GP PRO, a division of Georgia-Pacific and a leading maker of advanced dispensing solutions for commercial facilities, is excited to announce that it is seeking an ISSA Innovation Award during ISSA Show North America 2024 for ECON Mode, a new enMotion® Paper Towel Dispenser function that extends battery life to an industry-leading five years, enabling a throughput of 110 towel rolls.

As with all of GP PRO’s product innovations, ECON Mode was developed with direct input from maintainers, in this instance to address their frustration with the tedious and often time-consuming task of replacing dispenser batteries. In addition, it was developed with the knowledge that facility managers are under mounting pressure to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and drive sustainable outcomes.

“We follow empathic design principles when developing new or improving existing products, which means we take a user-centric approach,” said Ronnie Phillips, Ph.D., senior director of washroom innovation at GP PRO. “From this place of empathy, our product engineers and designers recognized an opportunity to develop a new operating system for our enMotion paper towel dispensers that uses less energy yet delivers the benefits maintainers and facility managers want and need.”

Ronnie added that it is this same kind of empathic design that resulted in GP PRO’s Compact Quad® Plus Toilet Paper Dispenser being named Innovation of the Year at ISSA Show North America 2023.

How ECON Mode Works

With ECON Mode, after a set period of inactivity, the enMotion dispenser automatically goes into a sleep state—this is called hang mode because a paper towel is visibly hanging from the dispenser. While in hang mode, battery use is paused until the dispenser is re-activated by a user removing that hanging towel. By pausing battery use, often for hours at a time, ECON Mode extends battery life from four years to more than five years, which enables a throughput of more than 110 towel rolls.

ECON Mode is the default setting on all new enMotion paper towel dispensers, and the setting can be locked to reap the most benefits. However, if unlocked, maintainers can easily turn ECON Mode off and manually put the dispenser into hang dispensing mode or handwave dispensing mode by opening the dispenser and simply pressing a button. A light confirms which setting the dispenser is in.

ECON Mode Benefits

It’s easy to ascertain that by extending battery life, ECON Mode helps improve operational efficiency by decreasing the frequency with which maintainers must replace batteries. It also helps lower operating costs by reducing the number of replacement batteries that must be purchased. Further, it helps drive sustainable outcomes by reducing dispenser power consumption and battery waste.

These benefits are all in addition to the many advantages enMotion dispensers already provide, like improved hygiene with automatic touchless dispensing; less maintenance with reliable, jam-free dispensing; and less paper waste with customizable dispensing settings. enMotion dispensers deliver even greater sustainability gains when used with enMotion® Recycled Paper Towels, which meet Green Seal™ Standard GA-1 based on chlorine-free processing, energy and water efficiency, and content of 100% recovered material with at least 50% post-consumer fiber.

Learn More About ECON Mode

ISSA Show North America 2024 attendees are invited to learn more about ECON Mode by:

• visiting GP PRO throughout the show in Booth #3600;
• visiting ISSA’s Innovation Theater in Booth #147, where ECON Mode is featured among the hygiene products in Space #23; and
• watching a live product demonstration in ISSA’s Innovation Theater on Tuesday, 11/19 at 1 pm.

“We’re incredibly proud to be the first manufacturer in the industry to offer dispensers with a five-year battery life. When you consider the lifetime of a dispenser, this becomes a truly significant innovation that makes a difference in the day-to-day work of maintainers and the goals of facility managers,” said Phillips.

About GP PRO
Based in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific and its subsidiaries are among the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of bath tissue, paper towels and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, cellulose, specialty fibers, building products, and related chemicals. The company operates approximately 150 facilities and employs approximately 30,000 people directly and creates nearly 89,000 jobs indirectly. GP PRO, a division of Georgia-Pacific, manufactures and sells well-known brands like ActiveAire®, Angel Soft® Professional Series, Brawny®, Compact®, Dixie®, Dixie Ultra®, enMotion®, and Pacific Blue™. GP PRO products meet restroom, foodservice, and break room needs for office buildings, healthcare, foodservice, high traffic, lodging, retail, and education facilities, plus a wide range of industrial and manufacturing facilities in North America. For more information, visit gppro.com.