A good idea can often form the basis of an entire industry. This was certainly the case when in 1959 Norwegian inventor Harald Kvasnes produced the first prototype of a fully reversible hinge from his home in Vegsund, on the country's west coast. To help develop his ideas, Harald Kvasnes took his prototype to local businessman Egil Flakk and together they formed a partnership which was to revolutionise the Scandinavian window market.
The potential of the hinge was recognised at once, and they developed a window around the hinge called "Husmorvinduet", the housewife"s window, so-called because the clever cantilevered mechanism made it simple to operate and particularly easy to clean. (Husmorvinduet was later abbreviated to the now more familiar H-window). Since 1959, when 200 windows were produced, some 30 million H-windows have been made and installed world-wide.
