Press Releases

Mt. Sterling, Ohio – WillowWood, a leading designer, manufacturer, and distributor of prosthetic products, today announced a strategic partnership with Click Medical to offer user adjustable sockets to the prosthetics industry, leveraging Click’s proprietary RevoFit® Kit system with the Click® Reel. 

WillowWood Global, a leading designer, manufacturer, and distributor of prosthetic products, today announced that it has acquired Xtremity. The transaction builds on WillowWood’s growing strength in custom solutions which includes central fabrication, design liners, and now fully adjustable prosthetic sockets.

As part of its long-term commitment to sustained growth through innovation, WillowWood announced the hiring of Richard Hayes into the newly created position of Executive Vice President, Strategy and M&A. With more than thirty years’ experience in executive and commercial leadership positions across multiple sectors, Hayes will lead WillowWood’s strategy and FP&A organizations in assessing new market opportunities, partnerships, and M&A targets.

WillowWood® announced the launch of a new brand identity to mark its expansion into multiple new product lines and technologies. Beyond recent liner innovations, which include Alpha SmartTemp® gel liners that significantly reduce sweat and moisture, WillowWood now also designs and manufactures the META® Line of high-performance feet with a unique unibody design, the novel Alpha Control® myoelectric liner for upper limb bionic prosthetics, and distributes the recently PDAC approved lightweight, intuitive, and safe powered INTUY™ Knee.

In 2021 WillowWood Launched the Meta® Arc, the first of five innovative feet which today make up the Meta foot line. Building on the success of the META feet, WillowWood has further enhanced its Unibody Platform to deliver a more effortless rollover and seamless transition across gait phases. ​The revolutionary META feet combine responsive energy return with balance, stability, and impact protection. All META feet feature the industry’s first unibody platform, free of hardware for a minimal and lightweight, but durable design. 

Building on the success of META® Shock X, WillowWood launches the Fiberglass META® Shock X. The revolutionary META® feet combine responsive energy return with balance, stability, and impact protection. All META® feet feature the industry’s first unibody platform, free of hardware for a minimal and lightweight, but durable design.

May 8, 2023: WillowWood Global LLC (“WillowWood”), a leading designer, manufacturer, and distributor of prosthetic products, today announced that it has released the Alpha Control Liner System in collaboration with Coapt LLC, the first prosthetic liner with embedded electronics.  The liner’s novel design and embedded electronics capture and condition muscle contraction signals generated by the wearer and communicate seamlessly with a Coapt Complete Control myoelectric pattern recognition system in the prosthesis.  The Alpha Control Liner System benefits individuals utilizing a myoelectric prosthesis by enabling more comfortable and consistent electrode contact with the skin, therefore providing better functional control of the prosthesis.  Further it reduces the time and complexity of fitting and fabricating the prosthesis.

Mount Sterling, Ohio – February 27, 2023 – Building on the success of the META® Arc, Shock, and Shock X feet, WillowWood is proud to announce the launch of the META CoreTM, the most recent addition to the portfolio of high activity prosthetic feet from the META family. The revolutionary META feet combine responsive energy return with balance, stability, and impact protection. META feet are the industry’s first one-piece carbon design, free of hardware for a minimal and lightweight platform.

WillowWood Global LLC (“WillowWood”), a leading designer, manufacturer, and distributor of prosthetic products, today announced that it has formed a Strategic Alliance with Reboocon Bionics B.V. ( “Reboocon”) the inventor and manufacturer of the motorized prosthetic knee, INTUY® Knee. The Alliance will focus on outcomes research, exclusive US market distribution as well as R&D collaboration to advance the next generation of the technology.

WillowWood has announced Jairo Blumenthal as Managing Director, International Markets. His focus will be business development and sales acceleration in international markets outside of the US. Jairo is a CPO with more than twenty-five years of experience in international markets as well as being a successful serial entrepreneur, specializing in Prosthetic Clinics and O&P Channel Development. He worked at Össur for more than twenty years, both in Europe and in Latin America. His previous role was Vice President, Sales & Marketing for LATAM. He also successfully sold all his O&P businesses in Brazil to Össur in 2013.

