For over 40 years, Pando has been developing and producing range hoods in Argentona, a small town in front of the gates of Barcelona, the metropolis on the Mediterranean Sea, in almost all kinds of varieties that can be found in kitchens today: there is everything, from the classic built-in hood and island hoods to downdraft extractors, which draw the fumes in directly downwards at the cooktop.
Most hoods go to Spain and Portugal, but Pando also serves its customers around the world. The promise is the same everywhere: Top-quality products. Rafael Freire, Marketing Manager at Pando, explains: “Our hoods are produced very carefully and have to pass numerous quality checks before they leave the site. We always strive to be state-of-the-art and to set new trends ourselves.”

The developers at Pando always use state-of-the-art technology in the range hoods and a straightforward design. (Graphic | Pando)
These days, range hoods are much more than useful kitchen helpers that free the home from annoying cooking odors. They are design objects, meet additional functions, for example by serving as a lamp at the same time, and they increasingly offer smart functions. For example, the development department at Pando has developed a system with “AirLink” that connects the cooktop and range hood with one another. This enables the device to adjust the suction power to its actual use. With “Pando LED”, the strength and light color of the hood lighting can be individually adjusted. “Our aim is to increase the quality of life in the kitchen,” said Freire.
Sustainable thanks to EC technology

The RadiFlex can be used flexibly in a wide range of hood types. (Graphic | ebm-papst)
Pando can only meet this promise by using high-quality components. The blower is key here: it generates the necessary suction pressure to dissipate the kitchen fumes. It needs to be as quiet as possible and consume little energy, which is increasing in importance. Although range hoods are not in use around the clock, there is still potential to save on current consumption here too. This is why the new EU energy efficiency marking does not forget these household appliances. Sustainability is of great importance to Pando’s self-image: “We place great importance on sustainable and environmentally friendly production. That is why our environmental management system has been certified to ISO 14001:2015.” Therefore, for long time now, the Spanish hood experts have used energy-saving EC technology for the blowers. “We have been working with ebm-papst solutions for 15 years. The collaboration and technical consultation have always been and are always good,” says Sergio Seña, Head of Purchasing and Operations.
Flexible solution, streamline production
That is why the developers at Pando did not have to think for long when they found out about the new RadiFlex. With it, ebm-papst has developed a highly efficient, high-performance blower that can be flexibly integrated into a wide range of hood designs. “We first tested the blower in two models whose performance we wanted to improve more.” The integration was very simple, as Seña confirms: “We did not have to make any adjustments, the size of the blower and the connections were compatible with our existing models.” The only challenge was programming the extraction hood so that the blower can fully utilize its benefits and the noise level remains minimal at maximum power. “But our engineers were able to solve this with a software adaptation,” says Seña.
We plan to use the RadiFlex in more than 20 different models: the flexibility of the blower makes our production much easier and our customers get more efficient devices with better performance.
Sergio Seña, Head of Purchasing and Operations
The overall result convinced Pando’s development department: the air flow and pressure are significantly higher with lower energy consumption, the noise generation is lower and the energy classification is outstanding. Now Pando is already working on integrating the RadiFlex into other range hoods from the range. “We plan to use it in more than 20 different models: the flexibility of the blower makes our production much easier and our customers get more efficient devices with better performance,” says Seña.
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