About outdoor indoor AED cabinet

Our Story


It started in 2007 in a small Dutch town…

…where a group of people wanted to make a difference in the village of Venray, located in the southern countryside of the Netherlands. Our founder and CEO, Ruben Halmans, was part of this group.

Although Venray has its own hospital and a well-equipped ambulance service, its paramedics were not able to respond to each sudden cardiac arrest in time. This had devastating consequences and lead to a frustrated medical staff, that worked around the clock to take care of the people of its city. Bystanders, family members and neighbours could do nothing else but to wait for the ambulance to arrive.

It became very clear that a forward care system was needed, that could assist the paramedics in a timely arrival of defibrillators and responders. This lead to the idea of installing 50 public access defibrillators in outdoor cabinets within the city. These defibrillators are to be available 24/7/365 and used by locals, trained to be responders.

The group started raising funds and recruiting responders late 2008, assisted by Dr. Rahel, a leading cardiologist from the nearby hospital in Venlo.

Ruben was responsible for acquiring the defibrillators and outdoor cabinets. The defibrillators were quickly acquired but finding a comfortable, easy, affordable and reliable outdoor cabinet that stood out was a challenge. In fact, such a big challenge that he decided to develop one specifically for this project.

After several months of development, the Rotaid cabinet was born. A simple, effective and reliable cabinet that could be used by everyone and that truly stands out. Inspiration for the Rotaid came from the life buoy. Also a very simple and effective design that leaves no room for interpretation and of which everyone knows how and when to use it. Because of the life buoy, the Rotaid is round!

My inspiration came from the life buoy, because of one simple but critical aspect...
... everyone knows what they are for and can use it!

The rotaid
cabinet will
become the
global
symbol
for an AED!


Early 2009 the village of Venray became one of the first cities in the world that was fully prepared for a cardiac arrest.  The life saving network was effective, saved lives and still has a great contribution to the well being of inhabitants and visitors of Venray. By now, the characteristic green cabinets are part of the street scene and over 500 responders are trained.

Boosted by these results, Ruben decided to further develop the Rotaid cabinet. “If it works in my own town, it could work in other towns as well”!  Packed with a huge amount of practical experience from the project and confident with the impact, he founded Rotaid AED Cabinets. He has one mission:

Rotaid will become the global symbol for a life saving defibrillator. Just as the life buoy, located in each harbour, waterfront and pool.

Supported by the Rotaid AED Cabinets team, he now travels the world to create awareness around sudden cardiac arrest and assist in developing life saving systems.

Ruben Halmans

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Ruben Halmans
Managing Director and Founder

Core Values
Our products and company
lean on our 3S principles:

 

Swift

SWIFT

Sustainable

SUSTAINABLE

Simple

SIMPLE

Swift
Every second counts during a cardiac arrest.
Therefore our products are quickly found,
timesaving when used and can be installed
at venues to make the difference.

Simple
If everyone is to use a defibrillator
and help, our cabinets should be intuitive,
comforting, uncomplicated and reassuring.

Sustainable
By using state-of-the-art technology
and recycled materials our products
meet the highest standards when it comes
to environmental and social responsibility.
With our modular set-up and long lasting materials, our products are flexible,
economical and energy efficient.