That company is UNYQ, a manufacturer of lower limb fairings. In June of last year UNYQ announced that they had raised $1 million for below the knee 3D printed prosthetic covers. Now, one year later, they have already become a well established company, by expanding their line of fairings, and forming partnerships with some of the biggest names within the 3D printing industry.
Today they announce a partnership with the global leaders in prosthetics, Ottobock, to provide stylish cosmetic fairings to lower limb amputees.
Ottobock is a company that has been around since 1919, producing prothetic limbs for individuals of all ages. They were founded in Germany after World War I, when a huge number of war veterans returned home with missing limbs. Since then, they have grown into the world’s leader in prosthetic limb manufacturing with over $450 million in revenue annually. They are responsible for creating the first microprocessor-controlled lower limb prosthetic systems in the world, and are constantly innovating within the industry.
“Ottobock is thrilled to join forces with UNYQ,” said Dr. Falk Berster, Business Unit Director, Ottobock. “Our company has a long tradition of developing cutting-edge technologies to improve the quality of life for amputees. Through our partnership with UNYQ, we are excited to offer products that enable our customers to combine their own identity with the technology we provide. We are convinced that self-confidently expressing and showing one’s own style and personality can support amputees to better reintegrate into daily life.”
“From the start our vision has been to make individualization and style accessible to as many amputees as possible,” explained Eythor Bender, CEO, UNYQ. “Teaming up with Ottobock and joining forces across their locations in 54 countries is a dream come true.”
3D printing is obviously going to play a major role in custom prosthetics in the future, and Ottobock clearly realizes this, so they foresee this partnership as one which will help them keep up with the times from an aesthetics standpoint. Surely we will see a lot of unique creations from these two companies in the coming months and years ahead.
What do you think about this partnership? Discuss in the UNYQ / Ottobock forum thread on 3DPB.com.