Page 10 - Mobility Management, February 2018

mm beat
Bonjour, Amylior!
The manufacturer known as Amysystems will be known by a new name, thanks to an expansion that’s just started
CG Air cushion
The Canadian power wheelchair manufacturer known as Amysystems is making signi cant changes in 2018 — starting with its name.
For years, the company has been known as Amysystems in the United States. But that’s always been something of a nickname, one that will change as part of an expansion that’s just getting started.
A Brand Name
Rob Travers, the manufacturer’s VP of sales and marketing, told Mobility Management that going forward, Amysystems will be used as a brand rather than the company’s name.
“The key here is that Amysystems is actually not the legal name of our company,” Travers pointed out. “It’s Amylior. Amylior in French means ‘to improve.’”
When Amylior was founded 20 years ago, Travers said, the Amylior name was dif cult to pronounce for Americans, who often referred to the company as Amysystems instead.
“So it became Amysystems,” Travers said. “And we went along with that and used the brand Amysystems for 20 years. Everybody knows us as Amysystems, but Amysystems is truly a brand of Amylior, which was the power wheelchair business.”
New Launch for the Seating Business
Last year, Amysystems, based in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, acquired a local medical equipment distributor called Continent Globe. The rst post-acquisition Amylior launch will be the CG Air seat cushion.
“The addition of Continent Globe and the seating that’s coming out is complicating this because these are not brands of Amysystems,” Travers said. “Amysystems is a brand. We decided to revert to the legal name, which is Amylior. Amylior is a tree with three current brands: Amysystems, Continent Globe, and a seating line which for the time being is being called CG Air.”
The CG Air cushion launched in January and has HCPCS coding. It uses medical-grade PVC versus the neoprene found in other air-cell cushions.
“Totally different,” Travers said. “Medical-grade PVC is a non-porous material compared to other typical
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air-celled cushions, as it eliminates air loss and the retention of odors from incontinence that have been absorbed by other porous materials. The CG Air also offers added stability and durability that have always been lacking in air-celled cushions. The CG Air is a huge breakthrough and advancement for the industry. Amylior’s strength is being different and innovative, as we usually develop products just outside beaten paths.”
CG Air will be available in 4", 3" and 2" heights in single or multiple compartments, with custom orders possible. Travers expects the single-valve model with 4" high air cells to be the most popular con guration, at least in the beginning. Cushion sizing will start at 10x10", though Travers said ATPs and clinicians can specify custom cells and sizing up to 30" wide.
Just the Beginning
At March’s International Seating Symposium (ISS) in Vancouver, B.C., expect to see the CG Air cushion, as well as possible additional launches. In the mean time, Amylior is relaunching multiple Web sites.
“We’re going from one Web site to four,” Travers said, explaining the need to design the sites in both English and French, in addition to populating the sites with the products available in the United States and Canada.
The future plan is to also have Continent Globe provide products in categories such as walking aids (including rollators and crutches) replacement parts and power mobility vehicle batteries.
“We have eight or 10 different battery sizes, from scooters to smaller wheelchairs to major power wheel- chair batteries,” Travers said. “Gel, AGM...we’re offering everything the industry sees right now.”
The battery division, also launching this year, will be called CG Power, part of the Continent Globe brand. CG Air will be the seating brand. Amysystems will now be known strictly as the power wheelchair brand.
But not to worry. Amysystems, known for its complex powered positioning systems and complex rehab power chairs, will have its own big news to announce.
“2018 will be a huge year for Amysystems,” Travers said. “It all starts at ISS in Vancouver, followed by more releases next fall.” m
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