Invacare moves needle

ELYRIA, Ohio – Invacare has restructured and appointed new leaders to its Rehab and Lifestyles business units in North America, helping the company make “strides toward a new future” in the months following its emergence from bankruptcy. 

The company recently appointed Paul Lavin vice president Rehab – North America, and Brad Duff vice president Lifestyles – North America.  

“Invacare has a proud history in the industry and we’re making strides toward a new future,” Duff said. “Paul and I talk about it all the time and our teams talk about it all the time. We’re really committed to writing the next chapter, with a renewed focus on our customers.” 

Invacare, as well as its two U.S. subsidiaries, Freedom Designs and Adaptive Switch Laboratories, emerged from bankruptcy on May 5 of this year. 

The company is making improvements using as its guide a recent customer feedback survey, Lavin says. 

“We’re responding to feedback that we just didn’t have products in stock,” he said. “So, we’re addressing inventory and supply chain challenges and all indicators, post-emergence, have been really positive.” 

Invacare has proof it’s moving the needle in the right direction, Lavin says. For the Rehab business unit, he’s already seen shortened lead times and expects increased daily quotes and orders. 

“We have to get to a point where we’re not just telling customers of improvements, we’re showing them,” he said. 

For the Lifestyles business unit, a partnership with MedTech/MedCare, a national sales organization with strong ties to Veterans Affairs, is paying off, Duff says. 

“We’re still in the early phases, but in the past 90 days, they’ve made more than 1,000 customer touchpoints,” he said. 

Soon, Invacare must also “get back to innovation,” Lavin says. 

“That’s an integral part of our future,” he said. “When you combine prioritizing customers with innovation, you create consistent and sustainable value. It’s the only way to make our tagline, ‘Make Life’s Experiences Possible,’ a reality.” 

Lavin, who has had various roles with Invacare for the past 15 years, and Duff, who joined the company this year, believe they give Invacare “the best of both worlds” going forward – a combination of institutional and outside knowledge and experience. 

“It’s really an opportunity to combine forces,” Duff said. “Between the two of us we can bring to bear what are the needs of customers and what are we going to do to adapt to those needs.”