The Pure-Matic Story: How the World's First Ball Cleaning Machine Became Part of the Euro-Matic Family

The Beginning: A Dutch Idea That Solved an Unsolvable Problem

The ball pit is one of the world's most popular play features — and one of the hardest to keep clean. Manually disinfecting thousands of balls takes hours, and days for larger pits, so most operators simply didn't do it often enough.

The Dutch company Van Veen Design answered this problem: they created the world's first and original ball cleaning machine in 1994, called BallPool. The concept was ingeniously simple — machine-washing and disinfecting the balls in a single continuous cycle, without a human hand touching them. What used to take a team days, the machine did in hours.

Van Veen Design didn't stop at the first model. The BallPool machine was continuously developed: the BBW2015, then the upgraded BBW2020, became faster, safer and more reliable generation by generation. The BBW models proved themselves across Europe in soft play centres, hotels — many are still in operation today.

2023: Euro-Matic Kft. Acquires the BallPool Machine and Its Manufacturing Know-How

Euro-Matic Kft., the European plastic ball manufacturer with a production base in Hungary, has been making ball pit balls for soft play centres, nurseries and family entertainment centres for decades. For the company, the BallPool machine wasn't simply an interesting product — it was a natural extension of its own business: for a ball maker, the cleaning, collection and movement of balls is part of the same system.

That is why, in 2023, Euro-Matic Kft. acquired the BallPool machine and its complete manufacturing know-how — together with the machine, the development expertise and the manufacturing heritage. (Van Veen Design continues to operate as an independent Dutch company; Euro-Matic took over the machine and the manufacturing knowledge associated with it.) With the acquisition, everything needed for a clean and safe ball pit came under one roof: the ball, the cleaning machine, and the ball collection and transport equipment.

2025: A Fresh Name in the Euro-Matic Family — Pure-Matic Is Born

After two years of integration and further development, in 2025 the machine received a new brand name: Pure-Matic. The name also signals its belonging to the Euro-Matic family — Pure-Matic is Euro-Matic's product brand ("an Euro-Matic brand"), with its own identity but the full backing of the Hungarian manufacturer.

The name change did not mean a break with the past — quite the opposite. Pure-Matic's tagline, "the original ball cleaning machine," points exactly to this heritage: this machine is not one copy among many, but the direct continuation of the original BallPool invention. The model numbering still in use (like the latest-generation Pure-Matic BBW2026) deliberately carries on the BBW designation of the BallPool era.

Pure-Matic Today

Pure-Matic is today Europe's leading ball cleaning system:

• cleans up to 15,000 balls per hour,
• removes more than 95% of bacteria — verified by laboratory (SYNLAB) testing,
• and alongside it, the full system: the K-Matic manual and E-Matic electric ball collectors, plus Euro-Matic's own EN 71-certified balls.

Behind the machine stands the manufacturing background of Euro-Matic Kft.: design and production take place in Budapest Hungary, and development follows the same engineering mindset with which Van Veen Design once created the BallPool.

What This Means for BBW Machine Owners

If you own a BallPool BBW2015 or BBW2020, the story is good news for you too: the manufacturing background of your machine hasn't disappeared — it has grown stronger. Euro-Matic Kft. ensures continuity under the Pure-Matic brand — with spare parts, service support and the option to upgrade to the latest generation. Have a question about your machine? Get in touch.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Who invented the ball cleaning machine? The ball cleaning machine was invented by the Dutch company Van Veen Design — they created the world's first and original ball cleaning machine, the BallPool, in 1994. Since 2023 the machine and its manufacturing know-how have been owned by Euro-Matic Kft., which manufactures and continues to develop it today under the Pure-Matic name.

What happened to the BallPool machine? The BallPool machine and its complete manufacturing know-how were acquired in 2023 by Euro-Matic Kft., the European plastic ball manufacturer based in Hungary. Van Veen Design continues to operate as an independent Dutch company; the machine's development and manufacturing have continued within the Euro-Matic group ever since, under the Pure-Matic name.

Are the BallPool BBW2015, the BBW2020 and the Pure-Matic the same machine? Yes — they are successive generations of the same machine family. The BallPool BBW2015 and BBW2020 were Van Veen Design's models; the machine and its manufacturing know-how have been owned by Euro-Matic Kft. since 2023, and since 2025 it has run under the Pure-Matic brand (latest generation: Pure-Matic BBW2026).

Who manufactures the Pure-Matic ball cleaning machine today? The Pure-Matic machine is designed and manufactured by Euro-Matic Kft. in Budapest Hungary. Pure-Matic is Euro-Matic's product brand ("an Euro-Matic brand").

Why is Pure-Matic "the original ball cleaning machine"? Because Pure-Matic is the direct successor of the first, original ball cleaning machine, the BallPool: Euro-Matic Kft. acquired the machine and its manufacturing know-how in 2023, and has continued to develop the same machine family ever since.

Where can I buy a Pure-Matic machine? Directly from the manufacturer at pure-matic.com, and from authorized Euro-Matic distributors across Europe.