Sun Capsule
New Lamps, Financing Raise The Bar For Standups
by Matt Morgan
The Sun Capsule began as a six-sided, 30-lamp, 27-minute model in 1980. As lamps were added over the years and at higher wattage, tan times came down. CMC’s equipment also switched to a five-sided design, which has a smaller footprint and brings users closer to the lamps for better tanning efficiency.
The company’s modern standup was born in 1994 when Cosmedico arrived from Europe with its new 160-watt VHR lamps featuring patented phosphors and built-in reflectors. These lamps were designed especially for Sun Capsule to handle the unit’s higher wattage demands.
Over the years, Sun Capsule and Cosmedico have teamed up for a number of industry firsts, including the 200-watt VHR and 220-watt Long Lamp. The latest innovation is the 220-watt, 8-minute CosmoLux® VHR/HP.
“The heart of the unit is the lamp that was made specifically for this new model,” says Gene Charette, CEO of Peabody, Mass.-based CMC, Inc. “We went to Cosmedico two years ago, sat down with the engineers and told them we wanted a lamp with over-the-top UVA and just the right balance of UVB. We wanted them to make us a lamp as close to high pressure as possible and still do it in a fairly rapid exposure schedule.”
The VHR/HP contains a blend of four phosphors, three of which mirror the wavelength of the high-pressure spectrum. The fourth phosphor is a high-maintenance UVB phosphor that sustains the life of the lamp much longer, Charette says.
“We get readings on our meter that are absolutely astounding— and I’ve been doing this for 25 years,” he says.
“We’ll go in and meter their equipment, and then we’ll meter our equipment in the truck,” Charette explains. “Typically, the closest [UVA percentage] we’ve found in the field for equipment is at least 30 percent lower than what we get on the readings on the 220-watt VHR/HPs.”
Of course with more powerful lamps and reduced tan times comes the potential for hotter tanning sessions. For that reason, Sun Capsule delivers a 22 mph breeze through the floor of its latest model.
“Cooling is extremely important,” he says. “Without the cooling, the lamp would be mediocre at best. The Sun Capsule is a combination of cooling and incredible performance from an incredible lamp.”
Affordability
Another exciting feature of the Sun Capsule is the ease in which salon owners can get one in their doors. For the past seven years, the company has offered an in-house leasing program to qualified existing salons and exceptional startups.
“We’re looking for someone who has good credit, a nice, clean salon, and a good mix of beds,” Charette says. “We’ll put our unit in, in many cases with no money down, and we will charge you by the tanning hour.”
The program goes for 630 tanning hours—about the time it takes to change the first set of lamps. The owner keeps at least 60 percent or 70 percent of the revenues, he says, and the remaining 30 percent or 40 percent goes toward paying off the system.
At 630 hours, or in about 12 to 18 months, there’s a 10 percent buyout, and the salon owner keeps the Sun Capsule. “In seven years, we’ve probably had more than 2,500 salons on the program that have gone through and paid out,” he says. “A good percentage come back to get a second unit or trade in one of their older Sun Capsule units.” Why wouldn’t they? The 220-watt CosmoLux VHR/HP has turned the Sun Capsule into a svelte and lean, 8-minute tanning machine demanded by the top salons in the country, Charette says.
“The salons that have watched us over the last 12 years know that every single year we’re going to come out with an improvement,” he says. “There’s always going to be something new and exciting. The reliability factor of a Sun Capsule is second to none. You’re going to be able to put this unit in, it’s going to get up and running, and it’s going to go forever.”
