Valle treasures above all the possibilities of running through ideas on the computer or simulating the material flow. It can take many months for the item of laboratory equipment to mature from its pilot phase to mass production, and the result always polarizes opinion. “Many customers come to us and ask about our ‘Big Pink System,’ the Mobius® FlexReady family of solutions. The first time we presented this filtration and clarification system at a trade fair in 2009, customers were shocked by the color,” explains Valle. “Reactions were intense. Some people lovingly named the system my ‘pink Cadillac,’ while others perceived it as too fat or too feminine. The form and color of the design even evoked a wide range of opinions in our own company and in the creative department.”

Developers and customers were in absolute agreement about one thing, however: The attractive reactors of the Mobius® CellReady series bring colorful accents to the gray world of the laboratory. Numerous studies have already shown that the right color design can have a positive effect on productivity and the atmosphere. “At the end of the day, color, branding, and graphic design are all factors in a decision to purchase. Here at Merck Millipore, with our Mobius® FlexReady family we are bringing to market functional systems with an arrestingly different look and feel from those of other competing products in the bioprocess engineering industry,” says Valle. “We will continue to utilize color and design as important elements of our products. We listen to our customers and check market trends when we make decisions about the aesthetics of our products. We intend to keep on surprising the sector with our unique and exciting designs for a long time to come.”