Fan Without Blades... 'Apple of Home Appliances' Dyson, the Secret to Innovation [Hidden Industry Story]

From British Rural Vacuum Cleaner Manufacturer to Global Enterprise
Research-Driven, Function-Focused, Failure-Encouraging Corporate Culture
Declared Halt to Electric Vehicle Development Last Year
Leveraging New Product Development in Solid-State Batteries and Electric Motors as a Springboard

Dyson Founder James Dyson / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] A vacuum cleaner without a dust bag, a fan without blades, and a sink that allows you to wash and dry your hands simultaneously.

All are products of the British company Dyson. Dyson is a home appliance manufacturer led by British inventor Sir James Dyson, known for its groundbreaking innovation and refined design, earning it the nickname "the Apple of the home appliance industry." The company's growth has been steep. As of 2018, when its financial statements were made public, Dyson recorded sales of ?4.4 billion (approximately 6.8 trillion KRW) and an operating profit of ?1.1 billion (approximately 1.7 trillion KRW). It has shown a growth rate of 30-40% over the past two years.

How did Dyson, which started as a vacuum cleaner manufacturer in a rural village in the UK, grow into a giant company with annual sales exceeding 6 trillion KRW and become an icon of innovation?

◆ A turbulent vacuum cleaner development... Focus on R&D

After graduating from the Royal College of Art in the UK, Dyson worked as an industrial designer and inventor, making a living by manufacturing his own invention, the garden wheelbarrow called 'Ballbarrow,' until 1974.

One day, he disassembled a vacuum cleaner and discovered that dust accumulated in the vacuum cleaner's dust bag, narrowing the entrance and reducing suction power. Later, he happened to visit a sawmill where he found the 'cyclone' method, which uses air rotation to separate air and sawdust. He decided to apply this method to vacuum cleaners to create a vacuum cleaner without a dust bag.

After producing as many as 5,127 prototypes, Dyson launched the world's first dust bag-free vacuum cleaner model using the cyclone method, called the 'G-Force,' in 1993. This product became the number one vacuum cleaner in sales in the UK within 18 months of its release. In the same year, Dyson established the company named after himself.

Dyson's history was far from smooth. When the first vacuum cleaner was launched, the company was on the brink of bankruptcy due to lack of funding but managed to complete product development after dramatic royalty negotiations with the Japanese manufacturer 'Apex.'

Having experienced this, Dyson places great importance on R&D. Of the approximately 12,000 Dyson employees worldwide, half?6,000 engineers?are involved in new product development. They are stationed at research centers in Malmesbury and Hullavington in the UK, and Singapore, working on various technologies such as robotics, electric motors, battery technology, and artificial intelligence.

Even Dyson himself still works as the Chief Engineer at Dyson's research center.

Dyson Pure Cool Air Purifier Design / Photo by Asia Economy DB

◆ "Design must follow function"

James Dyson's design philosophy is "Form follows function." In other words, design naturally follows when focusing on function. Dyson first fully understands the function of the product they want to create and then designs the product through the process of achieving that function.

To realize this philosophy, Dyson trains its employees in a unique way. According to Dyson's autobiography, Against the Odds, new employees are given a vacuum cleaner on their first day and are required to disassemble and reassemble it.

This process allows all employees to understand how the machine operates on their own. Afterwards, the company lets employees take the vacuum cleaner home to use it in their daily lives. This enables employees to observe and realize the strengths and weaknesses of the device themselves.

Dyson emphasized in his autobiography, "By doing this, designers and engineers can act like the same team," and "this method is far better than typical corporate training or competition among employees."

Dyson's electric vehicle prototype, whose development was announced to be discontinued last October. / Photo by Dyson

◆ "You can learn nothing from success... Learn from failure"

Another characteristic of Dyson is that it does not fear product development failure. In a 2012 interview, Dyson said, "Failure is part of progress," adding, "You can learn nothing from success, but you can learn from failure. That was the case when I developed the cyclone vacuum cleaner."

Dyson avoids going public to embrace failure. Despite growing into a large company with annual sales exceeding 6 trillion KRW, it has never discussed going public for this reason.

In a 2016 interview, Dyson stated, "We do not want to be forced into rapid corporate expansion," emphasizing, "What our company truly cares about is developing new technology and seeing what products can be made with that technology."

On October 11 last year, Dyson announced in a letter to its employees that it would halt its electric vehicle development plan. The project had been underway since 2016 at the Hullavington research center in the UK, with an investment of ?2 billion (3.1 trillion KRW). According to BBC reports at the time, while Dyson's car development itself was successful, production cost issues forced the company to abandon mass production.

In the letter, Dyson explained the reason for stopping development: "The car team developed a fantastic car," and "although they worked very hard, we could not find a way for this project to be commercially successful."

However, Dyson emphasized, "Hundreds of engineers, scientists, and designers achieved excellent engineering results together," and "we do not regret this challenge because we were able to quickly apply these achievements to various Dyson R&D fields."

During electric vehicle development, Dyson also developed electric motors, solid-state batteries, laser sensing technology, and artificial intelligence. In particular, Dyson plans to accelerate research on solid-state batteries, leveraging the experience gained from electric vehicle development.