HoverTech International is a Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of air-assisted patient-handling equipment for emergency medical and acute care applications. Its patient-transfer, repositioning, and ergonomic lifting products are designed to reduce caregiver injury while increasing patient comfort and safety.
“Our partnership with MRC made it possible to improve our new product development process and dramatically shorten time to market.” … Dave Davis, Owner
HoverTech had an established relationship with a counterpart in Taiwan, but while working on some design modifications for a new product, the distance, time difference, and language barriers proved to be significant challenges. In addition, when some products required UL-like certification through a Taiwanese laboratory, HoverTech discovered that the Taiwanese firm made changes unannounced—changes that only became evident when a stateside hospital purchased the product and found that standard features had been eliminated.
Solution
HoverTech’s Owner, Dave Davis, turned to MRC for assistance. Walt Hoffert assessed the company’s situation and brokered a connection with Triumph Engineering and Nelson Design.
“Triumph helped us to finalize a less-expensive product with some specific features,” Davis says. “We had been working on that particular development for years with the firm in Taiwan without making any real progress. Triumph collaborated with our staff product engineer, and they will soon be delivering a 3D-printed prototype.”
MRC also helped HoverTech connect with Tony Maslowski, MRC’s Senior Strategy Manager, and The Research Triangle Institute to further the development and prototyping of a specialty product.
“Working with partners halfway around the world made it difficult to move quickly,” says HoverTech Product Development Engineer, Jason Werkheiser. “Having someone closer meant avoiding the communication challenges we faced with our partner in Taiwan, and that has enabled HoverTech to focus on projects that align with our engineering strengths. In this case, the product will also help us open additional markets.”
Results
- MRC and Triumph helped HoverTech make more progress in six months than they had seen in four years of work with their Taiwanese partner.
- Partnering with MRC and the Research Triangle Institute, HoverTech’s specialty product made more progress in a few months than the Taiwanese firm had accomplished in almost six years.
- Triumph collaborated with HoverTech to migrate motors and a board-level control system from digital to analog, cutting manufacturing costs and making it easier to use the product worldwide.
To learn more about HoverTech International, visit their website at www.hovermatt.com