7 minute read
HEINIGER CLIPPERS Enter the Hair Universe
‘Made in Switzerland’ instantly conjures up factors the Swiss are synonymous for: Precision Engineering, Ultra High-Quality Components, Performance and Design.
Heiniger is no stranger to these expectations and is indeed used to delivering just that. Manufacturing clippers for the animal industry for over 75 years, Heiniger’s Sheep Shearing Shears are so popular and widely used, that they dominate the global market.
To put that into perspective, in the wool industry, there are 78 million sheep in Australia going to their barbers at least once, sometimes twice a year. Australia has the biggest sheep population of any one region in the world.
Heiniger’s second best sellers after shearing, are the machines they manufacture for the pet grooming industry, another market they dominate. In fact, it’s estimated that millions of sheep, cattle, horses, goats, and smaller animal pets including dogs, are clipped, and groomed with Heiniger’s “Swiss-Made” products…DAILY!
Heiniger announced their arrival to the Hair Industry, with an official launch and presentation at Cosmoprof in May of this year in Bologna Italy.
It’s now time for the live shows.
On the eve of the launch of the new Interstellar Range in Australia, we talked with 3rd generation CEO Daniel Heiniger, to find out more about this amazing and exciting achievement for the company.
Daniel, what was behind the decision to enter the Human Hair Market?
“Our mission has always been to make the lives of our customers easier, to give them a positive “Heiniger Experience”, one they don’t forget, we wish to extend that to the professionals in the hair industry.
We are a family-run business that has grown over the years with constant development and a strong focus on quality and innovation.”
Expanding into the hair market is a natural progression for Heiniger as a company and one that came about literally by the demand of the users of their dog grooming trimmers and clippers. Daniel explains….
“We had some of our customers using our products to trim their beards and cut their hair with our dog grooming machines telling us how great they were with this task.
More and more barbers and stylists were asking us to bring our expertise in what we do to the hair market, along with a growing number of distributors in the hair industry, so we took the leap!”
Heiniger supply their machines to many markets, and it seems they do so with a very special understanding of the needs and challenges of the end users of their products. Daniel continues…
“We get “hands-on” with our customers and build very strong relationships. Heiniger only manufacture and supply professional use products, our customers use our tools to make a living.
We pride ourselves on this unique bond and by working closely together and listening to our customers we learn about their craft of grooming with machines, their needs, demands and expectations from our tools.
This helps enable us to deliver the 5-star products that we promise we will, that can be depended on and relied upon with absolute confidence by our customers.”
Daniel, can you explain the significance behind branding the new range, The Interstellar Collection.
“Heiniger’s X-Series for the animal world was a huge success and everyone loved the idea of having a ‘Series’ of products with a visual theme and with names. We didn’t see anyone doing this in the hair space.
One of the main points in our company Mission and Vision Statement is to achieve 5-Star-Quality in all we do, our processes and of course our products. To celebrate our commencement in the hair and barber market we decided to add more stars! and call the series the Interstellar Collection.
Heiniger enters this new galaxy, and we are here to stay. We are here to listen and learn from our new customers. To work beside hair professionals closely so we can bring them the products they need to deliver the 5 -Star-Quality they promise their customers.”
And what can we expect of your plans and Heiniger’s vision for the next 5 years?
“Entering a new galaxy is an exciting and once in a lifetime adventure. Every one of the Heiniger team can’t wait to explore this new world and make connections with our customers. We will learn and grow and from listening to the needs of professionals in the hair space, we will help them to fulfil their commitment to excellence, that they promise their customers.
All of Heiniger’s resources are dedicated to growing the expertise in cutting hair, the process, the tools, the needs and the challenges within, and then transfer that knowledge to develop products and features to enable that process.
Our 5-year plan is to be an established brand for quality-orientated professionals in the hair industry. To be known for not only bringing top products to market but just as importantly, for the service behind those products.
The success of this achievement will be the result of working closely alongside and listening to the needs of the professionals using our products as their tools.”
Tested on Animals!! What better testimonial could there be to a grooming clipper company than that of coming from millions of satisfied four-legged friends around the world and the professionals that tend to them daily!
Starting with these live shows in Australia first, then rolling out the tour with product launches to key regions around the world, Heiniger have stayed true to their word on being serious about getting behind the hair industry.
They have established a Heiniger Hair Division and appointed Creative Director Rex Silver who has initiated and formed a core education and creative team which he says, will be the foundation of what will grow to be a worldwide network of Heiniger Educators and Ambassadors.
His first order of business, bring in Internationally acclaimed barber heavyweight, the UK’s Robert Braid as Artistic Director. Robert has been sought after for years by machine companies and has never aligned until now. This is a very exciting development. Check out Robert’s Collection in this issue.
He then went on to enlist international educator, multi-award-winning Jules Tognini to represent the Hairdressing industry at Heiniger’s major launches and shows.
Jules will also engage his expertise in educating and presenting by co-designing Heiniger’s Education Platform and training of the Heiniger Educators in the various regions they establish.
The final member to the team for Australia and New Zealand is rising star Matt Clarke, an established educator and multi-awards finalist, Matts inclusion certainly adds a dimension of forward and progressive creative energy to the team and is an amazing asset. What a team! What an entrance by this new entity in our industry!
Let’s talk to Heiniger’s Australian General Manager of Sales and Marketing, Dale Harris who is running point for Heiniger on the launch into the hair market
Dale, what an exciting start to this new industry and a new era for Heiniger, tell us a bit about what sets Heiniger apart, and why Australia is getting the honours to kick this off that’s fantastic for our industry here.
“The Heiniger team is so excited to launch our clippers and trimmers into the barber and hairdressing market. I’ve been working on this project for some time now, getting our products out to a range of hairdressers and barbers, listening to their feedback, and understanding what they need.
I also spent time at Hair Festival in Sydney and at the Australian Hair Industry Awards Creative a few months ago, meeting amazing people in the industry and getting to learn how this industry operates.
Our machines are a combination of design, engineering, motor power and blade precision that delivers outstanding performance.
We have been making clippers and trimmers in Switzerland for over 75 years. This is not new to us. What is new are the customers, and we can’t wait to build relationships with all these amazing professionals and artists.”
‘When Stars Align’ Launched in Australia in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne the last week of August prior to the publication of this issue, with shows in Perth, Adelaide and New Zealand being planned for September/October before continuing on to the UK and beyond.
@heinigerprofessionals_ausnz
