Tecfor Care Ranks Among Most Innovative Medium-Sized Companies in Germany

GUMMERSBACH, Germany—Tecfor care Ltd made it into the TOP 100 of Germany’s most innovative SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises). The awards ceremony took place as part of the German SME Summit in Heidelberg for all SMEs that had been awarded the TOP 100 seal at the start of the year. In the selection process, tecfor care Ltd appeared in the size category A (up to 50 employees in Germany), particularly in the ‘Innovation Processes and Organisation’ category. 

This award honours solutions that make a tangible difference to the daily lives of people in need of care and their carers. One example of this is the further development of the traditional care bed. 

“In the past, the focus was primarily on the technical solution,” says CEO of tecfor care Ltd, Robin Knabe. “Today, we  approach innovation from the perspective of the care model, our customers’ economic  circumstances and the entire life cycle of a bed—with clear decision-making processes and market insights incorporated in a structured manner.” 

Care beds provided through statutory health insurance are generally clearly defined. The insurance provider covers the costs, the product adheres to a fixed standard and the influence of users and medical supply shops is consequently limited. Tecfor care creates additional options here and gives users a greater say. Thanks to upholstered panels and a coordinated range of accessories, the care bed can be adapted to individual needs. This applies both to its integration into the home environment and to functional aspects, such as side rails with an integrated standing aid or other solutions for greater comfort and suitability for everyday use.

This provides medical supply shops with additional scope for action. Supplementary items can be offered directly for over-the-counter sale—independently of the statutory health insurance flat-rate payment. This creates additional revenue opportunities through direct contact with patients, enabling a bed to become profitable more quickly. 

Furthermore, solutions such as the Ultra Comfort Bed give rise to a standalone product that combines the world of upholstered furniture with functional requirements. The result is a bed designed for health-conscious sleep, thereby meeting a need that has hitherto been inadequately addressed. 

Alongside these additional options for customisation, one factor remains crucial in day-to-day care: cost-effectiveness during operation. Tecfor care therefore pursues a consistent platform strategy to reduce complexity. The basis for this is a sturdy standard care bed with a high load-bearing capacity. Many components are identical in design, whilst at the same time a single base bed can be configured into different variants, for example in terms of dimensions or features, such as low-bed solutions. This simplifies handling, maintenance and spare parts management for medical supply shops.

The result is durable beds that rarely require repair and can be used cost-effectively over several replacement cycles. During tecfor care’s collaboration of around ten years with a partner who purchases more than 1,000 beds annually, spare parts turnover over the entire period amounted to around 4% of the total volume.