NOW HEDGEHOG AIMS TO SAVE LIVES

At the IFA trade fair, Hedgehog Dryer is showcasing Hedgehog Rescue, a new system for warming hypothermic patients. The solution was developed after Equinor’s rescue service contacted the company in November last year.

– They had begun testing our products to warm patients who were hypothermic. It turned out that hypothermia is the second most common cause of death in trauma cases, after open bleeding. There are no good heating systems available today, says chief executive and owner Bjørn Holte to trade publication Elektronikkbransjen when we meet him at the Berlin trade fair in September.

He says Equinor had been searching for some time before finding Hedgehog.

– They tested a lot of heating systems and found that our shoe dryers were more powerful than the medical alternatives available. That was when we realised there was a major market here.

The result is an insulated bag connected to the company’s fan and battery system.

– The temperature inside the bag immediately reaches 57 to 60 degrees, and you can adjust the heat using a temperature gauge. We are going from drying shoes to saving lives, and we never expected that, says Holte.

From Hemsedal

Hedgehog Dryer started in Hemsedal and has grown to more than 50 employees across 20 countries. The company is owned by Holte and his wife, and has financed its growth with support from Innovation Norway and loans from Nordea.

– It started when I lost my first wife and was left with three children, and thought all boot dryers were poor. So I thought we could have a small sideline business in Hemsedal, says Holte.

– We are profitable, but it is seasonal. In terms of liquidity, it declines during the summer and rises again towards Christmas, he says.

The company is now planning to spin off its medical equipment venture into a separate company and is considering raising capital.

– We have received an incredible amount of interest in this, says Holte.

New version

The system is now in its third generation, while a fourth is under development.

– There are lots of standards and requirements for fabric, zips and attachments for stretchers that need to be put in place. We send products out for testing on platforms in the North Sea, receive a long list of feedback, fix it, and then it goes in a loop. But I think we will soon be there, says Holte.

The current solution is based on the same technology as the Hedgehog Go multi-dryer, meaning that the same fan unit can be used for hair, shoes and patient warming through the company's Twist & Connect system.

– There will be a dedicated version for medical rescue, with graduated heat settings. If a patient is too cold, they must not be warmed up too quickly, so we need to give users the option of setting the exact temperature, says Holte.

The company is also developing a disposable version of the bag for situations where the equipment is not returned.

– The bag goes with the patient into the hospital and is never returned, he says.

Open market

Holte says they quickly realised that this was an open market.

– No one had worked on exactly this. There are tonnes of bags, such as the Jerven bag, but they are based on the assumption that you are not already hypothermic, says Holte.

The system is designed in Norway, while production takes place at a subcontractor in China.

– With an 1,100 watt-hour battery case, it lasts around an hour and a half at maximum output. The helicopter service in particular wants products to be as light as possible, so I expect we will make a smaller battery pack that reaches 60 degrees at maximum output for around half an hour, says Holte.

Ready for travel

Product launches at the trade fair also include Travel, a compact 80-watt dryer with 14,000 revolutions per minute.

– It dries a pair of ski boots in 45 minutes, either at home or on 12 volts in the car. We have made the most powerful mini dryer on the market, and there is strong demand from ski clubs, says Holte.

The product has built-in UV light for odour removal.

– This is the first UV technology we use, and it is tiny, he says.

Praises Norway

With customers all over the world, Holte sometimes sends kind thoughts to the domestic market.

– The Norwegian market is the coolest one to work with, because here you can trust people. Large international chains have completely different systems, special return requirements and contracts. There, you are entirely on their playing field, says Holte.

– Why is it easier to succeed here at home?

– In the United States, a buyer can lose their job if a new product does not sell the expected volume within a week. In Norway, you can take a chance on something new. We often spend two to three years building online sales before it reaches shops internationally. It is much more difficult abroad than at home, says Holte.

Elkjøp was gold

He highlights Elkjøp as an important partner in the company’s early growth.

– Elkjøp has been absolute gold for us. They ordered so much at the first opportunity that it got the wheels turning. The same has happened in the United States and Canada afterwards, says Holte.

Hedgehog now has three designers and six engineers working on its own motor and fan technology.

– The most important thing we do is design the motor itself and the fan blades, so that we can optimise strength and power from scratch.

– If you have designers who do not understand moulding, you end up with products that cannot be manufactured. That often happens when cool designers just want cool things, says Holte.