In the American reality TV series Flipping Vegas, home flipper and real-estate mogul Scott Yancie and his interior designer wife Amie often argue about the latter’s expensive taste when refurbishing a home.
Believing that the kitchen can make or break the deal, Amie settles for nothing but the best — from granite floors, to counter tops, down to big ticket items like a Sub-Zero refrigerator — even if she gets screamed at by Scott after making the purchase. And based on the episodes I’ve watched, I’m convinced: a state-of-the-art kitchen — with an updated cabinetry and a Sub-Zero — sells homes fast.
Home is where the art is
Sub-Zero, the leading manufacturer of luxury refrigeration and freezer units worldwide, wows interior designers and homemakers yet again as it recently introduced a groundbreaking line of integrated refrigeration, as part of its New Generation product launch, the largest rollout in the company’s 68-year history.
Focus Global, the exclusive distributor of Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances in the Philippines, invited a group of lifestyle writers to Sub-Zero’s Westye F. Bakke Center in Madison, Wisconsin to witness the unveiling of “anywhere refrigeration” that not only offers advanced freshness performance, but limitless design options as well.
Leading the pack is the Sub-Zero 36” Integrated Tall Combination Refrigerator/Freezer, which is designed to seamlessly merge with your décor. It has no visible grills or hinges, making it possible for your ref to be indistinguishable from other cabinets and drawers around it.
Sub-Zero’s all new line of integrated refrigeration features the industry’s most-advanced food-preservation features and largest selection of models. It boasts dual refrigeration, meaning it has separate cooling systems for the refrigerator and freezer. This allows fresh food to stay fresher longer, while frozen items to remain free of frost and freezer burn. An automatic icemaker features a “max ice” setting, providing increased on-demand production of purified ice by up to 30 percent for 24 hours. And since it’s a fully integrated refrigerator/freezer, the unit is ready to be fitted with custom panels and handles for seamless installation with surrounding cabinetry.
Jim Bakke, president and CEO of Sub-Zero and Wolf, boasts that the new integrated refrigeration products represent the art and science in the kitchen.
“We’re bringing unparalleled freshness performance with flexible design features to one of our most popular lines. The integrated line allows consumers to have refrigeration virtually anywhere in their homes. We’ve invested a great deal in the latest technology to engineer these products to meet the needs and expectations of our consumers,” he says.
Combining high-quality design with premium storage, Sub-Zero’s wine preservation units are the optimum way to safeguard and display a valued collection of wine until it is ready to be enjoyed. The kitchen equipment experts have taken into consideration all key storage factors, including temperature and humidity control, light protection and anti-vibration to pioneer optimum cellar and serving conditions.
“Better wine storage conditions for the bottle, ultimately means better enjoyment in the glass,” notes Bakke. The integrated design allows the unit to merge seamlessly with your Sub-Zero refrigerator and home décor.
“During the last several years, our company has invested resources into the research and development of products that build on what we’ve successfully brought to the market in the past. We didn’t let the recession stop us – quite the opposite, in fact. We wanted our brands to be ready for the turnaround and to deliver more integration and more exciting features that wow consumers and the design community alike.”
After creating the built-in appliance category in the 1950s – making the “hidden” refrigerator possible – Sub-Zero’s new generation of integrated refrigeration will definitely make every homemaker and interior designer’s heart (like Flipping Vegas’ Amie Yancie) skip a beat.
The making of a sub-zero
Sub-Zero’s new generation integrated products were showcased at the Westye F. Bakke Center, the training and meeting facility that sits between the Sub-Zero refrigeration and Wolf cooking appliance plants. Named after the Sub-Zero founder, the center gives visitors the opportunity to experience how these two brands come to life – combining the best in food preservation and in cooking equipment.
And just like a Sub-Zero unit, the Bakke Center is a design marvel in itself. Suspended from the second floor ceiling are the Chihuly chandeliers that truly mesmerize. The rails of the staircase leading to the Live Kitchens are manufactured of the same stainless steel material as the handles on all the refrigeration equipment. On the second floor, where the administration offices and the main dining room are located, we were glued to Paul Giovanopoulos’s “Bus Stop” painting, which features famous artists or geographical influences in art history.
From the center, we were given a quick tour of the Sub-Zero plant where the units are meticulously crafted and touched by hundreds of hands.
“One of the things my grandfather Westye F. Bakke used to do was give the employees a roundup. He would give a one-hour speech about quality before operation starts. And my dad Bud Bakke, who designed the first built-in refrigerator in 1954, was always about quality. Both instilled in me the importance of building quality products – and once did I sway from that vision,” adds Jim Bakke, president and CEO of Sub-Zero and Wolf. From day one, employees are expected to build products that perform better and more reliable. The quality assurance teams and engineers see to it that advance tests are performed along the production line. Automated testings allow for quicker checks in controlled conditions, but it’s always done under the watchful eye of dedicated employees ready to step in and identify any problem along the way.
Nothing ever goes unchecked. Parts are first to be tested and touched. Engineers even go as far as to break them. After the parts passed the hands of inspection, the appliance’s cavities are built and measure to make sure they are perfectly square every time. That kind of measurement is done by CMM (Coordinated Measure Machine), which measures cabinets and doors. Once the 100 percent functional texting is done on every component, the unit undergoes a run test. This test requires that every refrigerator cabinet be turned on a minimum of five hours – every switch, every light, every control board and every fan is tested.
“All of our quality control people have the authority to at any point in time to stop the manufacturing line if they see something is not quite right. And until that trauma has been resolved, that line does not start up again,” says one of the employees we talked to at the plant.
At Sub-Zero, every product is scrutinized again and again before it leaves the factory and reaches your home.
“Building a quality product is everything. It’s the cornerstone of both Sub-Zero and Wolf. And that is the Sub-Zero difference,” adds Bakke.
Sub-Zero’s new generation integrated products are now available in more widths — from a slim 457- mm. to a capacious 914-mm. — and all are easier to install precisely and in coordination with Wolf cooking appliances, which was acquired by Sub-Zero in 2000.
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In the Philippines, Sub-Zero and Wolf are exclusively distributed by Focus Global Inc. For inquiries, call 634 858.