Invacare

[b]History[/b]  Invacare traces its roots back to 1885 when the Worthington Company began producing a line of vehicles for people with physical disabilities. Through the years, the Company has grown and expanded dramatically.     [b]Early Roots[/b]  The history of Invacare, as it is known today, began in the late 1970s. At that time, Technicare, a Cleveland-based medical-device manufacturer, was purchased by Johnson & Johnson. They decided to sell the wheelchair division known as Invacare.     A. Malachi Mixon III, who worked as a vice president of marketing at Technicare, organized a small group of investors, including J.B. Richey, to raise the $7.8 million needed for the purchase.     [b]Innovations and Growth[/b]  Over the last 30 years, Invacare has led the way with groundbreaking innovations that fundamentally changed the industry — like the split-spring bed, the microprocessor-controlled power chair, the Invacare® HomeFill® Oxygen System and the gearless, brushless motor. The Company has grown and diversified through acquisitions of Küschall, Carters, Poirier and Scandinavian Mobility, and has engaged in life-changing volunteer efforts with the Paralyzed Veterans Association, Invacare World Team Cup and Easter Seals.    Invacare has grown from three factories to 30, 300 associates to almost 6,000, net sales of $19 million to $1.7 billion and from a small, privately owned company to a NYSE corporation listed on the "Fortune" 1000. Today, Invacare is the global leader in the home and long-term care industries.