Tag Archives: Air/Q

Prolitec & Aromatizar Roll Out Ambient Scenting Business in Fast-Growing Brazil

Patented Air/Q Atmospheres™ Technology Will Help Brazil’s Spas, Resorts, Hotels, Healthcare Facilities, Retailers and Other Commercial Environments Create Richer Olfactory Experiences

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL, Oct 03, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — Working with Rio de Janeiro-based Aromatizar, Prolitec, Inc. is bringing its patented Air/Q Atmospheres ambient scenting technology and services to commercial environments throughout Brazil, now the world’s top fragrance market with an estimated $6 billion in annual sales.

Vibrant sights, sounds and smells are central to Brazilian culture, and yet most resorts, spas, gyms, retail stores and other commercial environments in the country continue to rely on old-fashioned reed-diffusers, sprays and even scented candles as they strive to enhance the olfactory experience, noted Roger Bensinger, executive vice president of marketing and business development for Milwaukee-based Prolitec. “Air/Q Atmospheres was expressly created to replace these imperfect and, in some cases, environmentally questionable delivery systems,” he said. “This launch promises to help Brazil’s commercial users take ambient scenting to the next level.”

Air/Q Atmospheres customers already include Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casinos, Bliss Spas, GE Healthcare and many other businesses around the world. For the Brazilian launch, Prolitec tapped local partner Aromatizar ( http://www.aromatizar.com.br ), which also has an office in Sao Paulo, as the exclusive Certified Service Provider of Air/Q Atmospheres products and services in the country.

Air/Q Atmospheres meets and exceeds all consumer product safety standards and uses no propellants or any other harmful, volatile organic compounds. “Green-building standards like Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) are catching on in Brazil,” noted Ricardo Novais, Aromatizar’s founder. “By using Air/Q, you can actually earn points toward a LEED certification, which was a strong selling point for the local market.

“Our first project debuts to the public this week as part of the 22nd edition of Casa Cor Rio ( http://www.casacorrio.com.br ), a program in which Brazil’s leading architects, contractors, interior designers and landscapers work together to execute showcase renovations of dilapidated mansions and government buildings,” said Novais.

During the course of the renovations, which are being unveiled to the public this week, the architects came to appreciate the way they could use Air/Q’s on-board computer to control both the intensity and the duration of the company’s custom scent effects, up to and including programmable start and stop times, Novais said. Casa Cor Rio teams also appreciated the way Prolitec’s micro-droplet technology uniformly treats the air throughout large and small spaces using ultra-low concentrations of liquid — particularly compared to the sprays commonly used in Brazil.

For the 22nd edition, the expert teams renovated over 50 rooms within a 90-year-old building overlooking the ocean near the Avenida Rui Barbosa. With its high ceilings and large windows, the building had over the decades served as a hotel, a nursing school and, most recently, a college dormitory. It was shuttered in 1995 and had fallen into disrepair. As part of the project, Aromatizar used custom Air/Q Atmospheres scents to enhance various remodeled environments. Novais explained. “We had a chance to use a diversity of fragrances with different purposes. For example, ‘Boutique Noir,’ ‘Mandarin Zest’ and ‘Relaxing’ were used in separate lounge spaces to strike the right moods,” he said.

Elsewhere, Aromatizar used Air/Q Atmosphere’s energizing ‘Spa Eucalyptus’ fragrance for the fitness room and ‘Fresh Cotton’ — which calls to mind the freshness of just-washed-and-ironed clothes — for the laundry. “Overall, this was quite a showroom for the versatility and effectiveness of Air/Q,” Novais said.

According to a report by Euromonitor International, Brazilian fragrance sales rose 33 percent in 2010 to $6 billion, and the country is expected to post the strongest per capita increase (32 percent) in fragrance sales for all of the Americas between 2011 and 2016. “Brazil has taken over as the world leader in terms of volume sales of fragrances per capita,” Bensinger said. “There is a great appreciation of fragrance in Brazil, and we think this translates well for our business.”

Via Marketwatch

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Scent Marketing on the Today Show

AirQ made an appearance on The Today Show last weekend, filling the studio with a custom scent created exclusively for Today.

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Prolitec Brings Aromatherapy to Assisted-Living Communities Nationwide

Air/Q ATMOSPHERES™ Offers New Technology for Community Health and Wellness Programs

MILWAUKEE, WI–(Marketwire – March 1, 2011) – From ancient times to the present day, people have relied on natural scents like lavender, verbena and jasmine to help them achieve states of calm, alertness and well-being. Now, with the launch of its Air/Q ATMOSPHERES™ system, Prolitec, Inc. (www.prolitec.com) makes it possible to do this for an entire assisted-living community, enhancing the experience of residents and staff, and making positive impressions on visitors.

