Gharieni celebrates 25 years in the industry this year. What was the market like when you first started?
I trained in electrical engineering and started out designing and selling facial lifting devices that used electrical currents – which was a very new concept back then.

However, the treatment beds in facilities at that time were very basic with few functions. So I started to get a vision of what a massage table should be, and every year since then we’ve created and launched better and more innovative designs for tables.

What were some of your early successes?
My approach has always been to listen first to the needs of the market and then innovate. As an engineer I also look at what’s happening in other industries and see if it can be applied to wellness.

For example, some of our early designs were the first to incorporate heated massage pads and lumbar support into beds – new technology that I drew directly from the automotive industry.

In 2005, we were the first to create a table with electronic armrests that could be lowered, so the client did not have to lie uncomfortably with their arms by their side. This bed is now our Classic MLW table that still leads in the market today.

What are Gharieni’s core markets?
There are three pillars to our business. Spa and Wellness (wet and dry sectors); Beauty and Cosmetics; and finally Medical, where we create equipment for many different disciplines, from podiatry to gynaecology and dialysis. We’re now seeing more intersection between the spa and medical worlds, which will provide many opportunities going forward.

Tell us about some of your most recent innovations
We have many. Our technical team is growing and our rate of innovation is speeding up! At a recent trade show in Düsseldorf we had 13 innovations on display, when in past years we’ve usually had two or three.

In March we launched our Gharieni-Smart-Remote (GSR) Tablets with an app that can control all the functions of our massage beds, from the movement to the music, at the simple touch of a button. We also see our new Quartz bed as a game changer. I got the idea from a man who made hot sand boxes for physiotherapy centres and I instantly saw how this could be applied to a massage bed.

For the Quartz bed we offer very thin blankets that allow the client to have the experience and benefits of lying on warm sand without coming into contact with it. We can also add salt into the heated bed so that the treatment room becomes like a salt cave. People can have a body scrub or massage while also having the feeling of being relaxed at a beach, with salty sea air.

It’s unique in the world and I’m sure it will be in all high-end spas in the future.

Is there anything else you see as an industry first?
Our new Wellmassage4D is a massage treatment that transports the wellness experience to another dimension. In March, we won the Innovation Award of the German Wellness Association for best body treatment. We worked with Jean-Guy de Gabriac who developed the treatment protocols and we created the technology.

We like to joke that we are like Christopher Columbus! He showed people the world was not flat it was round. With Wellmassage4D, massage of the future will no longer be a flat experience.

We also created the award-winning 5-in-1, multi-talent PediSpa Square – a chair for pedicure, manicure, facials, make-up and haircare, that has Kneipp foot massage jets; as well as a type of horizontal Vichy shower with sophisticated automatic Kneipp temperature controls.

What’s your approach to design?
We always like to create what does not exist in the market. The drawbacks are that you then have to convince people that it’s what they need. But I much prefer to be an innovator and leader, than a follower.

Also, we always listen to our clients and design with both the spa-goers and the therapist in mind. It has to be an amazing experience for the client, and highly functional for the therapist.

For example, a few years ago Mandarin Oriental approached us about making a bed that could go very low for Asian treatments but that also had storage.

At first I thought this was impossible, but I love a challenge! I spent two years with my engineers working on a concept.

Now this bed – the MO1 EVO – is not only the lowest bed on the market (down to 45cm) it’s also great for disabled people. It’s been a great success at the Mandarin Oriental and is in great demand from other leading spa brands.

What trends do you see happening in wellness?
One emerging trend I see is power napping, and of course we have developed a product that meets this demand. Our Spa.Wave is a new system that incorporates binaural acoustic and vibrational stimulation to put people into a deep state of alpha sleep for around 30 minutes. Spas can essentially sell time to clients, whether they’re stressed out executives or jet-lagged travellers. It eliminates the need for a therapist and so can generate more profit for the spa.

It uses technology that was developed in the US for soldiers in the Iraq war. It quickly brought them down from a high state of stress on the battlefield to a therapeutic alpha state. There have been clinical studies done to show its efficiency.

So what’s next for Gharieni?
We’re always launching something new. There are two more launches set for 2016 that I can’t tell you about yet, but I’m sure they’ll both win innovation awards.

We’ll also unveil a major new showroom in Germany to coincide with our 25th anniversary in September, and I promise it will be something really special.