By James Wells

SYDNEY, NSW: Arisit managing director Simon Taylor has launched the Scholtes brand of cooking appliances at DesignEx in Sydney, also announcing experienced industry executives who have joined the team.

Taylor told Current.com.au that the brand will build on its French origins through its relationship with the Narta buying group, which was officially announced in January this year.

Distribution for Scholtes includes E&S Trading in Victoria, who have installed displays at their Moorabbin, Blackburn and Ashburton stores.

Other Narta group members taking the brand include Elite Appliances in Tasmania and Status Plus in Cairns.

New South Wales and Queensland distribution are yet to be announced.

Taylor has appointed former Bosch marketing manager, Nick Ruffell, as sales and marketing manager and Phill Cormie, who is ex-Highland, as national business development manager.

“We are already taking sales and quoting on commercial projects,” said Taylor.

“We know we are entering a tough market, but the important thing is we are doing this with a team of professionals who understand the market and we are doing this with a range of firsts.”

On its large DesignEx stand, Scholtes demonstrated a motorised downdraft system, an electronic touchpad gas cooktop and an innovative induction cooktop which can cook two separate cooking pods simultaneously or separately.

The hero product on the stand was the Scholtes 60-centimetre pyrolitic oven, which features the largest European capacity of any 60-centimter oven on the market, as well as an electronic sensor tray which separates the oven into two distinct temperature zones.