Ruben Halmans, founder and managing director of Rotaid, explains.

"Every year, more than 9 million people die worldwide due to sudden cardiac arrest. Only with a shock via an automated external defibrillator (AED) can the victim survive this cardiac arrest. But only if this happens within 6 minutes ..."

Only 6 minutes time

"Help almost always arrives too late. We wanted to do something about that. With the Rotaid 24/7 defibrillator storage cabinets, AEDs can be hung up in any place, are visible to everyone and are quick and easy to use." 

The chance of survival is 10 times higher

Ruben explains the other major benefit of the storage cabinets. "The Rotaid 24/7 constantly monitors the status of the AED. Does someone open the cabinet? Then the Rotaid automatically calls for emergency personnel. This shortens the response time enormously, allowing Rotaid to greatly increase the chance of survival: from just 5% to more than 50%. A tenfold increase. We are proud of that."

Better and faster with LIOF

Rotaid sought contact with LIOF from the LimburgMakers project. "With the subsidy from LIOF, we were able to greatly accelerate the development of the Rotaid 24/7. LIOF followed and guided the project from the sidelines. This contributed significantly to the quality and speed of the development."

Healthy and smart ideas 

LIOF is happy to support companies that are intensively committed to important themes. Ruud Nissen, business developer at LIOF: "Rotaid is realizing a smart and sustainable solution for an important theme: health. At the same time, the smart box makes the management and administration of AEDs much simpler and more reliable. Ease of use is after all an important plus point for any product." 

LIOF therefore saw the added value of supporting this inventive entrepreneur. "In addition, we also find it very valuable how Rotaid seeks cooperation with other companies to develop its product." 

Surround yourself with knowledge

Ruben: "The development of Rotaid 24/7 had two sides. On the one hand, the development of the hardware that had to go into the cabinet. On the other hand, the software development needed for the cabinet to contribute to what we strive for: saving lives."

"For example, Phact BV in Venray developed both the hardware and the software, Inch Plastics in Venray gave us important advice on the dimensions of the cabinet and the injection molding technique required for the cabinet, and Akarton developed custom packaging for the product. This is just a few of our intensive collaborations with many different partners."

Rotaid is already going global

In the meantime, the Rotaid 24/7 has also been launched internationally and the cabinets are hanging in the UK, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Poland and Italy. The first systems are also active in the US and Canada. "Unfortunately, the Corona crisis delayed our initial launch plans somewhat, but we are already seeing, along with our customers and end users, the significant benefits of the system."  

'Smart business with attention to health is a must' 

Ruben couldn't agree more. "Health is the most valuable asset of every human being. It is a global market with a lot of potential. Within which countless solutions are conceivable." 

In conclusion, Ruben would like to give a few tips for other entrepreneurs: 

"Do extensive market research"

"We asked potential customers which characteristics they thought the product should have. We have now incorporated most of these into Rotaid 24/7. After all, they know the market better than anyone. On top of that we poured our Rotaid sauce. Customers now respond very enthusiastically to our product. Because it meets the need they see in the market."

Put your feelers out and surround yourself with top partners.  Then you can bring ideas to market faster and more professionally.

"Set your sights high"

"Look for a solution to a global problem. Then there is a sizeable market in the base and, with the right marketing and sales strategy, something really great can emerge. In short, aim high. If the whole world were full of Rotaid 24/7 cabinets, we would save 4.5 million lives a year. A noble goal!"

www.rotaid.com