Reliability That Rivals Miele
Not all softeners are created equal. And when it comes to reliability, the Minimax leads the pack - for a very good reason.
In the early days, Minimax softeners came with just a 1-year guarantee and, when I joined Harveys in 2009, a 10% failure rate. Not unusual at the time - but nowhere near what a premium product should be, and Harvey was determined to improve it!
It all changed when Harvey Water Softeners brought in Martin Hurworth, a technical director from the premium automotive lighting industry, to raise the bar. Martin came in with a bold promise:
“Give me 12 months and an unlimited budget, and I’ll deliver an industry first - a failure rate under 1%.”
His real goal, though? 0.05% - the failure rate achieved by Miele, often regarded as the gold standard in domestic appliances.
“If Miele can do it, so can we,” he said. “That should be the benchmark for any manufacturer serious about quality.”
Harvey took the bet - and told Martin that if he delivered, he could be the next Managing Director.
I remember, with humour, Harvey's son Casey saying, "Dad, that's my job!". To which Harvey replied, "No, Casey - if Martin can deliver 1%, he's clearly the best man for the job!"
I recall Martin smiling, liking that idea, and told Harvey "Then I'll hold you to that promise!"
Within twelve months, the Harvey Minimax had the lowest failure rate in the sector. Under 1%, and falling.
Can you guess who became Managing Director? Martin was an excellent MD and also worked hard to bring about change within the culture of the organisation.
Since then, the product has been totally re-engineered under Martin’s protégé, William Sargeant, who now leads Harvey’s technical team. And the results speak for themselves.
FAILURE RATES OVER WILLIAM'S TIME:
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0.43%
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Then 0.34%
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And now - since January 2024 - just 0.2%
How Does Minimax Compare?
To put that in context:
Failure Rate:
GOLD STANDARD: Miele = 0.05%
Minimax = 0.2%
Cycle Testing:
British Standard = 5,000 test cycles
Minimax = 1,000,000 test cycles
The Minimax Innova and M3 models are stress-tested to a staggering 1 million cycles at 10 bar - the equivalent of over 100 years of use in a typical family home. Even the larger models like the Minimax Major and Minimax Big Blue are tested to 100,000 cycles, still 20x the British requirement.