Combine a personal service, a dedication to safety and an appetite for bespoke wheelchair restraints and what do you get?
Accessible transport by its nature is specialised. It requires specialised vehicles, and to produce those requires specialist parts. Enter Koller Engineering. It’s a Yeovil-based company that supplies a wide range of wheelchair restraint equipment.
Koller has been trading in its current form since 1981. Initially it was involved in aviation engineering, but today it is dedicated to the securement of wheelchairs and their users – and it prides itself on a personal service.
Koller is also proud of its range of products, the breadth of which is demonstrated by the Nexxus200 combined restraint and passenger harness. It complements a range of mainstream tracking rails, lockable seat fixings, bonded floors and other accessories and is suitable for wheelchairs weighing up to 200kg.
The Nexxus200 is one of several restraints supplied by Koller and it gives an indication of the level of specialisation that customers may expect, says UK Sales Manager Andy Nurrish.
“We are the only company to supply a combined restraint for wheelchairs of up to 200kg. Ours are units that restrain both the wheelchair and the user and they have only four fixings: Two at the front, two at the rear.”
Safety comes first
Safety is Koller’s priority, and both Andy and Director Dean Koller speak passionately on the subject. Combined restraints, besides being simple to use, have significant benefits in this regard, Andy continues.
“If there is no passenger harness as part of the restraint system, the driver may not attach one, thinking that it will be OK.
“Restraints are tested to 20g, which is the equivalent of a dead stop from 30mph. In that situation, a tin of beans from a shopping bag on the parcel shelf could kill someone. While such testing gives a safety margin, if the wheelchair occupant is not restrained then it doesn’t bear thinking about what could happen.”
The Nexxus200 came about from an industry request combined with Koller’s can-do attitude.
“We offer a very personal service,” says Dean. “If an operator or a convertor wants a new product, then we will have a look at it. We can design it from the ground up and produce it in-house.
“For example, a convertor requested a lockable seat fixing with the plunger at the end, rather than in the middle. We did that, and it now takes 300 per month.”
Koller’s premises are equipped for the production of tracking rails, lockable seat fixings and many other products. CNC machines turn either aluminium or steel bars or generic rails into the part required, while industrial sewing machines finish straps and webbing to suit and complete the restraints, which are assembled on site.
“A customer may want straps to a particular length. I’ll call Dean and they can conceivably be dispatched that day,” says Andy, although both men point out that the bulk of Koller’s business is mainstream.
“We also make passenger harnesses configured to the user’s disability. They may be unable to use straps that come into contact with a certain part of their body,” says Andy.
“Many things must be considered when dealing with a disability and we often get involved with local authorities directly. I have visited several that have a passenger with a particular disability, and we have worked together to come up with a solution.”
Crossing the bridge
Over 1,000 models of wheelchair are in the market, and they vary from standard types to highly customised examples designed specifically to suit the user.
“We provide restraints for all, within reason,” says Andy. “One issue is lashing points; some chairs don’t have them.”
A benefit of Koller’s range, both men say, is its flexibility, both in terms of how products are made and how they can be used. When vehicles have fixed restraints, there is no choice about where the wheelchair must be located, but that is not the case with tracking.
“Tracking gives options. I have seen minibuses with an excessive number of rails but we’ve got it down to seven or eight that give excellent flexibility on most minibuses,” Andy adds.
Koller can supply a flat floor that removes the problem of the wheel arches. It buys the planks in, adds its own tracking rails and dispatches the complete unit to convertors
Training for the future
Koller offers training on its wheelchair restraints, and it is becoming popular. “If a buyer takes a certain number of restraints, the training is free of charge,” says Andy, who adds that Koller also does ‘train the trainer’.
Training is hands-on, and participants are required to practice applying restraints. While every disability is different, there is a common way of applying harnesses and restraints, and one thing that Andy stresses is that there must be no rushing.
“With safety, things have to be done properly,” he says. That applies across the board, and Koller’s training – like its products – is designed to promote safety above all else.
“Suppliers compete on price, but they can also compete on their product’s advantages. That’s what we do. Our restraint systems are repairable and our aluminium tracking and lockable seat fixings are lightweight,” says Dean.
“I believe that we offer customers a quality service. We don’t let them down. Of course, we want to continue growing the business, but we won’t forget what is most important.”
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