HTC Sweden AB # April - 2009 HTC win the patent dispute! pages 2-3 HTC s new home on the Internet page 4-5 Product News page 6-8 HTC Corporate Identity page 9 HTC 1500 ixt - in Portugal page 10 Miscellaneous News page 11
Dear reader, PRESS RELEASE! HTC win the against 3M Spring is approaching, the sun slowly starts to warm and the evenings are becoming longer. We hope that this issue of HTC News can bring you some spring excitement as well in the shape of news which can benefit you as a customer or partner to HTC. The main news which we at HTC obviously feel extra happy about is the victory in the patent dispute regarding the innovation Twister. Read more about what this means in reality on this spread. Apart from new tools for among other things concrete and wood grinding, HTC also has a new modern website which we strongly recommend you to familiarize yourself with! Enjoy your reading! The patent dispute in the Swedish High Court of Justice between HTC Sweden, the Swedish government through the Swedish Civil Aviation Administration (LFV) and 3M s distributor is now settled with HTC Sweden as the winner. According to the High Court of Justice, HTC s European patent for Twister is completely valid and HTC own the exclusive rights of the Twister technology and its methods. The verdict means that the High Court of Justice unambiguously establishes that HTC s European patent is valid and will probably hold in a final trial. This means that 3M s plagiarism of HTC s invention, Twister, isn t allowed to be sold in Sweden. It also means that LFV isn t allowed to use the 3M product. Breaches against the verdict could lead to a fine of 500,000 Swedish kronor. Furthermore, this considerably strengthens HTC s possibilities to internationally defend their invention, Twister. A great victory and a joy to see such a well analysed and supported verdict, says Håkan Thysell, founder of HTC and the inventor of Twister. The background of the patent dispute Twister represents a revolution in the cleaning industry with chemical free cleaning, which at the same time creates Mats Tikkanen Marketing HTC Sweden AB, 2009. HN09#April Produced and printed by HTC Sweden AB. HTC News is a newsletter that is published in Swedish and English. Publisher: Håkan Thysell HTC Sweden AB P.O Box 69, SE-614 22 Söderköping, Sweden Tel: +46 (0)121-294 00, Fax: +46 (0)121-152 12 www.htc-floorsystems.com 2 HTC News # April 2009
patent dispute and LFV amazingly clean and shiny floors. It replaces all conventional products for floor cleaning and related chemicals, which consequently forms a large commercial threat towards 3M and the suppliers of chemicals. This is why 3M plagiarised HTC s invention and started selling it internationally, despite the fact the HTC hold a granted patent at EPO (the European Patent Office). Since LFV and 3M s distributor City Papper, despite requests from HTC, refused to respect the patent, HTC was forced to sue them to defend its rights to the invention. 3M however promised to pay LFV s expenses if they lost the dispute. LFV and 3M had also filed a joint counter complaint towards HTC where they demand that HTC s European patent of the Twister system is suspended. However, the verdict means that the High Court of Justice makes the assessment that this will not be succeeded. Chemical free cleaning with Twister Twister is a unique cleaning system with diamond impregnated pads for cleaning machines invented by Håkan Thysell, founder of HTC. This method facilitates completely chemical-free cleaning, i.e. significant environmental benefits, as well as better results and lower costs, in other words this is a typical example of a Clean Tech product! By eliminating the need for both conventional cleaning pads and floor cleaning chemicals and achieving a very rapid breakthrough in an increasingly environ- mentally-aware market, Twister represents a threat for many large companies which today dominate this market. The product has quickly become an unbelievably immense commercial success and approximately 1,000,000 Twister pads have already been delivered. HTC has a method patent for the use of Twister and international agreements both for distribution and use of Twister has been signed with many of the major operators within the cleaning industry. Twister will consistently be a corner stone in the new concepts for environmental cleaning which are being prepared all over the world right now, the so called Green Cleaning! Leading multiple stores organisations like ICA, CO-OP, Willys, Tesco, Harrods, ASDA, Metro and more already use the system in the daily cleaning of their stores. Håkan Thysell and Sten Jeansson celebrates the victory. HTC News # April 2009 3
