Freeplay wind-up torch

The Design Council has, for the second time, chosen a wind-up product as a Millennium Product.

In November 1998 the Freeplay wind-up radio received the accolade. This time it is the Freeplay self-powered lantern which has been placed in the limelight.

The Secretary for Trade and Industry, Stephen Byres, announced the third tranche of Millennium Products in London on Monday 19 April 1999.

The torch met the necessary criteria to become a Millennium Product, which includes creativity, innovation, forward thinking and being pioneering in its field. The torch, which contains the unique Freeplay wind-up generator, was designed to make the frustration of dead batteries a thing of the past. It can be used and re-charged in exactly the same way as a conventional torch. Or, in an emergency, the wind-up handle can be used to generate immediate light.

The product nominations are of major significance to Freeplay Energy and have highlighted to the world the importance of self-powered technology.

Rory Stear, joint chairman and chief executive officer of the Freeplay Energy Group, said: "We are delighted that the self-powered lantern has been chosen as a Millennium Product, it is a tremendous achievement for Freeplay Energy. We have applied leading edge technology to a very simple concept and produced a high quality product that is unique and very different from anything else on the market today."

Launched in 1997 by Prime Minister Tony Blair, Millennium Products is an initiative created by the Design Council to identify, encourage and promote UK innovation and put British creativity at the forefront of the next millennium.

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Buy the radio and torch on-line now at www.purleyradio.co.uk