Össur
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 | This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. (January 2008) |
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| Company type | Public (Nasdaq Iceland: OSSR) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Health care |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Jon Sigurdsson (President and CEO), Niels Jacobsen (Chairman of the board), Hjorleifur Palsson (CFO) |
| Products | Non-invasive orthopaedic bracing and support, compression therapy, prosthetics |
| Revenue | US $350.0 million (2008)[1] |
 US $56.0 million (2008)[1] | |
| US $28.5 million (2008)[1] | |
Number of employees | 1,590 (2008)[1] |
| Website | www.ossur.com |
Össur (Nasdaq Iceland: OSSR) is a company making non-invasive orthopaedics. It is a global leader[citation needed] in the development, manufacturing, distribution, sales, and marketing of bracing and support products, compression therapy, and prosthetics. The company’s headquarters are in Reykjavík, Iceland. The company also has extensive operations in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, with numerous distributors in other markets. In 2006, Ossur Asia opened its latest outpost in Shanghai, China.
History
Ossur was founded in Iceland in 1971 by Össur Kristinsson, a prosthetist. The Kristinsson family owned the company until 1999, when it went public and was listed on the Iceland Stock Exchange. Initially, the company served only the domestic Icelandic market, and then began to export in 1986. There was rapid expansion in the 1990s and an assertive acquisition strategy[clarification needed] in the 2000s. Ossur has now grown from being a prosthetics workshop with a few employees to a progressive high-tech company that employs a staff of around 1,600 in 14 locations around the world.
Acquisitions
Since 2000, Ossur has acquired 13 companies. All except for the Gibaud Group are fully integrated.
- 2000 – Flex-Foot, Inc.
- 2000 – PI Medical AB.
- 2000 – Karlsson & Bergstrom AB.
- 2000 – Century XXII Innovations, Inc
- 2003 – Linea Orthopedics AB.
- 2003 – Generation II Group, Inc.
- 2005 – Advanced Prosthetic Components
- 2005 – Royce Medical, Inc.
- 2005 – Innovative Medical Products, Ltd.
- 2005 – GBM Medical AB.
- 2006 – Innovation Sports, Inc.
- 2006 – Gibaud Group
- 2007 – SOMAS
Operations
Research and development
Ossur operates five research and development (R&D) departments, which are located in four countries and employ a total of 76 people. In-house R&D also partners with third parties, including universities and research companies. Ossur invests significantly in research and product development. In 2007, that investment amounted to 6 percent of the company’s total sales. The same year, 22 US patents were granted to Ossur and 37 new applications filed. At the end of the year, Ossur had 218 US, 26 European, and 103 granted international patents in its portfolio, together with 119 US and 239 pending applications world.[citation needed]
Ossur is recognized by the World Economic Forum as a "Technology Pioneer"[citation needed], which means it has been identified as a company that is developing and applying the most innovative and transformational technologies.
Products
Ossur operates in three markets: bracing & support, compression therapy, and prosthetics. Ossur’s Bionic Technology Platform is a part of the prosthetics market.
Bracing and support
Ossur manufactures a range of braces and support products for arms, legs, and torso. Products include Unloader One, a brace that provides a mechanical solution to knee pain caused by osteoarthritis. It separates bones when ligaments and cartilage are damaged and also prevents further damage to the joint. The firm also makes the CTi (formerly sold as the CTi2), a ligament brace for knees used for both rehabilitation and for injury prevention, as well as cervical collars.
Compression therapy
Ossur entered the compression therapy segment with the acquisition of the French company Gibaud. Products include bandages, tights, stockings, knee highs and stump socks.
Prosthetics
Ossur manufactures prosthetic limbs and joints, liners, sockets, locks and sleeves. Its products include Flex-Foot, a high performance foot made from 100% carbon fiber, a material used extensively in the aerospace industry for its strength and flexibility. The Flex-Foot Cheetah worn by Oscar Pistorius and other amputee athletes is a derivative of this product line. Ossur also produces the Total Knee prosthetic, which possesses a "locking moment" which keeps the knee from collapsing when it is in full extension, Mauch Knee, which has a hydraulic system for fluid and natural gait, and Iceross silicone prosthetic liners, which provide an interface between the skin and the socket.
Bionic Technology Platform
This platform focuses on restoring the anatomical function displaced by amputation by using intelligent structures in products that can respond in a human-like way. The division's products are Rheo Knee, a microprocessor swing and stance knee system which utilizes artificial intelligence, Power Knee, which works as an integrated extension of its user, synchronizing motion with that of the sound leg using motor power, and Proprio Foot, an intelligent and motor-powered foot module.
Sponsorship
The firm's Team Ossur comprises international athletes and performers and professionals who use Ossur prosthetics. Under this program, Ossur is a major sponsor of disabled athletes, including Paralympians and world record holders Oscar Pistorius, Sarah Reinertsen and Rudy Garcia-Tolson. The company has also sponsored Paralympian runner Brian Frasure, now a certified prosthetist and mentor to Oscar Pistorius, and Mike McNaughton, a Staff Sergeant in the Louisiana Army National Guard who lost his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan and was subsequently awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.
Notes
- ^ a b c d "Annual Report 2008". Össur. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
