Evolution of an Idea

(Justin) Back in early 2010, I was watching PBS NewsHour when a story came on about a man named Ralph Hotchkiss at San Francisco State University who was designing sturdy, low-cost wheelchairs for the developing world. I noted the story because Hotchkiss' non-profit, Whirlwind International, was helping people in those countries build those chairs with local materials. I sent the story to a friend of mine who shared an interest in international development.  Here is the video:


Here's a PBS Frontline story focusing on a Vietnamese distributor of the chair:


I did not know that two years later I would be working for Kifas, a licensed distributor of Whirlwind products, and that the friend I sent the story to would be one of our biggest cheerleaders. Kifas has received large orders for the RoughRider over the last couple years. It manufactures most of the component parts in-house.

Kifas is now diversifying away from Whirlwind for a few reasons, among them that the RoughRider is not adequate for children who need more dynamic support and cannot propel themselves. This is why Kifas is eager to promote its new partnership with XPlore Mobility of Bozeman, MT.  Kifas will soon be manufacturing these sporty new chairs:

There is a lot of sound orthopedic engineering in the Dyno chair above. But you can see that the chair looks almost like a stroller that you'd see a jogger pushing her kids in. This has great appeal in societies where there is a stigma attached to being handicapped.

Have an interest in pediatric orthopedics? Do you have an interest in industrial engineering and manufacturing processes? If so, contact us for more information.