Otto Bock Celebrates 90 Years

A milestone for International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Worldwide Partner Otto Bock HealthCare was reached this year, as the company celebrated a strong 90 years of operation.

In Duderstadt, Germany, the company held a special festival to celebrate, with several well-known artists as part of the festival.

IPC President Sir Philip Craven gave a special video message to Worldwide Partner Otto Bock Healthcare, as well as to the people of Duderstadt.

“Being instrumental in the growing success of athletes in Paralympic Sport, Otto Bock continues to be at the forefront of design and technology in prosthetics, as well as orthotics, wheelchairs and neurostimulation,” Sir Philip said. “We thank the many people behind Otto Bock HealthCare and their continued support as a worldwide partner, and we look forward to working together and strengthening our relationship at the many Paralympic sporting events ahead.”

Earlier in the year, Otto Bock held a ceremony with many distinguished guests attending to recognize the achievements of the standard-setting company. This was 90 years to the day after the Orthopädische Industrie GmbH was founded by luminary Otto Bock.

The Premier of Lower Saxony, Christian Wulff was among the 300 guests at the ceremony in the historical Duderstadt City Hall. Minister Gerold Wucherpfennig was also in attendance, representing the premier of Thuringia, Dieter Althaus.

The company Otto Bock has been committed to professional disability sports since the Seoul 1988 Paralympic Games, where it was the official service provider, sending an international team of technicians to the Korean capital. The team performed a record-breaking 2,500 individual service and repair jobs at the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games.

In Beijing, IPC Worldwide Partner Otto Bock set up a workshop inside the Paralympic Village that gave athletes the opportunity to have wheelchairs and prosthetics repaired free of charge. The company had trained technicians offering services, ranging from pumping tires, to anything else that may have been needed. A total of 12 satellite workshops were in or close to the venues during the Games, as well as in Hong Kong and Qingdao.

Otto Bock is in the midst of returning to their roots in Berlin, where they inaugurated the Otto Bock Science Centre for Medical Technology in June. The centre illustrates the performance of modern high-end products, and includes interactive exhibits allowing for constant discoveries by each new visitor. The technology showcase is on three exhibition levels and provides an in-depth glimpse into the world through experiences with biomechanical phenomena.

For more information about Otto Bock, please visit www.ottobock.com.