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Entrepreneur Andreas Hertle closes medical supply gap in Germany with his orthopaedic scooter.
He is one of those who want to move people, turn ideas into products and products into brands. Once marketing and sales expert Andreas Hertle (42) from Augsburg, Germany is convinced of something, he gives it his everything. Like the idea of an orthopaedic scooter which helps patients to recover faster. Hertle had been a passionate sales representative for luxury articles when he decided to found his own company, offering people a true luxury: health and mobility. The journey towards his goal was long but ultimately successful.
Good ideas often take off when experts from different domains get together. “During a creative workshop in 2013 I was approached by two experienced orthopaedic specialists“, remembers Hertle. “They told me about a helpful aid that has been used for foot injuries in the US for a while, but was practically unknown in Germany“, he says. The so-called knee walker helps patients who after an injury or surgery should not put pressure on the affected foot. Rather than using a wheelchair or crutches, they kneel the injured leg on the three-wheeled scooter and push themselves with their healthy leg – the same principle as a kick scooter.
The benefits are obvious: the patient stays mobile and actively prevents the loss of muscle mass, avoids dangerous pressure, a bad posture and resulting tension and shortens the convalescence period. After an injury, an orthopaedic scooter is a good option for athletes in particular. Andreas Hertle is a passionate badminton player himself and has seen many of his like-minded friends limping around after a sports injury. He also knows how important it is for self-employed people to keep working despite a foot injury. In addition, an increasing number of single or elderly people in our society live alone and require an aid that offers them mobility and independence if the need arises. “The scooter hit upon a medical supply gap in Germany. I was convinced by the concept straightaway; however, quality and safety of existing devices left a lot to be desired. Importing from the US, Canada or China was therefore out of the question“, Hertle explains.
The safest three-wheeler in the world
What to do? For someone like Hertle there was no doubt about it: if the right thing does not exist, you have to build it yourself. His plan was as simple as it was ambitious: he wanted to construct the safest three- wheeler in the world, one that is suitable for indoors as well as outdoors, has an aesthetic appearance and will make users feel comfortable. He approached various sources for advice. He spoke to bike developers, car designers, sports equipment producers and even toy manufacturers, and managed to win some of their experts for his team. It did not take long to get private investors excited about Hertle’s convincing market analysis and startup idea.
Andreas Hertle drew on his experience as sales and marketing expert for luxury articles when defining the relevant criteria for the right design. From the beginning, he knew it had to be functional and appealing: “Quality, safety and medical usefulness were of utmost importance for our team. We kept pondering the ergonomically-shaped knee rest and steering device, and the additional holder for crutches that we wanted for our device.“ A product designer developed the streamlined casing, which distinguishes the final product from all other comparable devices. Thus, the Orthoscoot NH1 was created, combining the advantages of a wheelchair, walking frame and scooter.
Does the Orthoscoot sell itself?
To market the Orthoscoot, Andreas Hertle developed a convincing retail model. Purchasing a high-end product only to never use it again after recovery does not make sense for individual patients, only for clinics or medical departments of professional sports clubs. “A sustainable rental system makes far more sense“, explains Hertle. “Medical retailers rent the Orthoscoot together with the patient, and we take care of cleaning and maintenance after use.“
Here is where it all comes together: a good basic concept, a sensible marketing concept and a perfect product, which bridges a medical supply gap in Germany. Or which, to be precise, could bridge the gap. So far, both doctors and patients have only had positive things to say about the Orthoscoot. A survey of 1300 patients showed consistently positive feedback. “Countries which are already using this kind of device would now like to engage our company as a supplier because of a lack of quality and safety in other products worldwide. There have been requests and enquiries from the US, Australia, Japan and even the United Arab Emirates and South Africa,“ says Andreas Hertle.
After all, not only patients, clinics and sports clubs benefit from the Orthoscoot NH1. Medical supply retailers can gain new customers and demonstrate their competence. The company founder’s dream is for many medical supply stores to have a demonstration model of the Orthoscoot visible in their shop window. Last but not least, health insurance companies will profit from the scooter thanks to a shortened convalescence of the insured. Some health insurances, workers’ compensation boards and private health insurers already cover the costs for the orthopaedic scooter. Andreas Hertle is sure that “we will manage to mobilise the other insurers“.
| ORTHOSCOOT GmbH Gessertshausener Strasse 2 86356 Neusäss |
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| Tel. +49 (0) 821 710199 - 20 | |
| Fax +49 (0) 821 710199 - 40 | |
| info@orthoscoot.com |
