Colours Wheelchair, manufacturer of ultralightweight wheelchairs, said in a Feb. 10 social media post that it would pause production at the end of this month.
“We wish to notify all dealers and customers that Colours will temporarily cease production beginning Feb. 28, 2025,” the company said via Facebook. “This decision, though difficult, has been made in light of the challenges posed by increasing costs, prompting the relocation of our factory. Production will remain suspended until a new site is secured.”
The post added that as of Feb. 10, Colours had stopped processing new orders and quote requests, and will end its phone support on Feb. 17.
“All existing active orders will be fulfilled promptly,” the post said. “For any inquiries related to repairs and replacement parts for previously sold products, please direct your emails to customerservice@colourswheelchair.com. We are committed to providing assistance and will strive to resume wheelchair production at the earliest opportunity.”
Colours was originally called Colours ‘N Motion when it was founded in Southern California by the Box family after John Gunnar Box was injured in a hit-and-run accident as a teen. Colours’ lifestyle approach to wheelchair design and its customization capabilities became beloved in the ultralightweight wheelchair rider community. In 2008, Box announced that the company had been sold to Japanese manufacturer Nissin Wheelchairs, now known as Nissin Medical Industries. On its website, Colours lists manufacturing sites in Corona, California, Japan, China and Vietnam.
The February announcement led to dozens of concerned comments, including suggestions on new manufacturing locations and empathy for Mike Box, one of Colours’ original founders and engineers who now heads Box Wheelchairs, which focuses on customized wheelchair motocross (WCMX) chairs.
The rush of comments led to an additional clarification post from a Colours CSR manager named Brooke.
“Colours is not going out of business,” the second post said. “We are needing to find a new location. We will try our absolute best to restart production as soon as possible. Please be patient with us, and we appreciate all your support.”
That was followed by another post from the same CSR manager: “Please email the customer service [department] if you need to order any replacement parts. We will still be able to ship the parts to you if we have them available in our current inventory.”
In addition to everyday rigid chair lines such as the Spazz, Shockblade, Zephyr, and Razorblade, and its everyday folding Urban Verve chair, Colours is famous for its sports and specialty chairs, including the BC-Skate Chair, all-terrain Razorblade, Hammer and Zephyr Sport. Colours also manufactures pediatric chairs, including the Saber Jr., and a monoski chair.