WillowWood Global LLC (“WillowWood,” or the “Company”), a leading designer, manufacturer, and distributor of prosthetic products, today announced that it has acquired MAKstride Prosthetics (“MAKstride”). The highly complementary transaction represents WillowWood’s first strategic acquisition since partnering with growth-oriented private equity firm Blue Sea Capital LLC (“Blue Sea”) in December 2021. Based in Mesa, Arizona, MAKstride develops, designs, and manufactures prosthetic devices and componentry, including prosthetic feet, foot shells, and high-precision machined components. Founded in 2006, MAKstride is noteworthy among prosthetic partners for its exceptional R&D function, precision machining capabilities, and manufacturing expertise across diverse metals, fiberglass, carbon fiber and plastics.

First Arc, then Shock… now WillowWood is proud to announce META® Shock X, the third high activity prosthetic foot from the META® family. The revolutionary META® feet combine responsive energy return with balance, stability, and impact protection. META® feet are the industry’s first one-piece carbon design, free of hardware for a minimal and lightweight platform.

WillowWood is excited to announce the rounding out of its executive leadership with the addition of Otto Fernandez as the company’s new chief commercial officer. Fernandez brings over twenty-five years of experience to the role, including twelve years at Össur where he was VP Marketing for Prosthetics and Bracing, and then ran the Orthopedic Bracing business unit in North America. Prior to Össur, Fernandez also spent twelve years at DuPont in Latin America and the US, where his roles included leading global product management for DuPont Kevlar® and global business management for DuPont Tyvek®. At WillowWood, Otto’s focus will be ramping up sales in the US and international markets and leading the marketing and education teams to support our customers and sales efforts.

WillowWood Global LLC (“WillowWood,” or the “Company”), a leading designer, manufacturer, and distributor of prosthetic products, today announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Blue Sea Capital LLC (“Blue Sea”), a growth-oriented private equity firm. “Since partnering with Ryan Arbogast in 2019, Daniel and I have taken great pride in transforming a closely held, fourth generation family-owned business into what is today the preeminent player in prosthetic products,” said Mahesh Mansukhani, CEO of WillowWood. “Having swiftly and successfully executed our operational playbook, our partnership with Blue Sea marks an important milestone in – and testament to – WillowWood’s long-term growth trajectory.”

On Feb. 4, WillowWood Global, LLC, a prosthetic device manufacturer, was recognized with the 2020 Innovation Award at the 8th annual Hanger Partner Awards. The awards ceremony was held virtually at Hanger LIVE, Hanger’s annual education conference. Hanger, Inc., is a leading provider of orthotic and prosthetic (O&P) patient care, as well as a distributor of O&P services and products. Each Hanger Partner Award winner is carefully selected by members of Hanger’s clinical and operational teams, and the awards recognize exceptional supplier partners for their role in manufacturing products used to deliver orthotic and prosthetic care and empower patients’ lives every day.

WillowWood is excited to announce the rounding out of its executive leadership with the addition of Craig Higgins as the company’s new chief financial officer. Craig’s focus will be on financial planning, operating budgets, and decision support analysis to guide the leadership team with investments and capital expenditures as well as implementing systems and processes to facilitate WillowWood’s growth as the company scales. “I’m starting at WillowWood at a very unpredictable time not only for us, but for the world,” shared Higgins, who joined the company on March 2, 2020. “Regardless, I am excited to be a part of this team and this company. When you see a company, that has been successful for more than a century, working to become a greater presence in its industry while having the people, the skills, and the backing to accomplish that goal, you want to become part of it.”

WillowWood, a prosthetic device manufacturer, was recognized with the 2019 Collaboration Award at the 7th annual Hanger Partner Awards. The awards ceremony was held in Nashville, Tennessee, at Hanger LIVE, Hanger’s annual education conference. Hanger, Inc., is a leading provider of orthotic and prosthetic (O&P) patient care, as well as a distributor of O&P services and products. Each Hanger Partner Award winner is carefully selected by members of Hanger’s clinical and operational teams, and the awards recognize exceptional supplier partners for their role in manufacturing products used to deliver orthotic and prosthetic care and empower patients’ lives every day.

