A series of burglaries and thefts in German car washes was solved. The thieves were after the Airffect self-service dryers, among other things. But they weren’t able to crack the security mechanisms.

In recent weeks, numerous burglaries took place in self-service car washes in the German states Swabia and Bavaria.

The police registered a total of 15 cases in Swabia North and at least eleven cases in Upper Bavaria, resulting in a booty damage of over 45,000 euros and property damage of over 40,000 euros. Eventually three men were arrested.

They had gained access to safes and premises by force, with the help of crowbars, tension belts and a car.

Several minutes

In Wetzlar, the burglars tried to demolish an Airffect dryer in Wetzlar to gain access to possible valuables inside, but failed.

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For several minutes, the perpetrators tried in vain to break open the solid stainless steel housing and the Airffect door, which is equipped with a triple hook lock, and to get inside. Surveillance camera footage shows how the perpetrators, visibly irritated by the failure, eventually walked away from the machine and continued on their burglary journey. What was left behind was a damaged, but still functional vacuum cleaner.

“Due to a complex internal design that dissipates weight and all force impacts into the ground, we advised replacing the Airffect with a new one, which was done. Kudos to WZ Wetzlar’s insurance company for the quick turnaround,” the company said in a press release.

Safety through quality

According to the company, this incident emphasizes the quality and sturdiness of the product. The Airffect drying system was never considered a by-product on the part of the manufacturer. “It offers our partners an unique selling point and thus more sales and the vehicle caretakers a lot of fun drying even after many years,” said Airffect founder and CEO Andreas Pasching.

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