Interview with Petteri Salminen ,Jouni Salojärvi, Kim Sjödahl, Riina Seppänen and Jari Ristola

The development team of the Exel Xtel System by Exel Composites, which was awarded a “red dot: best of the best” prize, comprises Riina Seppänen, Business Development Manager, Kim Sjödahl, Vice President for Product Development, Jari Ristola, Product Manager, all Exel Composites, as well as Mechanical Engineer Petteri Salminen and Jouni Salojärvi, designer at Muotohiomo Oy. In an interview with red dot, Jouni Salojärvi and Kim Sjödahl spoke about the challenges they had to overcome in the development of the innovative telescopic system.

What is innovative about the Exel Xtel system?
Jouni Salojärvi and Kim Sjödahl: Purposeful product design: usability, reliability, scalability, modularity, lightweight materials, and a technology platform – all combined with detailed finishing of product aesthetics. The Xtel is an iterative development project of the current range of telescopes from Exel, the “Extender” and the “Universal”. The Xtel design includes also the best features from the old locks: easy operation and strong fixing.

The telescopic poles can be extended up to 20 metres. What material did you use in order to ensure both light weight and stability despite this possible length?
Jouni Salojärvi and Kim Sjödahl: The Xtel range is built up from a series of tubes. The end user can choose the most optimised assembly: fibreglass tubes are for electrical insulation and lowest cost, carbon fibre tubes for higher performance and lower weight, or high modulus carbon fibre tubes for the most extreme performance any composite can give. Lock parts are assembled from polymermetal parts.

How long did it take from the first draft to the finished product of the telescopic poles and what specific challenges did you have to overcome in the development?
Jouni Salojärvi and Kim Sjödahl: Detailed integration of usability, product technology and aesthetics was both challenging but also very educational and inspiring. Maybe the biggest challenge and learning point was the importance of true and balanced product character: not only technology driven, not design driven, not market driven but all supportively together. Options to meet the variety of different end user applications and selection of materials were also very important parts of the project.

What is of particular importance to you when designing a new product?
Jouni Salojärvi and Kim Sjödahl: The product’s meaning. A product development project should always concentrate on finding the core idea, the meaning behind the concept. Decoration and styling tasks come later; they are not drivers. Well-designed, meaningful products with an honest character and appearance answer user and market expectations: this makes it easier to find the interesting business data. Meaning is always in vogue.

Who are your role models in design?
Jouni Salojärvi and Kim Sjödahl: Very inspiring masters are the architect Friedrich Hundertwasser, artists Wäinö Aaltonen, Henry Moore and Hieronymus Bosch, and the inventor Nikola Tesla.