Twenty-one years later: How Gtech ‘changed the world’

The inventor of the cordless vacuum is looking back on how his hero appliance ‘changed the world’.

Nick Grey, boss at innovative British company Gtech – which marks its 21st anniversary this year – is reflecting on the positive environmental impact of the AirRAM.

The AirRAM, first released in 2012, reduced the average energy consumption of vacuum cleaners from an average of 1,200watts (w) to 80w.

Nick explains: “Grahame Capron-Tee, chairman of the British Standards Institute (BSI) domestic appliance committee, calculated that if everyone switched from using a mains-powered vacuum to an AirRAM, two power stations could be shut down.”

However, as Nick goes on to say, “competitors originally followed suit going down the path of low energy consumption, but many have since done a U-turn.”

But Gtech has continued its mission to manufacture vacuum cleaners only consuming 80w energy, while increasing performance.

Worcester-based Gtech is also focussing on creating appliances with a 20-year lifespan,
compared to the two to three years seen with many modern vacuums.

He adds: “Our competitors have invested in methods of making cordless batteries consume more and more power – some cordless products now consume almost as much power as mains ones do – it just doesn’t make sense.

“Both competitors and retailers seem obsessed with power consumption taking a ‘more is better’ approach. In years to come this attitude has to change.”

Nick continues: “Gtech now design products to run for 20 years’ worth of use. In our tests we feel many of our competitor machines may need replacing every two years. This is terrible – scrapping lithium-ion batteries is bad for the environment and means we need to mine more lithium for replacement products.”