WillowWood Global LLC and DW Healthcare Partners have appointed an additional member to the WillowWood board of directors. Elbert “Bert” Harman, former President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Ottobock North America, will serve as an independent member on the company’s board, lending his industry knowledge and expertise to facilitate strategic growth.

WillowWood has announced new leadership of its global sales organization with the intent of expanding sales coverage to accelerate growth.  Ajay Nair, BME, MBA, will join the company as the new vice president of sales, effective January 2, 2020. With 18 years of healthcare, medical device and pharmaceutical experience, Nair is no stranger to the orthotic and prosthetic (O&P) industry. While most recently in the cancer diagnostic field, Nair previously worked at Össur for seven years developing and expanding their Asian markets for orthotics, prosthetics and orthopedic business units.

WillowWood announced new leadership for its operating team to advance the company’s operations and manufacturing capabilities.  Heather Ferguson PhD, MBA, has joined the company as the new vice president of operations, effective July 1, 2019. Daniel Rubin, currently executive vice president was appointed chief operating officer (COO), effective June 1, 2019 coinciding with the investment recently made by DW Healthcare Partners.

WillowWood has achieved ISO 13485:2016 certification. The company, certified by NSF International Strategic Registrations, met all requirements for having a comprehensive quality management system specifically for the design and manufacturing of medical devices as set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Spurred by growth opportunities and changing competitive dynamics in the orthotic and prosthetic (O&P) industry, WillowWood today announced plans to accelerate the company’s growth with the sale of a majority stake to DW Healthcare Partners (DWHP), a private equity investment firm based in Toronto, Ontario, and Park City, Utah. DWHP has managed four funds with over $800M under management, focusing exclusively on healthcare businesses.

Propelled by sustained growth and changing dynamics in the Orthotics and Prosthetics (O&P) industry, WillowWood has named Mahesh Mansukhani chief executive officer and Daniel Rubin executive vice president, strategy and corporate development. Ryan Arbogast, who previously held the CEO role, becomes executive chairman of the board and will remain company president.

WillowWood has secured a $2 million Department of Defense Clinical Translational Research Award to develop and validate a self-adapting myoelectrically-controlled ankle utilizing continuously variable ankle stiffness. The research grant will explore the myoelectric collection and application of lower limb muscle contracture data that will be used to control the prosthetic device while determining the appropriate ankle stiffness for a user’s activity in real-time.

WillowWood is pleased to announce the promotions of Charlie Huizinga, Josh Seelye and Ray Speelman, CP, COF, within the company’s sales and marketing team. Charlie Huizinga has been promoted to Corporate Sales Manager. In his new role, Huizinga will broaden his focus on international sales by expanding the company’s global distribution network into new market territories.

Spurred by its recent growth, product expansion and research grants, WillowWood announced that John Robertson has joined the company as its new Chief Technology Officer as of October 22, 2018. Robertson brings to WillowWood his experience in the development of FDA class 1 and class 3 medical technology devices as well as leadership in engineering and operations. A primary focus of Robertson will be the development of technology-based prosthetic products that demonstrate improved outcomes for patients and clinicians.

The Ohio Willow Wood Company recently invited a team from the University of Dayton Industrial Assessment Center (IAC-UD) to their Mt. Sterling, Ohio, facility to perform an energy assessment. WillowWood personnel described the prosthetic products the company manufactures and their manufacturing processes to the IAC-UD team. After collaborating with plant personnel, the IAC-UD team identified several energy saving opportunities and provided projected cost savings to the company.

Global prosthetics innovation and manufacturing leader WillowWood has announced a new venture — WillowWorks, an early-stage investment company offering capital, strategic advisory services and commercialization support to entrepreneurs. Through WillowWorks, WillowWood will share its century of manufacturing knowledge and product innovation experience to help entrepreneurs and partners develop, prove, refine and launch new ideas.