Invacare Corp. is moving the manufacturing of its Küschall manual wheelchair line to France.
In a news announcement, Invacare said the move would be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2018.
Küschall wheelchairs have been manufactured in Witterswil, Switzerland. Going forward, the manufacturing will take place in Fondettes, France.
In its announcement, Invacare said the move was being made “to better optimize” the French manufacturing facility.
The change is also expected to generate “an incremental $1.7 million in annualized pre-tax savings in the Europe business segment.”
Invacare added that the “front office” of the Witterswil facility “will remain open and continue to serve as Invacare’s European headquarters and research and development center of excellence, as well as the Swiss sales office.”
Invacare Chairman/President/CEO Matthew E. Monaghan said of the move, ““This transfer is another step forward in phase two of our transformation, which leverages our existing global infrastructure to reduce costs and further increase efficiencies. We now have announced the transfer of localized wheelchair manufacturing production from Sweden and Switzerland to a central wheelchair manufacturing facility in France. We are creating a leading European wheelchair manufacturing facility that is centrally located to our European customers. We will maintain the high-quality product standards and great service that our customers have come to expect from us.”
