Meet the AirJet, pure power from the Alpes
Austrian company AirJet promises you’ll save a lot of time when you use their brand new jet dryer after a self car wash, instead of a rag. With the powerful AirJet, drying a washed car only takes 3 to 4 minutes.
AirJet is not the first car blow dryer on the market. But according to Walter Grosshammer of AirJet, it certainly is the most powerful one. With up to 8 Bar it blows the competition right out of the water, he thinks. We interviewed Grosshammer during the recent Car Wash Show Europe, where the Austrian company presented its brand-new product.
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“Normally, when you dry your car with rags after a self wash, this can take more than 30 minutes. Depending how delicately you dry your vehicle. With the AirJet this only takes three minutes. So you save almost half an hour to do nicer things. Time you can spend with your friends or family.”
Grosshammer is a dedicated engineer, he says. He’s spent hundreds of hours perfecting the prototype and putting all the feedback to good use. “First we developed a smaller machine, but the power was not good enough. We also had initial problems developing the perfect hose. Step-by-step we tried to find the best solution and we are very happy with the end result.”
Double nozzle
One of the USP’s of the AirJet is its double nozzle. A main one for drying the big surfaces and a point nozzle for dedicated spots. “Like behind the mirrors”, Grosshammer points out. “I know how irritating it can be: you drive away with a completely dry car, and then water starts to appear on the side windows because of the movement. Not a drama, but it does not look nice. We wanted to solve this problem.”
Another problem that had to be solved is the potential damage a stainless steel device around a freshly washed car can cause. Many car owners will be reluctant to walk around their vehicle with a steel object.
They need not worry, assures the Austrian engineer. “We have protected the whole nozzle with a silicone cover. In 3D-simulations we have checked every possible position and angle around a car while using the AirJet. Damage is very unlikely.”
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Freezing conditions
How to convince a conservative self car wash owner and a reluctant driver to start using the AirJet? Apart from the time saving element, there is also the convenience of washing and drying during wintertime. “In my home country Austria nobody wants to wash their car in winter because of the cold temperatures”, Grosshammer knows. ” If you come to the car wash after 3 PM, chances are high everything will be frozen after the wash. The AirJet solves this problem. First of all, it blows the water away very fast. When the temperature drops below 5 degrees, the AirJet starts to use pre-heated (and filtered) air.”
Grosshammer is sure the AirJet will bring extra traffic to any self car wash. “There is currently not anything on the market like our product.” He’s also confident the AirJet is superior to the competition. “Most other dryers use a completely different system. Often it’s powered by a fan. We are using a much more powerful technique. This also means the system is more forgiving, like if you don’t dry from roof to bottom. “Even if you start at the bottom and work your way up, the car will dry very fast”.
Sale has started
AirJet recently started the sale in Austria and Germany. “First, we want to focus on the European market. I am pretty sure that if a customer has used the AirJet for the first time, he or she will become a regular user.”
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