Brought to the U.S. three years ago, the Soltron tanning equipment brand combines a colorful, fun energy with the finest in German engineering. Manufactured by the JK Group, the brand has quickly become popular among American salon professionals and certainly made a name for the company. Now, Soltron is launching its latest brand concept – Blue Box – which helps salon pros design their salon from the ground up, featuring the brand’s dynamic and colorful identity.

Creating the Spirit
The Soltron brand got its start in Germany in 1999, designed by the think-tank at JK Holding that was looking to create something to compliment their already successful Ergoline line. “At that time, many people in the tanning industry already associated Ergoline with high-end units,” recalled Brigitte Kratz, JK North America Director of Equipment Sales/Marketing. “Because of this, we knew we needed to take a different approach with Soltron equipment, so we came up with a brand that presented a young, fun and exciting image. To convey that image, we used an assortment of bright colors – blues, yellows and oranges – that captures the spirit of Soltron.”
The spirit of Soltron is unmistakable, even at a casual glance. The tanning systems feature bright and exciting colors, as well as names that convey a fun feeling. While the Soltron look might differ from the classy, high-end appeal of Ergoline, Brigitte points out that Soltron units are also designed and produced at JK’s manufacturing centers in Germany. “Customers can be assured that the traditional high-quality engineering goes into both brands,” she commented.

Something Old, Something New
While the Soltron image speaks of tanning systems with a fresh, new appeal, there’s some history involved with the brand’s name. “We wanted to offer a new and additional brand, but struggled with finding a suitable name – we couldn’t come up with anything that fit,” Brigitte recalled. “Then, someone suggested the Soltron name, which the company already used in the 80s for Europe and the U.S. We liked the way the name fit with the new direction we chose to take with this brand, so we decided to stick with it.”

Market Success
Soltron tanning units were first introduced to the European market in 1999, where they did well. According to Brigitte, the new line was one of the most popular in all of Europe, a place where the German-made Ergoline units have been well established. Four years later, the bold Soltron units were brought to the U.S. market, where they debuted at the Indoor Tanning Association 2003 World Expo in Nashville. This strategic decision proved to be a good one. “We were very pleased with its debut, in the U.S.” Brigitte stated. “American salon owners really picked up on the whole spirit of the brand as a fun and dynamic equipment line. Many have purchased Soltron units exclusively, providing them a unique and exciting experience for their tanning customers.”

The success of the Soltron line, both in Europe and the U.S., is the result of the teamwork of everyone at JK Holding, Brigitte said. While she credits the entire team with Soltron’s success in the U.S., she says Dennis Tebon, National Sales Manager, was extremely helpful with the growth of the brand here. “By providing new opportunities for distribution partners and salon investors, he was able to successfully introduce the brand concept and quickly make an impact on the U.S. market,” she commented. “We’re very happy with all his contributions.”

On the Level
In order to make Soltron a successful brand unto itself, Brigitte says the company knew it needed to offer a full range of models. The goal was to make Soltron a one-stop shop for all customer equipment needs. The emphasis of the brand is to provide a complete range of products from a level selling perspective. From base beds to high-pressure, Soltron delivers. The base beds include the newly designed Seashell economy offering, followed by the Kiss/Flirt Series and the Touchdown, Champ and Hot Pepper. The line continues to upgrade with stronger models like the Genie, Race and Wave. At the top level are the most powerful units – the Chill and Shark models – and the line also offers two stand-up systems, the Space Cab and Shuttle.

Soltron is especially proud of its high-pressure bed, the Shark. “This represents the highest level of Soltron’s offerings,” Brigitte explained. “It features 20 Shark Technology high-pressure facial units, a very efficient glass reflector system which is proprietary to JK. It’s a great combination unit that delivers excellent results without generating much heat.” New for 2006 in the entry-level bed category is Soltron’s Seashell, which provides the Soltron spirit at a competitive price. Also this year, Soltron added the Space Cab – a compact stand-up, also competitively priced.

“Think Blue”
For the 2006 season, Soltron is entering an entirely new arena. Called the Blue Box, this new concept will help an entrepreneur build their entire salon to feature Soltron’s fun, energetic look. “The Blue Box had already been successfully launched in several European countries where it created so much excitement among our customers that we decided to bring it to the U.S.,” Brigitte explained. “It is inspired by Soltron’s unique colors and visuals, and manufactured by a German company which collected experience in some of Germany’s finest salon layouts over the last 10 years. Blue Box not only offers high-quality materials and clever craftsmanship, but it’s also competitively priced.”

“This is not a franchise,” Brigitte continued. “There are no royalties or franchise fees associated with it. The Blue Box is a brand concept designed to provide the owner with the opportunity to have a salon that reflects the Soltron spirit from top to bottom, giving them one more way to be competitive in today’s marketplace.” Introduced at the Indoor Tanning Association World Expo 2005 in Nashville, Blue Box is already catching on with American salon professionals. Dennis Ligon, owner of Sunday’s Tanning Resort in Virginia Beach, VA, was scheduled to open the first complete Soltron Blue Box salon on February 10th.

Blue Skies Ahead
As Brigitte and the rest of the Soltron team look out into the horizon, the skies are definitely blue. They’re happy with the company’s progress, and are looking ahead to an exciting future. “Soltron is continuing to gain popularity and the Blue Box concept is starting to catch on,” commented Brigitte. “This brings the whole Soltron concept to the American tanning industry, and we’re very happy to be able to do that. JK’s plans are to continue to develop new and interesting tanning systems while strengthening our distribution network. We think we’re on the right track.”