge. Through our vertically integrated processes, we are able to significantly reduce the product development cycle and ensure that the concepts we present will not only benefit the user and manufacturer, but can be efficiently produced and marketed. For the Hunter Fan Company, that meant giving them the competitive advantage with innovation and design while successfully meeting stringent deadlines.
Speed To Market
Ferocious deadlines and helping customers get their products to market on time is our business. This particular project involved not only getting to market quickly, but doing it with innovation and a realistic price point. The Hunter Fan Company successfully launched the new product in time to meet market demands, several hundred dollars under the competition's price point.
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