The story
Foundation of the company from 1919
The company was founded on January 13, 1919 under the appellation Orthopädische Industrie GmbH, headquartered in Berlin. Initiated by a group surrounding a manufacturer named Otto Bock, who hailed from Krefeld, its objective was to supply prostheses and orthopedic products to the many thousands of war invalids of World War I. Bock acted as production manager during this phase.
In 1920, production operations were relocated to Königsee in Thuringia, where at times, a workforce of up to 600 people was employed. Faced with high demand that could not be met with traditional handicraft or artisanal methods, Otto Bock began the mass-production of prosthetic components, thus laying the foundation for the orthopedic industry. Bock moved into the management of the company in 1924 and finally took over as sole managing director in 1927. With the evolution of the industry, new materials began to be used in production, notably aluminum, which found early application in prosthetic construction during the 1930s.
National Socialist era 1933-1945
In May 1933, Bock joined the NSDAP. During the 1930s he became a supporting member of the SS. He paid a monthly contribution of six Reichmarks, according to his own account, until 1938. At the end of 1933, Bock had Orthopädische Industrie GmbH liquidated and paid out the remaining shareholders. The company was renamed Orthopedic Industry Otto Bock in Königsee.
Max Näder, after completing his secondary education in 1935, commenced his professional journey by undertaking training as an orthopedic mechanic and industrial clerk at Otto Bock. During his later studies in Berlin, he became part of the National Socialist German Student Association (NSDStB). During the African campaign, Näder was awarded the Iron Cross II Class. In 1943, while on leave, he married Maria Bock, the daughter of Otto Bock.
During the tumult of World War II, the company resorted to the utilisation of forced laborers to sustain its operational endeavors. A company chronicle quotes former employees as saying that from 1942 onwards, around 100 Russian women aged between 18 and 22 were employed in the bandage, sewing and timber departments. Letters from Marie Bock also suggest that the entrepreneurial family used forced labourers not only in the company but also in the private household.
1946-1989
After World War II, when all the family's private assets as well as the factory in Königsee had been confiscated by the Soviet occupiers, the company settled in Duderstadt in southern Lower Saxony in 1946. In 1950, plastics were introduced into production for the first time. The invention of a braking knee joint with high stability, called the Jüpa knee, brought the economic breakthrough after 1949. Together with a newly developed balance device and two other apparatuses for prosthetic alignment, it was also in demand on the American market. In 1955, Ottobock exported the first 500 Jüpa knees to the U.S. The establishment of an American branch in Minneapolis in 1958 marked the beginning of the company's international sales structure.
In 1965, Max Näder introduced myoelectric arm prostheses to the market. For the first time, light and fragile as well as heavy objects could be grasped with them. In myoelectrics, weak electrical voltages control the prosthesis. Another development was a fitting solution for modular leg prostheses. The pyramid adapter, patented in 1969, connects the prosthetic foot, knee joint and stem and allows static corrections as well as the exchange of the modules. It remains an integrative element of innovative joints to this day.
1990 until today
After reunification, Hans Georg Näder took over the management of the family company from his father Max Näder, the son-in-law of company founder Otto Bock, in 1990. In the same year, the company was able to reacquire the old Ottobock site in Königsee. Today, manual wheelchairs, power wheelchairs, rehabilitation products for children and seat shell bases are produced at the former headquarters.
Read the full text
After a five-year development period, the world's first microprocessor-controlled knee joint, the C-Leg, was presented at the World Prosthetics Congress in Nuremberg in 1997. The company's 90th anniversary was also marked by the launch of the C-Leg.
To mark the company's 90th anniversary, the newly built Science Center Medical Technology was inaugurated in Berlin in June 2009. Until 2019, this building near Potsdamer Platz served both as a venue for the public exhibition Begreifen, was uns bewegt, and as a venue for congresses and seminars. On January 1, 2009, the subsidiary Otto Bock Mobility Solutions GmbH based in Königsee emerged from the HealthCare division. At the end of 2011, the old logo with the original signature of Otto Bock was replaced by a new international logo.
