A barn and a mission: Dirk Bont's UV delivery boxes
Dirk Bont is a hobby inventor and can regularly be found in his barn, “with bar included!”
Published on April 11, 2025
Our DATA+ expert, Elcke Vels, explores AI, cyber security, and Dutch innovation. Her "What if..." column imagines bold scenarios beyond the norm.
On an industrial estate in Alkmaar there is a shed where the lights are on. This is where Dirk Bont works – a hobby inventor, tinkerer, a man of technology, regularly working on his ideas. Not a start-up boss with investors in his back pocket, but someone who gets excited about making things with his hands. With his UV delivery boxes, he wants to put an end to delivery boxes full of bacteria and viruses.
The corona period: a strange time that we would rather not think about too much. But it was also a time when creative minds came up with solutions. Bont is one of them. He started building UVC lamps in his shed. For various situations, to kill the coronavirus. “They sold quite well at the time. Hairdressers, even brothels on the Achterdam in Alkmaar wanted them.” He also designed a UV disinfection system for airplanes and buses.
But when the crisis disappeared, so did the interest. His products were forgotten. “There I was, with dozens of lamps in my shed. In the end, I donated the airplane lamps to Suriname. They were very happy with them. I immediately added 12,000 face masks. And my UV disinfection system for the operating room can now be found in a hospital in Paramaribo. Also given away.”
From airplanes to delivery boxes
Where others would throw in the towel, Bont persevered. A solution for airplanes: there was no demand for that. But: “I heard about a study in Italy on meal delivery boxes, which often turned out to be contaminated. And here in the Netherlands you sometimes see the same thing: those guys who drive around with one of those boxes all evening. I just can't imagine they are cleaned properly. Then I thought: okay, I can do something with this. And so I started to develop my idea further.”
Bont built a number of test models: boxes with UVC lamps and a small fan from a computer. ”On 12 volts. So that the pizzas don't go soft quickly.” The delivery box was given a name: the VirusKillBox.
The cost: a challenge
The boxes were tested by an Italian restaurant. “They were enthusiastic because the pizzas remained beautifully crispy.” He also had discussions with delivery giant Uber Eats. “They thought my idea was great until they heard what it would cost. Yes, of course it is more expensive. It has special lamps and fans inside.” The cost price is now between 600 and 700 euros each. ‘It is indeed a hefty sum, I recognize that. But of course that is for a very small production run. When it goes into production, it will be a completely different story,’ Bont assures us.
Furthermore, it is really time that we started thinking more about the food safety of our meal deliveries, the inventor believes. “I think we will start looking at it differently in the future.”
Increasing use of UVC light
Bont sees that UVC light is being used more and more. “In hospitals more and more. Another example: all ships nowadays have a waste storage area, and that too must have UVC light to kill all bacteria.”
Perhaps meal delivery is the next area of application. The patent for the UV box has been applied for. The first prototypes are ready. The website is online. Bont will have to wait for a large deal or investment. He has already invested tens of thousands of euros in it. Bont shrugs his shoulders. “It just gives me a lot of energy to create something that doesn't yet exist. But how wonderful it would be if a large company took my idea seriously.”
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