By Claire Reilly

After a run in Melbourne in April, the HIA Home Show has arrived in Sydney with builders, designers, specifiers and consumers turning out in force today for the second day of the exhibition.

Major sponsors of the show V-Zug had a strong presence at the event, which is running until Sunday, with other appliance brands including Beko, Daikin, SodaStream and Laurastar also making an appearance. The four-day show is playing host to more than 250 exhibitors from across the building, renovation and design industries, with everything from cabinetry, bathroom fixtures, spas and roofing on display.

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Over at the V-Zug cooking display stand, the brand’s Swiss chef ambassador, Felix Halter, was giving demonstrations to prospective customers and offering up desserts baked in V-Zug’s hero Combi Steam oven.

Halter talked the crowd through the features of the V-Zug brand, which is pitched in the marketplace at the premium end alongside brands such as Miele, showing off its “Swiss precision” at every turn. He showed off the appliances in action, discussing the benefits of cooking with steam, and talking up the steam features in other V-Zug products such as the brand’s washing machines.

“Back in Switzerland, V-Zug is every second Swiss household,” he told the gathered audience. “It’s well built and it has a reputation like no other.”

Although the brand has only been in Australia for four years, V-Zug has a strong European heritage, with the brand celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

Speaking to Current.com.au, V-Zug New South Wales state sales manager, John Creecy, said the brand had found success in Australia because of its targeted distribution and strong focus on demonstration.

“We do demonstrations in retail stores about once a fortnight,” he said. “About 70 to 75 per cent of our sales come from demonstrations.”

It also helps that the brand has a strong advocate in Felix Halter, who has been instrumental in developing recipes to be used with V-Zug appliances, combining Swiss and Australian cooking styles.

“It’s all about a precision focus,” said Creecy. “You can just put the ingredients in and set it to one setting, and the oven will do the rest."