The ATAG website has been given a fresh and contemporary makeover, better reflecting the quality and style of the brand’s appliances. Retaining ATAG’s signature blue and grey colours and complementing its other marketing materials, the new site has been designed to maximise user experience and ease of use. Key features of the new ATAG website include an easy to use product selector, allowing the user to save favourite models and then compare these side by side. This is supported by a new product videos and lifestyle images section, which helps the consumer to visualise the appliances in a kitchen setting and see how they work. For further details or prices on the Atag range please contact us on onlinesales@barras.co.uk or telephone (024) 7665 1900.

We are delighted to offer details of the latest promotion from Luce exclusive to Premium Luce Studios! This offer is valid from May 1st to June 30th. We have some of the range of Luce by Hotpoint kitchen appliances in display in our Coventry showroom. These are the four simple steps to how the promotion works:

Step One

Spend Over £1000.00 on Luce appliances which must include one of SX1046LPX / SX1046LCX / OSX1036NDCX / OSX896LDCX / GX751FGK / GX751FGX / GX641FGK / GX641FGX

Step Two

Download a redemption form found on the website www.lucebyhotpoint.co.uk

Step Three

Complete and return the redemption form along with a proof of purchase before 31st July to Hotpoint

Step Four

You will receive a pre-paid card loaded with £200 to spend on anything, anywhere….it’s as simple as that!

Any queries then please contact us on (024) 7665 1900 or email onlinesales@barras.co.uk

The red dot for outstanding product design was awarded to the AEG MaxiSense hobs and the Electrolux Lampshade Island hood. AEG MaxiSense Hobs: allow pans of any shape can be placed on nearly any spot on the hobs. The size of a cooking zone is automatically adjusted to match the dimensions of cookware used. The Electrolux Lampshade Island hood is designed like a hanging lamp and is based on studies of how people use their hoods today, noting that the lights in a hood are often the most important ones for illuminating the kitchen while socialising or during a meal. The “honourable mention” award highlights exceptional design details. It went to the AEG Gas on Glass hobs that combine efficient gas burners, modern LED lighting and an elegant design; the AEG ProFresh Built-in fridge-freezers, and the AEG ProFresh Built-in fridges with high energy efficiency rating and functions like Frostmatic, Coolmatic and NoFrost. View the full ranges from AEG and Electrolux kitchen appliances on our online store or in our Coventry based showroom!

Its role at this show was to present its Green Generation range to architects and developers who are increasingly looking to specify energy efficient kitchen appliances in the wake of the Government’s intention to provide zero-carbon homes by 2016. Whirlpool has already notched up some notable success with its Green Generation range in partnership with the League of Green Embassies, with the installation of a range of Whirlpool energy saving appliances in the US Embassy. This initiative will refit US embassy buildings to minimise their energy use by installing the most energy efficient products across a broad spectrum including lighting, boilers, air conditioning, windows and appliances.The appliances are all from the Green Generation range, and these will be supplied to eight European US embassies, with the addition of Berlin and Vienna to be refitted shortly. This initiative, using more efficient appliances, will result in overall annual savings of 11880kWh/year. This is equivalent to saving six tons of CO², the same amount of CO² that 300 trees can absorb in one year. In fact the savings achieved could light up the Coliseum in Rome for two-years!  Irene Bellew, Chief Legal Officer Whirlpool EMEA who represented Whirlpool EMEA in Rome commented: “I was delighted to be at the Rome League of Green Embassies event, particularly as I have seen this initiative grow from the earliest beginnings. “In April 2011, at a meeting of the Alliance to Save Energy in Brussels, we met the US Ambassador to Finland who was passionate about pushing this agenda, and given Whirlpool’s long-standing and proven commitment to the environment, we were able to work together in the energy-saving and awareness-raising programme. Return to our main site to see more details of the built in range of kitchen appliances from Whirlpool!

AEG PRO COMBI STEAM OVEN

With the AEG Pro Combi Steam Oven you can achieve a true taste experience.  This versatile oven can offer three combinations of steam and hot air at 100%, 75% and 50% to ensure your dish has the maximum flavours, the most alluring aromas and the most satisfying textures.

Professional cooks understand that the fusion of steam and heat creates a recipe for success.  It’s a combination that gives superior results all round, with soft, tender food on the inside, and a crisp, golden finish on the outside.  Food can be cooked to perfection, as the food is never overcooked – remaining moist and succulent on the inside with the textures, colour and flavour all preserved.  Cooking with steam is also healthier as it is fat free cooking and more nutrients are retained. The AEG Pro Combi Steam Oven has a variety of cooking functions including True Fan for batch baking on several levels as well as Slow Cook options for different quantities of food.  For those of us who hate the chore of cleaning, the oven also has a steam cleaning programme and it simply cleans itself.

With this innovative steam oven, you can achieve results even a professional chef can be proud of – a true taste experience.  Premium design, premium performance and a perfectly clean oven, ready for use each time you cook to achieve perfect results.