ATMOSPHERES™ is a computer-controlled, fully-automated system that works through the HVAC system or from appliances mounted on walls, in or above ceilings or on tabletops to maintain a controlled, light level of a natural aromatherapy scent throughout the common areas. The system is fully supported by Prolitec with onsite periodic service and requires no staff involvement.

Natural scents include blends of chamomile, aromatic lavender and other complementary and proprietary ingredients. Their proven benefits can also be brought to individual resident rooms through the Air/Q™ Whole Room Air Freshener™, a sleek, miniaturized version of Prolitec’s commercial scenting technology that is small enough to rest on a tabletop.

“There is a body of scientific literature illustrating the remarkable ability of natural fragrances to impact mood and cognitive function,” noted Richard Weening, CEO of Prolitec. “Aromatherapy and the use of scent to achieve an outcome has become an important part of holistic health and wellness programs. According to a Duke University study, for example, the scent of lavender relaxed participants every bit as much as a physical massage. These potentially therapeutic benefits make Air/Q ATMOSPHERES™ a natural fit for the assisted-living industry.”

The industrywide launch of Air/Q ATMOSPHERES™ follows 18 months of testing in more than 50 assisted-living facilities, including most of the communities of Aegis Living, a national leader in retirement and assisted living.

Air/Q ATMOSPHERES™ is “green” and fully compliant with the stringent regulatory requirements of OSHA and the state of California, Weening added. “Prolitec’s patented micro-droplet technology creates a uniform scent effect with a bare minimum of product — less than 1 molecule out of every 1 million molecules in the air,” he explained. “In addition to using far less product, this very small amount of scent is unlikely to trigger an allergic reaction in sensitive residents.”

Typically, in fact, residents are exposed to far higher amounts of scented product — up to 100 times greater — from the likes of restroom deodorizers, aerosols and plug-in air fresheners. These relatively inefficient products also tend to be more expensive when used in an assisted-living or retirement setting, Weening added.

Through the Air/Q ATMOSPHERES™ program, Prolitec offers a wide range of broadly appealing aromatherapy fragrances that can be customized for the specific requirements of clients based on the proven benefits of this ancient science. The unique adjustability of the Air/Q system also provides an additional layer of customization. “The result is a transformed atmosphere that improves the overall experience of residents, staff and visitors,” Weening said.

About Prolitec

Prolitec (www.prolitec.com) develops and provides innovative airborne technologies for infection control, odor cancellation, and the use of scent for positive emotional and physiological experiences. The company’s technologies are employed by retailers, hotels, casinos, fitness centers, spas, healthcare facilities, and other institutional and commercial facilities in the U.S. and 46 countries around the world.

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bebe Launches New Fragrance Using Prolitec’s In-Store Delivery System

AirQ-bebeRetailer uses cutting-edge Air/Q(TM) technology to introduce shoppers to its new signature scent

MILWAUKEE, WI — August 21, 2009 — bebe stores, inc. (Nasdaq: BEBE) has launched its highly anticipated new fragrance in all U.S. bebe stores. Thanks to a partnership with Milwaukee-based Prolitec, the sensuous new “signature” scent now wafts through select areas of bebe’s stores via the Air/Q(TM) Adjustable Room Air Freshener(TM) — a miniaturized and fully programmable version of Prolitec’s ambient-scenting technology, which is already in use at many of the world’s finest hotels, resorts and spas.

“Rather than scenting the entire store, bebe is using Air/Q to scent specific in-store areas, such as those around the luxurious visual displays that introduce the new fragrance,” explained Roger Bensinger, Prolitec’s Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. “This allows bebe to marry its visual marketing efforts with the olfactory experience of the fragrance itself — a very powerful combination.”

“With Prolitec’s innovative scenting machines strategically placed in our stores, clients will experience an immediate emotional connection to the scent,” commented Manny Mashouf, Chairman & CEO, bebe stores, inc. “This is a terrific way to reveal our new undeniably feminine fragrance in a subtle yet sensual mannerand, based on initial results, we are encouraged by the overwhelming response.”The retailer licensed the new fragrance through France’s Inter Parfums, Inc. (Nasdaq GS: IPAR), which collaborates with noted designers such as Francis Kurkdjian to manufacture and distribute prestige perfumes and cosmetics for the likes of Burberry, Paul Smith, S.T. Dupont and Van Cleef & Arpels.

Inter Parfums chose the bebe fragrance for its first-ever foray into automated ambient sampling, said Andy Clarke, President of Inter Parfums USA LLC, Specialty Retail Division. “Ambient scenting is one of the hottest trends in retail, and many companies are keenly interested in new approaches to ambient sampling that are more efficient than, say, paying a person to spray a new perfume on shoppers’ wrists as they walk in the store,” he noted. “At the same time, many retailers do not want any remnant of an in-store fragrance to last on the ready-to-wear clothing they sell. These stores need to be able to control the intensity and range of the automated ambient sampling technology they use to an extraordinary degree. This is precisely what Prolitec’s Air/Q system offers.”