HTC s new home on the Internet The complete HTC Group now has a new, united place on the Internet. February 12 the new website was launched at www.htc-floorsystems.com and this is where you from now on will find all information about HTC and its subsidiaries. The new address www.htc-floorsystems.com had already started being implemented but it is first now that the new website has been launched. The website is currently only available in English but the translation into Swedish, French and German has already begun and will be launched shortly. The content of the new website is divided into five sections which are explained briefly below: Products Just as the heading indicates you will find all grinding machines, tools, accessories and other products from HTC in this section. Floor Solutions Apart from the actual products HTC has also, as you know, developed quite a few unique solutions for floor. Information about these can be found here. Your Floor This section contains information, grinding guides and cleaning guides for specific types of floor. Your Profession Here we turn towards specific customer groups with information that is intended specifically for them. These customer groups can also be reached from a special section on the first page. HTC Global HTC Global contains all remaining information about HTC. Among other things a short description about the company, contact information for HTC and its partners, information about HTC Academy, Events and documents available for download. We welcome you all to visit the new website and if you have opinions about something we would be happy if you contacted us regarding this as we intend to continue develop and improve the website also in the future. 4 HTC News # April 2009
www.htc-floorsystems.com HTC News # April 2009 5
Product News Kåre Kilgren Product Manager EZwood tool series We have done changes in the EZwood series to make it even more efficient for wood grinding. The 14, 24 and 36 grit from the EZwood series have been excluded from the tool series and are included in a new prep series. All tools in the series are only made flexible. The flexibility in the tool makes the efficiency higher and results better. The series is expanded with a 50 grit tool and with the colour gold. Name Item no. Description EZwood Gold 50 grit EZwood Grey 60 grit 212098 211955 A coarse tool used when EZwood Grey 60 grit isn t aggressive enough. Next grinding step is EZwood Grey 60 grit. A coarse tool for levelling of uneven floors, e.g. duckboards and removing sealant. Next grinding step normally is 80 grit abrasive paper or EZwood Brown 80 grit. EZwood Brown 80 grit EZwood Black 100 grit 211956 Recommended starting tool for most floors. Effectively removes oil and thin sealant. Next grinding step normally is 100 grit abrasive paper or EZwood Black 100 grit. 211957 Recommended starting tool for much levelled floors with for example thin oil. Next grinding step normally is 100 or 120 grit abrasive paper. The complete box for wood grinding - all the tools and accessories you need in one box. Name Item no. Description HTC EZwood box 212008 Content: EZwood Gold 50 grit - 9pcs (Item no. 212098), EZwood Grey 60 grit - 9pcs (Item no. 211955), EZwood Brown 80 grit - 9pcs (Item no. 211956), EZwood Black 100 grit - 9pcs (Item no. 211957), Abrasive paper 80/100/120 (Item no.10782/10783/10785, 50pcs of each), Wood grinding holder - 3pcs (Item no. 211061), Pad holder - 3pcs (Item no. 210670), Foamflex 175 mm - 3pcs (Item no. 211045), EZwood Oil pad - 3pcs (Item no. 212010), Steel brush (Item no. 11618) 6 HTC News # April 2009
Product sheets on new products will be available on www.htc-floorsystems.com New Super Resin tools HTC are keeping up the work and the inventions towards the solution for the ultimate grinding tool. We are now proudly presenting the new Super Resin tool series SB and BB. The new tools are based on Super Resin but with a totaly new formula and a new invention. This invention has the effect that we are increasing the efficiency of the tool with up to 100 % and we are increasing the life with up to 30 %, compared to the best tools on the market. The SB (small block) and BB (big block) are produced as blocks on an EZ metal wing with two different shapes. The two series are available from 3 Grey up to 8 White. EZ SB EZ BB Name Art no. Description EZ SB 3 Grey EZ BB 3 Grey 212032 212042 An all-round tool with a coarse removal capacity and a long life. EZ BB 3 Grey has an extreme long life. EZ SB 4 Brown EZ BB 4 Brown 212033 212043 An all-round tool with a good removal capacity and a long life. EZ BB 4 Brown has an extreme long life. EZ SB 5 Black EZ BB 5 Black 212035 212044 An all-round tool for fine removal and with a long life. EZ BB 5 Black has an extreme long life. EZ SB 6 Blue EZ BB 6 Blue 212036 212045 An all-round tool for fine removal and with a long life. EZ BB 6 Blue has an extreme long life. EZ SB 7 Red EZ BB 7 Red 212037 212046 An all-round tool for polishing and with a long life. EZ BB 7 Red has an extreme long life. EZ SB 8 White EZ BB 8 White 212038 212047 An all-round tool for polishing and with a long life. EZ BB 8 White has an extreme long life. SB / BB - What s the difference? The difference between SB (Small Block) and BB (Big Block) is the segment height. To see the difference between the tools during the grinding process, the corners are made rounded on the SB segments. EZ SB Segment height: 8 mm EZ BB Segment height: 12 mm HTC News # April 2009 7
