EXETER, Pa.--Pride Mobility Products has brought on Douglas Curtis as national sales manager of the company's newly formed vehicle lift division. Following its acquisition of Medford, Ore.-based Silver Star Mobility, a 16-year-old manufacturer of scooter and power chair lifts, the company will operate as the Silver Star Lift Division of Pride.
Pride, which has been working on the acquisition for the past four months, expects to close the deal Sept. 1. Lift manufacturing will remain in Medford, where current Silver Star owner Dennis Mortimore will join Pride as vice president of vehicle lifts. Plans are being developed for a second shift to be added to the current plant schedule.
"We think the lift market is going to grow," said Dan Meuser, president of Pride USA. "The fact is that if you look at the size of the scooter market and you look at the size of the power chair market ... the lift market is unnaturally low in comparison. We think the market should be double its present size. There are about 30,000 to 35,000 vehicle lifts sold annually, and we think it should be 70,000."
He added that the ability to pair a POV with a lift "in a turnkey package offers the comprehensive mobility solution that people are looking for."
According to Curtis, most recently a senior manager for Bruno Independent Living Aids, "The awareness of the lift category has not been high at the provider level because there has been so much growth in the [mobility equipment] categories themselves. But now as things start to look different with reimbursement, providers must look at retail sales.
"We think that providers who are willing to embrace the category have a good opportunity to grow cash sales, because it's a natural extension of something they already do in selling power mobility devices."
Along with the Medicare population, Curtis noted another "clear target is seniors who are not medical customers but who want to maintain their active lifestyles."
Pride has been working on integration of the brand through product upgrades, packaging changes, testing procedures and quality standards. The company also is developing a training and certification program to educate dealers on how to install and service the lifts so providers are "comfortable" adding the category, Curtis said.