Award winning Vax designer inspires students

April 1, 2010 - PRLog -- Bromsgrove-born Tommy, aged 23, has already chalked up a number of design awards including an Innovation award from the 2009 EDF Energy Ideal Home Show for his space-saving ‘Micro kitchen’, designed for one-bedroom flats. He won the ‘Outstanding Excellence in Design’ award from De Montfort University, where he graduated with a first class honours degree in Product and Furniture Design last year, and then joined the New Product Design team at the UK’s number one floorcare company, Vax.

According to Tommy, the experience he gained during a summer placement at Vax in 2008 while still a student at De Montfort, played an instrumental part in his success. “Working at Vax gave me a great head start in the world of design. I found that by working inside of industry I started to look at products in a different way and this really helped my overall understanding of the new product development process,” says Tommy. “And Vax has a friendly vibe, which makes even the most daunting tasks achievable”.

Tommy is hoping that today’s young design students will be inspired by his story to seek industrial placements at companies like Vax, where they can learn vital skills and gain experiences that will give them the edge at university and beyond.

Since joining Vax’s young, dynamic design team, based at their headquarters in Droitwich Spa, Tommy has worked on a project to develop a new version of their lightweight multi cyclonic vacuum cleaner.

Launching this month, Mach Air Reach is the latest in an innovative new range of bagless upright vacuum cleaners from Vax designed component by component to be as light as possible. It has the suction and capacity of a full size upright vacuum but weighs a third less, so is much easier to carry and kinder on your back. Following feedback from customers, Tommy and the team modified the design of the original Mach Air to include a longer power cable and hose.

For more information on current industrial placement opportunities at Vax visit http://www.vax.co.uk/about/placements.php or email recruitment@vax.co.uk

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Vax is the UK’s number one floorcare brand, offering a comprehensive range of carpet washers, vacuum cleaners, steam cleaners and hardfloor cleaners. Established in 1977, Vax’s headquarters are located in Droitwich, Worcestershire, England.