If you’ve known the KingsBox brand for a while now, you noticed that since the beginning, one of the main values is innovation. We want to present our customer’s innovative products, to help them reach their full potential. Of course, while being innovative we have to stick to some principles to achieve the wanted results.
When designing each of KingsBox’s products, our team of engineers is strictly following principles described below.
The 6 principles that are the base for designing every KingsBox product.
1.Every piece of equipment must be functional.
The meaning of functionality is one of the biggest ones. But in our case, we are talking about 2 types of functionality.
Functionality number 1: Are the movements as functional as they can be?
Functionality number 2: Is the machine functional for the user and for the space that is placed?
To explain those two questions, I suggest we take a look at two of our machines: the Leg press and the Leg Curl/extension machine.
The plate-loaded leg press Mad King is a unique machine on which the user chooses to train each leg individually or both legs at the same time. It‘s is a unique functionality to help minimize the strength difference between two legs and to help the user become more functional.
The Leg curl/leg extension machine called The Crazy Queen has more than one special and unique feature. You can train each leg separately, but the best part of this machine is the 2-in-1 function. We all know that renting space is expensive, and that’s why having only one machine that takes 1m2 of space instead of two different ones, that together take even more space, is very important to us. So if we see the opportunity of making 2 machines in one, we are taking that bet. And it’s not only about the space, it is also a big saving on the investment for those who start building a gym.
2. Bringing innovative design into the fitness world
You can spot KinsgBox products in just a few seconds, and that’s exactly what we are thriving for. Square tubes steel tubes, raw-massive design, medieval product names, and a combination of colors that don’t leave the users feeling empty.
Before launching the product on the market, we check if the design is worthy of the KingsBox brand name.
3. Taking into consideration those who are building the equipment
Do you know the story about the iceberg in the sea? You only see 1/10 the size of it, the rest is underwater. The same goes for the construction design. It’s easier to make a great product, but it’s much harder to take into consideration the people that produce it, semi-assemble it, deliver it, and assemble it into the final product.
What are the most important steps?
3.1. Make the production line faster and easier
When a product is designed you have to think about the person that will laser cut, curl and weld the steel. You have to make their work as easy as possible, and at the same time you have to prevent a mistake before they happen.
3.2. Design the pieces that are easily assembled
When the product is made, there is another person who semi-assembles it. The design, in this case, can be the problem or the solution because the engineer that has designed the product can speed up the semi-assembly by 90%, and most of the users will not see any final difference between those two products. A great example is our 3-second pull-up bar (the first foldable pull-up bar in the world. We managed to lower the semi-production time of this product by 95% in the last 5 years.
3.4. Make sure it is suitable for the delivery company
Have you heard the saying that when the delivery guy sees a Fitness equipment box, has a day ruined? That’s true, and we hear it all the time.
Every delivery guy knows that a fitness equipment package is heavy and they will need to see chiropractic at the end of the day
But there is good news! Our engineers also know that chiropractics is expensive and the delivery guy needs his back to work for a long, long time. So, when we design the product we make it easy to pack, and if we don’t ship an individual package on the pallet, the maximum weight never excises 25 kg (this is the worst case because you can’t divide the bumper plates of 25 kg for example).
3.5. Pack the pieces IKEA way
A great inspiration for our assembly instructions of the products is thanks to IKEA’s standard of packages. We like to say, if you can mount an Ikea closet, our Rigs/Rack will be like stealing a lollipop from a 2-year-old child. We make assembly instructions for every product, right now we have 1300 different assembly manuals in our library. A good design is a combination of simple usage and assembly.
4.Making intuitive products
The KingsBox products are built for the final user. When you are using our Pulley Tower, for example, the pin is positioned directly under the handle so you can adjust the height of the pulley card with just one hand.
We like to think that when you try using a product with a good intuitive design it should feel just like love at first sight. You know at the moment how the other one is feeling and thinking.
5. Every piece of equipment most be long-lasting
Life is too short to waste it on designing low-quality products. When designing a product and testing it, we put them in truly extreme conditions, that they must sustain, to achieve suitable certifications. We test most of our products with forces up to 6 times higher than the max weight declared officially on the product’s label. Let me give you an example – if we say that on the KingsBox Savage Princ Chest press you can put a max of 50kg per side, and the product successfully passes through our certifications and sustains the standard, it must pass the test of 300 kg per side. This is just one of the tests that we do to declare that our products are 100% safe to use and made in compliance with the ISO standard. Life is too short to design low-quality products.
6. Take care of the environment
85% of the material we use is European Steel, 10% is European recycling tires rubber, 2% is European wood and only 1% is other materials. Our products are packed in European recycled carton boxes, and 80% of the filling material in the boxes is used as a side product that we get from shredding old carton boxes.
Back in the years when we first started, the times were different. It was really hard for us to sell high-quality products made of recycled and sustainable materials because people were mostly interested in low prices, not caring if the material and the product originated from one of the dirtiest and eco- catastrophic towns in the world. We are happy to see that all our hard work and vision have paid off and that customers are changing their buying habits.
I like to think that Engineering is one of the closest things you can get to all mighty GOD.
Why? Because just like GOD, you made Something from Nothing.
Engineering and production are the main thing that shapes how we live and train. We are extremely happy to be part of that, so we can make a difference in the world.
Author: Dejan Kobal, CO-CEO and Head of Innovations
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