Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/658237
52 tobaccoasia / Issue 1, 2016 March / April) KARDIEN-FDOT A Most Diversified Product Catalogue Practically from the start, KARDIEN-TS – the very first product launched back in 2013 – became the company's bestseller and remains so to this day. Lee sees particularly this machine as a kind of "catalyst" to drive future sales of other KARDIEN equipment as impressed clients develop brand satisfac- tion and loyalty. "Once a customer has purchased and used [KARDIEN test- station] they tend to stick with our brand. For us that means they are satisfied with our products because they provide superior analytical data accuracy at an affordable price." Furthermore, he stresses, clients like the ease of operation that is a hall- mark of all KARDIEN machines and appreciate that no equipment failure problems occur, "even though we routinely provide thorough equipment maintenance and upgrading services every six months, regardless whether there are issues or not." But the KARDIEN-fireball drop out tester (KARDI- EN-FDOT) – a machine entirely developed in-house – has also proven to be a hot seller – and for very good reasons: "KARDIEN-FDOT currently is so far the only equipment able to detect and measure the fireball drop-out phe- nomenon. It's a truly innovative, high-performance technological marvel." But besides KARDIEN-TS and KARDIEN-FDOT, the firm's expansive equipment catalogue of course also comprises filter and rod, paper and film, combustion-related, capsule-related, and other testing equipment, including smoking machines and moisture meters. Focus On Value-Added Services But developing groundbreaking machinery alone is not enough to "make it" and survive in an extremely competitive market environment, an aspect which KARDIEN certainly has taken into careful consideration. The company puts tremendous emphasis on providing what Lee terms the company's "quality measurement system total solution"; in other words, a seamless integration of state-of-the-art testing equipment and a slew of value-added services. Apart from the already mentioned half-yearly routine system maintenance and up- grading, the KT&G subsidiary also offers prompt internet remote control service in the rare case when repairs do become necessary. KARDIEN's Proprietary Vs Adapted Machinery Models The Korean testing equipment provider offers an intriguing range of both proprietary machines as well as adapted machines featuring remarkable hardware improvements and – most importantly – exclusive and greatly enhanced software systems. A random selection of currently available product models entirely developed in-house are: KARDIEN-FDOT: Fireball drop out tester - ac- cording to Lee the very first commercial machine in the market capable of measuring the fireball drop out phenomenon in a burning cigarette. KARDIEN-CAMT: Cigarette ash measuring tester – for testing cigarette ash shape and com- bustibility. KARDIEN-FLT: Filter looseness tester – deter- mines adhesion and tensile strength in filters. KARDIEN-CCST: Capsule compressive strength tester – for compressive strength measurement of flavor capsules. KARDIEN-FCDU: Filter capsule detecting unit KARDIEN-SST: Stem separation tester – mea- sures total stem content in cut tobacco samples and is generally deployed in a lab setting. Keun-Young Lee: "All our proprietary testers convince through exclusive KARDIEN-developed and enhanced new software systems with addi- tional functionalities." The available line-up of adapted and improved product models includes, among others: KARDIEN-TS: Test station; this was the very first model introduced shortly after KARDIEN's inauguration in 2013 and has developed into the company's bestseller. It's various functionalities have been mentioned in the main article. KARDIEN-ALT: Air leakage tester – measures the air leakage properties of OPP film. KARDIEN-KSS: Sieve Shaker KARDIEN-APT: Air permeability tester – tests the amount of air (air volume) permeating through the paper. KARDIEN-BIT: Burning intensity tester – to determine the ignition and extinguishing points of LIP-applied cigarettes. Keun-Young Lee: "These models all not only use KARDIEN software but also feature various improvements in their hardware."