Ilse Massenbauer-Strafe has found a ready market for her machines to improve indoor air quality

Austrian Mrs Massenbauer-Strafe initially met with some scepticism when she launched Oxytival, a company which makes machines claimed to dramatically improve air quality. But office block owners quickly realised the machines were an effective way to make the air purer, particularly in blocks suffering from the so-called sick building syndrome.

Now, she has a business with a turnover of more than HK$1.5 million (US$193,000) a month and a full order book from corporate organisations and individual apartment owners willing to pay between $19,500 and $60,000 for the Oxyvital machines.

Mrs Massenbauer-Strafe originally began with an oxygen bar in Hong Kong. Its popularity made her realise there was scope for a grander plan, so husband Jurgen and chartered builder pal Brian Neirynck were enlisted to help with capital and planning.

Working with a German scientist, she developed the Oxyvital system of compact oxygen-generating machines which claim to improve indoor air quality by reducing pollutants. In addition to a more pleasant working environment, it is claimed that, through careful monitoring of the air conditioning system, energy bills are reduced by up to 20 per cent.
 
"When you start a new idea, people say you are lucky because you have a good idea," she said. "Luck is part of it, but you also have to believe in your product. You have to prove it to every single person. It is hard work.

"We have back-up from university scientific research reports but there are still some people who think maybe it's not true. You really have to focus. We are now in 40 major buildings throughout Asia and thousands of other buildings."

Entrepreneurs well supported

The 39-year-old entrepreneur says the ease of the Hong Kong system has been a major factor in the company's rapid expansion, in particular the lack of complex red tape, low tax and the willingness of government officials to help.

"People here really do try and find a solution. They are very supportive" she said. "In Hong Kong if it is urgent people work seven days a week, 24 hours a day. It is a unique place. If you are entrepreneurial and take risks, you get the rewards."

She is looking to shift Oxytival machine production to southern China, and is also in advanced talks with a major outside investor to enable further expansion.

"Hong Kong is the gateway to China and there is huge potential for us," said Mrs Massenbauer-Strafe, a former hotel sales and marketing executive.

However rapidly the company expands, head office is likely to remain based in Hong Kong, a city she loves for professional - and personal - reasons.
 
"I met my husband on the Star Ferry," she said. "I spoke in German and he recognised my Austrian accent. He gave me his name card and we kept in touch. He was quite sparkly - and he didn't have a black suit."