A sleek, five-inch cube handsome enough to be on display but small enough to be hidden away, Air/Q(TM) is the only fully adjustable room air freshener on the market today. Scent intensity levels can be set from ’1′ to ’50,’ to precisely match room sizes and user tastes. The device can also be programmed to start and stop at certain times each day.”

Prolitec’s patented micro-droplet technology delivers a uniform scent impact with an ultra-low quantity of fragrance in the air — less than one molecule in every 1 million. “By combining an ultra-low concentration of fragrance with a ‘smart’ and environmentally sensible delivery system, retailers can communicate to customers with scent as never before,” Bensinger said.

About Prolitec
Prolitec (www.prolitec.com) is a world leader in the development and deployment of innovative air-freshening technologies and solutions for aerobiology, indoor air quality and the use of scent as a medium of communication. Clients include retailers, hotels, casinos and other commercial organizations in the US and around the world.

About bebe
bebe stores, inc. designs, develops and produces a distinctive line of contemporary women’s apparel and accessories, which it markets under the bebe, BEBE SPORT, bbsp and 2b bebe brand names. bebe currently operates 308 stores, of which 211 are bebe stores, 34 are 2b bebe stores, 62 are BEBE SPORT stores and one is a bebe accessories store. These stores are located in the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Canada. In addition, there is an online store at www.bebe.com.

About Inter Parfums
Inter Parfums, Inc. develops, manufactures and distributes prestige perfumes and cosmetics as the exclusive worldwide licensee for Burberry, Paul Smith, S.T. Dupont, Christian Lacroix, Quiksilver/Roxy, and Van Cleef & Arpels. The Company also owns Lanvin Perfumes and Nickel S.A., a men’s skin care company. It also produces personal care products for specialty retailers under exclusive agreements with Gap, Banana Republic, New York & Company, Brooks Brothers and as announced above, bebe stores. In addition, Inter Parfums produces and supplies mass market fragrances and fragrance related products. The Company’s products are sold in over 120 countries worldwide.

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Prolitec Unveils First Fully Adjustable Air Freshener for Individual Rooms

Products_Whole_Room_LgSPA-QUALITY SCENTING TECHNOLOGY COMES TO THE HOME—AND DESKTOP

–Prolitec Unveils First Fully Adjustable Air Freshener for Individual Rooms

MILWAUKEE (7/7/09) – The world’s most elegant hotels, resorts, spas and retail shops have long understood the power of scent to improve the customer experience. Now, thanks to the introduction of Prolitec Inc.’s new Air/Q™ Whole Room Air Freshener™, homeowners can use a sleek, miniaturized version of the company’s highly popular commercial scenting technology to erase odors and enhance the ambiance of any room—without the safety and environmental issues associated with most other air freshening methods.

Air/Q™ is a sleek five-inch cube, handsome enough to be on display and small enough to be hidden away. The system can be adjusted for any size room and homeowner preference for scent strength.   Air/Q™ works continuously to erase odors, including pet and common household odors, while also maintaining a consistent level of scent. Homeowners can choose from a dozen of Prolitec’s most popular commercial scents, including Clear Sky, Lemon Verbena, Rose and Peony, and Mojito.

“Air/Q™ is the first and the only fully adjustable room air freshener on the market today,” said Roger Bensinger, Prolitec’s Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. “Scent intensity levels can be set from ‘1’ to ‘50,’ to precisely match room size and user tastes. Air/Q™ can be programmed to start and stop at certain times each day. Most of all, Air/Q™ is the greenest, safest way to kill odor and introduce scent into the air. It is the same technology proven effective in demanding commercial settings, but miniaturized for home use.”

The Air/Q™ is available for purchase at www.airq.com, which also offers accessories and refill cartridges of proprietary scents.

Prolitec’s new Air/Q™ comes at a time when consumers are spending more hours at home and have an even greater interest in the use of scent to improve the home environment. This has created a booming market for household air-care products that is estimated at $8 billion a year, including scented candles. At the same time, however, consumers are increasingly aware of the potentially harmful consequences of open-flame candles and the soot they produce, as well as the VOCs emitted by some other home air fresheners. “Air/Q™ was created to address the deficiencies of low-performance, traditional air fresheners. Some of these have safety issues. None is adjustable to room size and the consumer’s taste, nor do these old-fashioned approaches provide a uniform scent effect,” Bensinger noted.

To that end, Air/Q™  takes advantage of Prolitec’s patented micro-droplet technology, which erases odors and  delivers a uniform scent effect impact with an ultra-low quantity of scent: less than 1 molecule for every million compared with 20,000 per million from conventional aerosols. “This extremely low quantity of scent formulation, free of harmful VOCs, makes us the greenest way to scent a home,” Bensinger said.

