Overview
- Trusco Nakayama began selling the Do Hiemon Box earlier this year and has sold about 200 units priced at roughly ¥1.5 million each to factories, construction sites, golf courses, universities and leisure facilities.
- The stainless-steel, single-occupancy booth cools its cabin to about 15°C and directs roughly 5°C air at the upper body, offers three airflow and temperature settings, runs from a standard outlet, sits on locking wheels and automatically shuts off after 20 minutes to prevent overcooling.
- The company dispatched units to evacuation shelters after a recent Kumamoto earthquake, and it markets the product as a rapid-response tool to lower body temperature and reduce the risk of heat exhaustion and heatstroke.
- Trusco says demand for its workplace cooling products has roughly doubled each year recently, and the firm has fielded inquiries from overseas buyers in Germany and the United States, suggesting export potential.
- Public-health pressure and hotter summers, including official recognition of 40°C-plus days, are pushing employers and local governments to adopt new cooling measures and could expand markets for portable rapid-cooling devices like the Do Hiemon Box.