James Dyson

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Sir James Dyson
Born May 2, 1947
Norfolk, England

Sir James Dyson, CBE (born Cromer, Norfolk, England, 2 May 1947) is a British industrial designer.

He is best known as the inventor of the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner, which works on the principle of cyclonic separation. His net worth is said to be just over £1 billion[1].

Contents

[edit] Biography

One of three children (sister Shanie; brother Tom), his father Alec Dyson died of liver cancer in 1956. Dyson was educated at Gresham's School, Holt, from 1956 to 1965, where he excelled in long distance running: " I was quite good at it, not because I was physically good, but because I had more determination. I learned determination from it."[2]. He then spent one year (1965-1966) at the Byam Shaw School of Art (now the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design), and then studied furniture and interior design at the Royal College of Art (1966-1970) before moving into engineering.

He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the New Year's Honours December 2006.

[edit] Early inventions

The Sea Truck, Dyson's first product, was launched in 1970 whilst he was at the Royal College of Art. Sales of the Sea Truck amount to $500 million . His next product, the Ballbarrow, was a modified version of a wheelbarrow using a ball to replace the wheel. Dyson remained with the idea of a ball, inventing the Trolleyball - a trolley that launched boats. He then designed the Wheelboat which could travel at speeds of 64 km/h on both land and water.

[edit] Vacuum cleaners

DC07 Dyson vacuum cleaner
DC07 Dyson vacuum cleaner

Dyson originally had the idea of using cyclonic separation to create a vacuum cleaner that wouldn't lose suction as it picked up dirt in the late 1970s. He also thought of a vacuum cleaner that could do this after he found the spray-finishing room's air filter for the Ballbarrow was regularly becoming clogged with particles. While part supported by his art teacher wife's salary, Dyson launched the 'G-Force' cleaner in 1983. Unfortunately, no manufacturer or related distributor would launch his product in the UK as it would disturb the valuable cleaner-bag market, so Dyson launched it in Japan through catalogue sales[3]. Initially manufactured in bright pink, the G-Force had a selling price of £2,000 (British Equivalent). He finally obtained his first U.S. patent on the idea in 1986 (U.S. Patent 4,593,429 ).

After failing to sell his invention to the major manufacturers, Dyson set up his own manufacturing company. The product now outsells those of some of the companies that rejected his idea and has become one of the most popular brands in the United Kingdom. In early 2005 it was reported that Dyson cleaners had become the market leaders in the United States by value (though not by number of units sold).

Dyson's breakthrough in the UK market, more than 10 years after the initial idea, was through a TV advertising campaign that emphasized that, unlike its rivals, it did not require the continuing purchase of replacement bags. At that time, the UK market for disposable cleaner bags was £100m. The slogan of 'say goodbye to the bag' proved more attractive to the buying public than a previous emphasis on the suction efficiency that its technology delivers. Ironically, the previous step change in domestic vacuum cleaner design had been the introduction of the disposable bag - users being prepared to pay extra for the convenience of dustless emptying.

Following his success the other major manufacturers began to market their own bagless vacuum cleaners. Dyson sued Hoover UK for patent infringement and won around $5 million in damages. His manufacturing plant moved from Malmesbury, Wiltshire in England, to Malaysia, for economic reasons and because of difficulty acquiring land for expansion. The company's headquarters and research facilities remain in Malmesbury.

Dyson later stated that due to the cost savings from transferring production to Malaysia he was able to invest in R&D at Malmesbury. Dyson employs more people in the UK than he did before the transfer of manufacturing to Malaysia.

In 2005 Dyson added the wheel ball from his Ballbarrow into a vacuum cleaner.

[edit] Publication

In 1997 Dyson wrote Against The Odds: An Autobiography, co-authored by Giles Coren, ISBN 0-7528-0981-4.

[edit] Artwork

In 2002 Dyson created a realisation of the illusions depicted in the lithographs of Dutch artist M.C. Escher. Engineer Derek Phillips was able to accomplish the task after a year of work, creating a water sculpture in which the water appears to flow up to the tops of four ramps arranged in a square, before cascading to the bottom of the next ramp. The creation titled Wrong Garden, was displayed at the Chelsea Flower Show in the spring of 2003[4]. The illusion is accomplished with water containing air bubbles pumped through a chamber underneath the transparent glass ramps to a slit at the top from which the bulk of the water cascades down. This makes it appear that the water is flowing up, when actually a small amount of water diverted from the slit at the top flows back down the ramps in a thin layer.

[edit] Quotations

  • "I just want things to work properly."
  • "Enjoy failure and learn from it. You can never learn from success."
  • "After the idea, there is plenty of time to learn the technology."

[edit] Personal life

Dyson married Deirdre Hindmarsh in 1968. Her salary as an art teacher part supported him while he developed his vacuum cleaner. The couple have three children: Emily, Jacob and Sam[5].

Dyson paid £15 million for Dodington Park, a 300-acre Georgian estate in Gloucestershire, England, close to Chipping Sodbury. He and his wife also have a £3 million chateau in France, and a town house in Chelsea, London[6].

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/richlist/person/0,,37777,00.html
  2. ^ http://www.forbes.com/ceonetwork/2006/08/01/leadership-facetime-dyson-cx_hc_0801dyson.html
  3. ^ http://www.forbes.com/ceonetwork/2006/08/01/leadership-facetime-dyson-cx_hc_0801dyson.html
  4. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3046791.stm
  5. ^ http://www.nndb.com/people/812/000109485/
  6. ^ http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=322783&in_page_id=2

[edit] External links

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