Unique Technology Showcase in Berlin

Thanks to progress in the field of medical technology, an increasing number of people stay mobile even at an advanced age. At the same time, life expectancy is rising – and hence the number of people suffering from diabetes, stroke, or osteoporosis. A globally unique technology showcase room in Ebertstraße in Berlin is dedicated to this future oriented topic: There, the Otto Bock Foundation develops a Competence Center for Medical Technology in a prime location.

“The location between Potsdamer Platz and Brandenburg Gate – right in the center of one of the most important pedestrian areas of the capital – is ideal in order to reach an international audience and to present the concept of MedTech ‘made in Germany’ in the federal capital,” says Professor Georg Näder, managing partner of Otto Bock HealthCare, the world market leader in prosthetics.

The Competence Center for Medical Technology in Ebertstraße, Berlin, targets at presenting technology as an adventure and will be open to everyone. On the first three stories, visitors can expect the living future of medical technology – but by no means clinical presentation boards about anatomy and physiology. “The creative challenge is to allow unique concepts to be experienced in a sensual way within a framework that appears to be self-evident,” Professor Näder describes the idea. Disabled sports are another topic the competence center addresses. Since the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, Otto Bock ensures in its function as a service provider that all athletes at the Paralympics receive qualified technical support.

The upper part of the five-story building will have office space as well as a seminar and training facility. The penthouse with its view of the Reichstag building is reserved for an orthopedic-technical practice. The facilities with state-of-the-art equipment will also be used to demonstrate high-end patient fittings to an international specialist audience.

The Otto Bock Foundation involves competent partners in the design of the varying exhibitions. These partners include the Berlin Charité hospital, the Technische Universität Berlin, professional associations such as Spectaris, and the orthopedic-technical trade as well as doctors and therapists among others. But there is also good contact with the German Stroke Foundation as well as self-help groups and other institutions and initiatives. The hosts of industry-related events and conventions have also been considered.

The Competence Center for Medical Technology is to open in early 2009. Construction work is to begin shortly. The Viterra Development GmbH, an affiliated company of ORCO Germany, and the architects Gnädinger follow the ideas of Le Corbusier, one of the most important and influential architects of the 20th century. His concept of horizontally stacked fascia and plenty of glass imbue the competence center with transparent vibrancy at a special location.

According to Professor Hans Georg Näder, third-generation manager of the Otto Bock Group, the investment volume for the Competence Center for Medical Technology is worth double-digit millions. The company was founded in Berlin in 1919 and now coordinates customer relations all over the world as well as the activities of affiliated companies in 36 countries from Duderstadt, South Lower Saxony. Its return to the German capital already took place in 2006 with the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Otto Bock Lounge on Potsdamer Platz.

The group plans to boost annual sales from 542 million euros in 2006 to 849 million euros by 2011. It is also said that the number of employees is to increase from more than 4,000 today by around 1,300 at the same time. “Medical technology is a driving force for the German economy,” says Professor Hans Georg Näder. For years, the globalization of Otto Bock has also created growth and new jobs at German locations.

The Otto Bock Foundation was founded in 1987 in order to promote the transfer of knowledge and international cooperation between doctors, therapists, and orthopedic technicians. A lot of what was initially discussed as a vision is now proven and tested technology, for example the first microprocessor-controlled leg prosthesis system in the world, the C-Leg®. Since the flood of the Elbe in 2002 in Germany and the tsunami of 2004 in South-East Asia, the Otto Bock Foundation has also dedicated itself to the provision of instant aid in individual cases for people with limited mobility who have become victims of natural or other disasters like the children of Beslan.

Additional information:
Joachim F. Hamacher
Director of Corporate Communications/Public Relations
Otto Bock HealthCare GmbH, Max-Näder-Str. 15, 37115 Duderstadt
Phone: +49 5527 848-1239, Fax: +49 5527 848-3360
Mobile: +49 170 9 20 79 97
E-mail: Joachim.Hamacher@ottobock.de