During his student days Vincent van den Munckhof lived in one of the largest cities in the Netherlands, close to a main road where about 30,000 cars passed by every day. When he opened his window in the morning, a few hours later the windowsill was full of black granules. Now, more than ten years later, he is the Director of AmazingAir Europe.
Research
“That dirty windowsill got me thinking. What are we all breathing in? I immersed myself into scientific research to air quality and pollution and discovered that the air is full of harmful substances, especially in urban areas. We inhale these continuously. Think of particulate matter, ultra-fine particulates, nitrogen dioxide and ozone. But also VOCs: volatile organic compounds that are released, for example, during cooking when heating pans with a non-stick coating. This is harmful to our health. These substances can cause numerous diseases and other direct and indirect health problems.'
Control
'Air pollution is, amongst other things, largely caused by road traffic, industry and agriculture. Wherever man gets involved with artificial substances, organisms suffer. As an individual you generally have little influence on this: only through large-scale social changes we can improve outdoor air quality. But indoors, we do have control over the air quality. You can decide for yourself what will and will not enter your home. This is the basis of AmazingAir.'
From water to air
'Our mission? Helping people do what it takes to live a healthy life. We want to support people to make a conscious choice in this regard. We already did that with water: we are the exclusive AquaTru distributor in Europe, an innovative water purification installation for home use. Therefore the step to air was made quickly. The supplier of AquaTru is also the developer of the AmazingAir. In the US called AirDoctor. The goal of our supplier is to develop and make available technically advanced, but affordable products for everyone. This fits perfectly with our vision, which is why we brought the device to Europe two years ago.'
Corona
Not long after, corona came and clean air became even more important than it already was. Air quality took on a new dimension. We became extra aware of aerosols, viruses and bacteria. Corona actually changed the view of our world. We are together with so many people: in principle that is not natural at all. A virus can then spread very quickly. We've all seen that. And because it is not a natural phenomenon, it is difficult for us to arm ourselves against it.'
Prevention
'But the AmazingAir can certainly contribute to this. When the pandemic broke out, we had the device scientifically tested by an independent lab in America and it turned out that the AmazingAir filtered up to 99.97% of all corona particles from the air. This was proof to us that our device supports the prevention of virus spread. And we noticed this immediately in the market. For example, we had a lot of contact with general practices that ordered several devices from us for the waiting and treatment rooms.'
A piece of lifestyle
'The AmazingAir is simply an indispensable part of everyday life due to air pollution and corona. It's part of a lifestyle: a kind of air guard that monitors and improves the air quality. Not only at home in the bedroom or in the living room, but also in other locations such as at work. In addition, we distinguish ourselves from other air purifiers with our UltraHEPA filter which is one hundred times more effective than other air purifiers, quiet fans and low energy consumption. We stand for improving the quality of life and always want the best for the consumer. I'm proud of that.'