Advancements in electronic knee joint components and mechatronic prosthetic feet, led to enhanced individual fitting and personalised care for recipients. In 2011, these technological improvements enabled prosthetic users to walk backwards safely, overcome obstacles, or climb stairs in alternating steps for the first time.
In 2016, Ottobock was banned from operating in parts of Bosnia following an investigation by the Centre for Investigative Reporting that revealed the company was implicated in a scandal involving the misuse of public health funds in which prosthetic limb users were forced to buy Ottoboc's products.
In February 2017, Ottobock purchased the myoelectric arm or hand prostheses developed under the product name BeBionic from the British medical technology company Steeper. Since May 2017, the prostheses have been part of Ottobock's product range. In April 2017, Ottobock acquired Boston-based BionX Medical Technologies that manufactured a prosthetic foot and ankle product that utilises robotics technology. In June 2017, Swedish venture capitalist, EQT, acquired a 20 percent stake in Ottobock.
In 2018, Ottobock expanded its presence in the orthopaedic technology market, acquiring a 51 percent stake in Pohlig GmbH, a medium-sized orthopedic company based in Traunstein, Bavaria, and one of the most important orthopedic technology companies in Germany. In the same year, Pohlig GmbH became a wholly owned subsidiary of Ottobock.
During the period from 2012 to 2018, Hans Georg Näder withdrew substantial sums from Ottobock, exceeding the company's generated profits. This financial practice led to a significant decline in Ottobock's equity ratio, which dropeed from 50% in 2011 to 16% by 2021.
In late 2018, Ottobock's subsidiary, Sycor, planned a merger with the IT service provider Allgeier Enterprise Services. However, Ottobock cancelled the merger at the beginning of 2019. Following a series of acquisitions, Ottobock reported in 2019 that for the first time in its history the company's sales exceeded €1 billion.
In November 2019, Ottobock was compelled to sell the U.S.-based prothesis manufacturer Freedom Innovations LLC and divest all assets acquired via its purchase of the industry competitor in 2017. This sale was mandated after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed an anti-competitive complain against Ottobock for breaking competition laws, incurring a damage of €78.1 million to Ottobock. The shares of Freedom Innovations were subsequently acquired by the French prosthesis manufacturer Proteor. In December 2019, the European Investment Bank announced that it will provide up to €100 million to Ottobock to support the company's development of new products.
In 2018, Ottobock's new generation of orthoses incorporated sensor technology to regulate the stance and swing phases of the leg throughout the gait cycle, enabling an almost natural walking pattern. Additionally, the company introduced an exoskeleton, the first product of the new Ottobock Bionic Exoskeletons business unit, designed to reduce strain during overhead work. Ottobock expanded its exoskeletons business after acquiring US-based exoskeleton startup SuitX, a spinoff from Berkeley Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory, in November 2021.
At the end of 2021, Ottobock announced plans for an initial public offering slated for 2022. However, it was repeatedly postponed throughout the following year, accompanied by significant changes in the company's executive leadership. By the end of 2022, Handelsblatt reported that the offering had been abandoned due to unfavourable market conditions and that the financial investor EQT was considering a direct sale of its shares.
In May 2020, an Ottobock subsidiary based in Russia was fined by Russian anti-monopoly authorities for suspected cartel collusion which gave Ottobock and its co-conspirators a monopoly over state tenders for prosthetics, worth 168.1 million Russian Roubles.
In June 2023, it was announced that EQT, with the assistance of JP Morgan, had initiated the sale of its 20% stake in Ottobock. Additionally, a 10% stake held by Hans Georg Näder was included as part of the planned transaction. In December 2023, Näder Holding declared its intention to repurchase all of its shares. This buyback was completed in March 2024, with Näder securing €1.1 billion in credit funds for the transaction. Prior to the buyback, Hans Georg Näder sold his company Sycor, which had acquired Näder Ventures GmbH from Ottobock at the beginning of 2021.
In March 2023, Ottobock expanded its operations by acquiring the Brillinger chain of medical supply stores. That same month, Cranial Technologies filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Ottobock and Active Life, alleging that the companies used a patented process for 3D printing certain components of infant cranial helmets without authorisation.
In August 2025, several international newspapers reported on an upcoming initial public offering in fall 2025.
From Wikipedia’s article on Ottobock, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4