The launch of the Air/Q™ Whole Room Air Freshener follows the recent introduction of the Air/Q™ Whole House Air Freshener™ or “WHAF,” which is installed in the home heating and air conditioning system. The WHAF is available through selected heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractors throughout the U.S.

About Prolitec

Prolitec (www.prolitec.com) is a world leader in the development and deployment of innovative air-freshening technologies and solutions for aerobiology, indoor air quality and the use of scent as a medium of communication. Clients include retailers, hotels, casinos and other commercial organizations in the US and around the world. Prolitec also sells scent systems for the home at www.airq.com.

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Press Contacts: At Prolitec, Roger Bensinger, (414) 615-4630,  AirQinfo@prolitec.com; at Parness & Associates Public Relations, Lisa Kreda or Bill Parness, (732) 290-0121, parnespr@optonline.net

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Prolitec unveils home air-freshening system

Prolitec unveils the world’s first fully adjustable, HVAC-integrated home air-freshening system at Chicago’s AHR Expo

AirQ WHAF

CHICAGO (1/26/09) – Amid the slowdown in commercial and residential construction, HVAC-industry professionals are focusing harder than ever on innovative ways to boost revenue. In a major new sales-generating opportunity for the industry, Prolitec, Inc. today unveiled the Air/Q™ Whole House Air Freshener™ (WHAF)—the first fully adjustable, HVAC-integrated home air freshening system.

The new technology, on view through Jan. 29 at the AHR Expo at McCormick Place (booth 1243), comes at a time of rising concern among consumers about the harmful effects of aerosols, plug-in air fresheners, reed diffusers and other low-performance air fresheners, noted Roger Bensinger, Prolitec’s Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. “People today want to add scent to their total home experience, but thanks to the green movement they also are much more aware of what is in the air,” he said. “They are particularly concerned about the ill effects of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted in large doses by some of these old-fashioned products, including scented candles.”

Prolitec created Air/Q WHAF to give homeowners a safe, affordable and highly efficient air-freshening alternative, Bensinger said. This proprietary technology and chemistry, he added, already is in use at many major hotels, resorts and spas. Without flame or heat and without releasing any harmful VOCs, Air/Q WHAF creates a pleasant scent throughout the home. As an option, when used with ARIA ™, Prolitec’s breakthrough air-treatment agent also being introduced at AHR Expo, Air/Q WHAF and automatically sanitizes the air by killing airborne odor-causing bacteria and mold, fungus and microorganisms.

Patented micro-droplet technology enables Air/Q WHAF to deliver a uniform air treatment and scent throughout a home using an ultra-low concentration of liquid, and with no build-up in the duct work, Bensinger explained. “The system puts out droplets that are less than 1 micron in diameter, compared to a typical aerosol droplet of 50 microns,” he said. “These micro-droplets weigh about a million times less than those formed by traditional aerosols. Consequently, Air/Q WHAF can cover massive spaces using a tiny fraction of the liquid required by other air-fresheners, and does so in a much more uniform way.”

HVAC professionals will find Air/Q WHAF simple to install—it attaches to air handlers using a mounting template with four screws—and Prolitec designed the system to make cartridge-replacement easy for homeowners. In addition to direct sales of and installation fees for AIR/Q WHAF, a variety of air-freshening agents are available for sale as a recurring revenue opportunity, especially for spring and fall check-ups. “The ambient scent business has taken off in recent years,” Bensinger said. “Prior to Air/Q WHAF, however, no product could uniformly and efficiently cover the entire home.”

About Prolitec
Prolitec (www.prolitec.com) is a world leader in the development and deployment of innovative air-freshening technologies and solutions for aerobiology, indoor air quality and the use of scent as a medium of communication. Clients include retailers, hotels, casinos and other commercial organizations in the US and around the world.

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Press Contacts: At Prolitec, Roger Bensinger, (414) 615-4630, WHAFinfo@prolitec.com; at Parness & Associates Public Relations, Lisa Kreda or Bill Parness, (732) 290-0121, parnespr@optonline.net.

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Prolitec Air/Q partners with Serta Mattress to scent stores

Prolitec has been chosen as the exclusive provider of store scenting for Serta’s American mattress stores. Serta just unveiled a brand new store design concept, intending to appeal to all five senses to create a unique and memorable emotional response for customers. Prolitec’s in-room appliance, the Air/Q 510, will be their preferred appliance, and they’ll be using a fresh, airy, mild fragrance. The other senses will be incorporated as well, with new earth tones and warm lighting for sight, bottled water and snacks for taste, tranquil music for sound, and customers will be encouraged to “touch” the mattresses by lying on them and trying them out. Donna Zett, Chief Innovation Officer for Serta, is aiming to provide more than just a product, but a total lifestyle experience so customers want to come back to the store and tell others about their positive experiences.

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