Invacare, Motion Concepts Join Forces

ATLANTA — Invacare and Motion Concepts announced last week
the two companies have combined product portfolios and sales
organizations. “This partnership creates the strongest and most
clinically effective seating and positioning line in the industry,”
Brian Ellacott, vice president and general manager of commercial
operations in North and South America for Invacare, told reporters
at a press conference during Medtrade.

While the companies’ separately developed seating and
positioning lines had resulted in overlapping products and
complexity for customers, Ellacott said by combining portfolios,
customers will benefit from ease of ordering, on-chair availability
of the integrated Invacare Matrx seating series, single invoicing
and simplified pricing. Improved design, accelerated product
introduction, component interchangeability and more ease in sales
and support will be other advantages, he said.

All current Invacare and Motion Concepts power positioning
systems will remain the same. On Feb. 1, 2011, several new seat
cushions (such as the Invacare Absolute) and back cushions (Matrx
Propel Back) will be part of the seating and positioning line. Also
effective in February, new pricing and discount structures will
override current pricing on contract for Invacare and Matrx
seating. The new pricing structure will be announced to customers
in early December, officials said.

Motion Concepts will become the global center of design
excellence for the Matrx seating series and all new power
positioning systems, according to Brad Peterson, vice president of
sales and marketing for Motion Concepts, which has U.S.
headquarters in Tonawanda, N.Y. “As always, we will strive to
create reliable, modular solutions for every client and believe
this new structure will allow us to do so on an even greater,
global scale,” he said.