Ottobock takes a seat in the city

IT’s a company which helps amputees to achieve their goal of competing for glory at the Paralympics, and it rebuilds the lives of injured servicemen.

By The Newsroom

Published 23rd Apr 2013, 01:01 BST

Now – in a ringing endorsement of the local labour market – German company Ottobock has moved its mobility and bespoke seating operation to Leeds.

The family-owned company manufactures seats for people with limited mobility that are moulded to their body shape. The company also provides prosthetics to the NHS and to ex-service personnel.

Those who have benefited from Ottobock’s technology include John McFall, whose right leg was amputated above the knee following a motor cycle accident in Thailand in 2000. With help from an athletic ‘blade’ made of carbon fibre, Mr McFall went on to win medals at the World Wheelchair and Amputee Games and Beijing Paralympics.