AEG WARMING DRAWER

The AEG Warming Drawer is a perfect addition to your oven and a handy way to keep your plates and dishes warm until you are ready to serve them. The warming drawer is also ideal for quickly defrosting even the most delicate dishes.  The high-performance fan inside the warming drawer circulates heat evenly, keeping your food and plates at a constant temperature. The warming drawer not only keeps plates and dishes warm, it’s also the ideal place for leaving bread dough to rise.  The results are just as good as the baker’s. Thanks to its stylish design, the warming drawer seamlessly integrates with the rest of your kitchen and perfectly matches your AEG oven.

AEG BUILT IN DOUBLE OVEN

The AEG Double Oven combines traditional cooking with heating zones allowing the user to choose whether to use the top or bottom elements, or both at the same time which is ideal for baking bread and cakes, as the oven becomes hotter at the top. Heat from the bottom element only provides a perfect way to heat pies and pastries as it keeps the pastry crisp and low temperatures can be used to gently tenderise and cook foods through such as casseroles and joints.

Come and see this fantastic range of appliances at our Coventry kitchen and appliance showroom!

AEG appliances will be running a promotion within the kitchen retail sector from 19^th March to 31^st May.

To tie in with their 125th year anniversary, they are offering consumers £125 cash-back by redemption when you buy any 4 built in appliances – two of which must include an AEG oven and hob from the Neue Kollektion. You will be able to complete a redemption form and sending in to the handling house to claim the £125 cash back within 28 days!!

Please call us at our Coventry based showrooms for any more information on (024) 7665 1900.

For 2012, we have greatly expanded our De Dietrich product ranges, while making design enhancements to some best sellers that we hope you will like. The multi award-winning DTiM1000C Piano ‘Zoneless’ Induction Hob continues to lead the market and has firmly placed De Dietrich at the forefront of induction technology so in recognition of this, we have launched a number of new induction hobs. The success of our downdraft range has allowed us to make further introductions and due to greater demand, a full range of new highly specified A+AA class dishwashers are also introduced.

Additions to the Fagor appliance collection include a new 90cm Wide Oven and a range of stunning stainless steel and black glass Designer Hoods, delivering more choice and a truly designer look to a kitchen. Clever development in electronics has enabled us to efficiently run the 60cm ovens on a 13amp supply, including a pyrolytic oven. Bringing further style and practicality to Fagor are two stylish silver induction hobs with Freezone technology thus introducing ‘zoneless’ induction from Fagor for the very first time. The truly innovative freestanding Spoutnik microwave is also featured in the new Fagor brochure and will be making its debut show appearance at KBB. KBB will also be the platform for the launch of Fagor cookware and a discerning selection of De Dietrich premium appliances.

ILLUMINATING DESIGN … INSPIRED THINKING. Sleek Italian design and true passion for cooking-key ingredients to create the perfect kitchen. Introducing LUCE by Hotpoint, the perfect addition to Barras’s appliance portfolio within their Coventry showroom.

With performance matching up to the great looks, LUCE is about far more than style. Each appliance comes with a host of innovative features such as patented High Definition Direct Flame technology that uniquely distributes heat evenly when you cook, offering up to 20% time and energy savings. With over 40 years of design and manufacturing excellence, quality is synonymous with Barras Home Improvements. Understanding and embracing the latest trends and technology keeps us at the forefront of both style and quality. The minimalist Italian design and high specification of the LUCE collection will add a stylish contemporary touch to any kitchen and with fingerprint-resistant stainless steel, little effort is required to keep it looking beautiful. You can be sure to create your pure kitchen utopia.

Barras Home Improvements Ltd is one of the latest group of successful companies to join a leading edge scheme, designed to help industry improve its safety record.

The Coventry based firm recently received accreditation from SAFEcontractor, a programme which recognises very high standards of health and safety practise amongst UK contractors.

Employing 20 people, Barras is principally involved in the supply, installation and project management of kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms and the overall management of insurance claims for the CV & B postcodes.

The company’s application for SAFEcontractor accreditation was driven by the need for a uniform standard across the business.

Director of Barras Home Improvements John Spencer said “It is vitally important for the on-going success of Barras to be accredited with SAFEContractor to give that all important consumer confidence”.

SAFEcontractor accreditation is expected to enhance the company’s ability to attract new contracts and its commitment to safety will be viewed positively by its insurers when the company liability policy is up for renewal.

SAFEcontractor is applicable to most sectors although it is particularly relevant to food manufacture, property, facilities management, retail and leisure sectors, all of which are big users of contract services.

John Kinge, Head of Risk at SAFEcontractor said, “Major organisations can no longer run the risk of employing contractors who are not able to prove that they have sound health and safety policies”.

“More companies need to understand the importance of adopting good risk management in the way that Barras has done. The firm’s high standard has set an example, which hopefully will be followed by other companies within the sector”.

Under the SAFEcontractor system, businesses undergo a vetting process, which examines health and safety procedures and their track record for safe practice. Those companies meeting the high standard are included on a database, which is accessible to registered users only via a website, www.safecontractor.com

Employer-organisations who sign up to the scheme can access the database, enabling them to vet potential contractors before they even set foot on site. These employers agree that, as users of the scheme, they will engage only those who have received accreditation.

Over one hundred and fifty major nation-wide businesses, from several key sectors, have signed up to use the scheme when selecting contractors for services such as building, cleaning, maintenance, refurbishment or electrical and mechanical work.