BraunAbility

Brand History

Since 1972, BraunAbility has been providing vehicle mobility solutions to increase quality of life for people with disabilities. Although BraunAbility was originally founded by Ralph Braun, the several companies collectively known as BraunAbility Europe were also founded by pioneers of the mobility industry:

In 1960, Norman Unwin created the world’s first device to secure a wheelchair into a vehicle at the request of a friend. This invention was a turning point for Norman who then decided to dedicate his life to improving vehicle safety for wheelchair users under Unwin Safety Systems.
Ralph Braun was diagnosed with a fatal form of muscular dystrophy when he was 6 years old. This diagnosis wasn’t fatal, but it was lifelong. In order to keep his job and retain his independence, Ralph designed the world’s first powered scooter. And when his job moved further away, he then renovated a postal Jeep with hand controls and a hydraulic lift. It was only a matter of time after people noticed what he was doing that the requests for orders began pouring in and BraunAbility was born.

In the early 1990’s Peter Wahlsten worked as an adaptation technician and witnessed first-hand how an adapted vehicle could change the life of someone with a disability. Peter’s own company Autoadapt, began designing and manufacturing various mobility solutions that could be installed into cars globally, not just locally.

Martin Christensen owned the Danish company Martech which introduced aluminium flooring in vehicles in order to provide a modular layout of seats as well as various types of tie-downs. The patented solution is now sold all over the world under various licences.

BraunAbility Product Range

Over the past five decades, BraunAbility adaptations have revolutionised what independence means to the disability community. From wheelchair swivel seats and mobility device stowage to driving aids, each product is manufactured and quality checked in-house to ensure consistently high levels of quality.

BraunAbility proudly invented and introduced the swivel seat to the market and have since developed it into a global leading range, including manual, electronic swivel and lowering and a wheelchair swivel base. These seating systems aid those with varying levels of limited mobility to safely and comfortably transfer into and out of a car.

The wheelchair topper is an innovative solution for both independent drivers and passengers which can lift, stow and retrieve a manual wheelchair in less than 90 seconds. Ideal for those who do not want to disassemble and reassemble their wheelchair each time they travel.

Alternatively, the Joey lift is an ideal solution for those with a mobility scooter looking to take it with them on car journeys. By reducing the effort and strength usually required to lift and load a mobility device into the back of a vehicle, this platform lift enables you to independently load your device into your car.

As well as mobility device stowage and vehicle access, they have developed a range of BraunAbility mobility products including pedal extensions and automatic boot openers.

Product Safety & Quality Standards

As a global manufacturer, BraunAbility continuously strives for a higher level of safety within the vehicle adaptation industry. Achieving this through inhouse safety test centres where they perform dynamic crash tests, static pull tests, climate tests, vibration tests, and cycle tests.

In addition to this, they comply with regulations, meet quality standards (ISO 9001:2015, ISO/IEC 17025:2018 and ISO 14001:2015), provide necessary certifications required by road authorities and car inspection agencies as well as invest heavily in new product development.