Product News HTC EZ LP series HTC have extended the tool range on the prep tools with a LP series (Light prep). The LP tools are perfect for lighter preparation of floors with thin coverings like paint, varnish, epoxy, screed, acrylic and glue. The series are available in LP 0 Lilac, LP 1 Silver and LP 2 Gold. The tools are with a plate with one layer of crushed hard material fixed on an EZ metal wing. Name Item no. Description EZ LP 0 Lilac 211980 A very coarse tool. Effective when removing and grinding thin floor coverings. EZ LP 1 Silver 211981 A very coarse tool. Effective when removing and grinding thin floor coverings. EZ LP 2 Gold 211953 A very coarse tool. Effective when removing and grinding thin floor coverings. HTC Superprep - brochure is here soon HTC Superfloor and HTC Twister has one, soon HTC Superprep also has a brochure explaining the advantages in using HTC grinders as a preferred method when preparing your floor. The brochure will not focus on what the finished floor is going to be, but more give a general overview on where time and money can be saved. We know for a fact that a HTC grinder in many cases is a smarter and more flexible machine compared to other Floor prep equipments like shot blasters and scarifyers. Hopefully you will find all the answers you seek in the new brochure that will come soon. Henrik Pettersson Business Unit Manager Rental & Floor Preparation 8 HTC News # April 2009
The new HTC Corporate Identity is being introduced You may have noticed some changes in the graphical materials from HTC during the last couple of months. This is because we are introducing our new Corporate Identity. HTC is a global company with a high development speed. Several new products or concepts see the light of day every year. This is why a strong and common profile is an important part of HTC s development and success. The most noticeable change for our customers is the new brand logotypes. As HTC communicate on many different markets, both in a global and domestic respect and to different parts of the flooring business, logos have to be easily recognized as an HTC brand. Therefore the HTC star will from now on always appear as an element in concept logos. This also means that both of our well known concepts HTC Superfloor and HTC Twister now have an updated logotype. The new graphical profile will be implemented on all new materials being produced which mean that during the transition you may find both new and old versions of logotypes out on the market. HTC News # April 2009 9
HTC 1500 ixt - in Portugal HTC distributor for Spain and Portugal, ANZEVE, has recently delivered a HTC 1500 ixt to the Portuguese company Gold Jump. This is the first HTC 1500 ixt delivered in South Europe. The machine is now working on the new mall Gran Plaza in Tavira, a touristic town in the Portuguese region of Algarve. Gold Jump is a company with a large experience in grinding projects in Portugal. They looked for an effective grinding machine for large areas and this model was the right machine for their needs. They had the chance to confirm the capabilities of HTC 1500 ixt during a demo organized by Anzeve in Madrid for grinding companies of Spain and Portugal. Countries with a HTC 1500 ixt Sweden Germany USA Poland Denmark Slovenia Norway Portugal 10 HTC News # April 2009
Miscellaneous News ISO 9001:2008 HTC UK are the first subsidiary to achieve ISO accreditation! It was a lot of hard work, but we did it! HTC UK have been awarded ISO 9001:2008 the internationally recognised standard for an organisations internal Quality Management. This means that our office s actions ensure that our products and services not only satisfy our customers quality requirements, but also complies with any regulations applicable to those products or services. Price reduction - HTC Chemicals Increased volumes and better conditions mean that HTC now can offer a range of chemical products for floor grinding at a much more competitive price than before. For more information see separate informationsheet enclosed to this magazine. HTC Professional Floor Systems Product catalogue HTC Professional Floor Systems Product catalogue HTC Professional Floor Systems Product catalogue EN EN 2009-2010 EN www.htc-floorsystems.com 2009-2010 www.htc-floorsystems.com 2009-2010 www.htc-floorsystems.com HTC Product Catalogue 09-10 The new updated product catalogue is now available in printed format. It includes as before everything from machines, tools, accessories to grinding guides. The catalogue is also available in PDF format at www.htc-floorsystems.com. HTC Marketing Support The HTC Marketing Support Catalogue has been produced to support all our customers around the world. You find all kinds of giveaways, HTC clothing and available printing matters of all kinds. A PDF is available at www.htc-floorsystems.com. HTC News # April 2009 11
2009 HTC Sweden AB HTC Sweden AB, 2009. HN09#April. Produced and printed by HTC Sweden AB. HTC News is a newsletter that is published in Swedish and English. Publisher: Håkan Thysell HTC Sweden AB P.O Box 69, SE-614 22 Söderköping, Sweden Tel: +46 (0)121-294 00, Fax: +46 (0)121-152 12 www.htc-floorsystems.com