Forres firm Phoenix Instinct's i wheelchair shortlisted in Innovation of the Year category at Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards
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A LOCAL company has been shortlisted for a national design award.
Phoenix Instinct, based at Forres Enterprise Park, is up for the Innovation of the Year accolade for its manual wheelchair conception at the sixth Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards.
Phoenix Instinct CEO and founder, Andrew Slorance, believes the nomination demonstrates that fellow wheelchair users have been waiting for this product.
He said: “We are very excited that our new smart wheelchair is gathering so much interest. The world is ready for significant advancement in wheelchair technology.”
Phoenix Instinct won Toyota’s Mobility Unlimited Challenge in December with the Phoenix i wheelchair automatically adjusts its centre of gravity to ensure the user can be agile and stable at the same time. The ultra-light carbon fibre frame aids manoeuvrability, while the chair features a powered braking system which manages descents automatically.
Andrew said: “We are still developing the wheelchair. The Toyota win gave the company $1 million of development funding.”
He added: “We employ five staff, and we are the only company in the world who make and sell wheelchair compatible luggage.
“The pandemic has impacted the sector, but we are always developing new lines and opening new markets.”
Phoenix Instinct worked with the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) on the development of the world’s first-ever SMART, ultra-light weight, manual wheelchair.
Andrew said: “Working with UWS gave us expert support to put the know how and systems in place so we could manufacture carbon fibre prototypes in Forres and not use outside contractors.”
The award winners will be announced online on April 21.
