History

 

1986

Foundation of the company from the Haas & Alberhaustechnik in Albstadt. The first staff was 5 employees. The aim of the company was the design of a staircase for the transport of persons.
Patent application of the scalamobil. A revolutionary climbing system for person transport via stairs was presented to the public for the first time. The climbing principle is still unchanged.

1988

Launch of the scalamobil S10. The first market-ready concept met with a positive response. Numerous product improvements have been part of the development since the initial launch. The combination of all standard wheelchairs is still a strength of Alber.

1991

Patent application of the electric drive e-fix. The wheel hub drive e-fix combines the advantages of an electric wheelchair with those of a manual wheelchair and creates a new product segment in rehabilitation technology.

1992

Sales start of e-fix E12. The workforce now has grown to 40 employees. Foundation of the sister company Alber AG in Switzerland.

1993

Relocation to a new building with 4.500 sq m. Replacement of the scalamobil S10 by the scalamobil S20 with expanded functionality.

1995

Foundation of the sister company Mobitec France. Further expansion of sales activities in other European countries.

1996

Introduction of the viamobil V10. The sliding and braking aid viamobil uses the core competence of wheel hub drives and will become the best selling shift aid within a year.

1998

Domus Homecare as a new umbrella organization. Product removal of the scalamobil S20 by the S25. Further development of the e-fix E12 to the E15. The employee base now consists of 120 persons.

2000

Presentation of the active drive e-motion. This new drive system closes the gap between an electric wheelchair and a manual wheelchair. Replacement of the e-fix E15 by the E20.

2001

Introduction of the scalamobil S27. The revised e-motion M12 is also presented to the public. 150 employees and 20 international representations worldwide represent Alber.

2003

Not far from the existing location, the new administration and production building with a total area of more than 8,000 sqm. The new scalamobil S30 with integrated IQ function is introduced. It can be individually adjusted to the stairs geometry and the center of gravity of each wheelchair and thus pro-actively supports the accompanying person. The new electric wheelchair ADVENTURE is presented. It impresses with its unique driving comfort and its modularity. The ADVENTURE can be completely disassembled without tools and transported in a medium-class passenger car.

2004

Invacare becomes new umbrella organization. From 190 employees, innovative medical products of the highest quality are developed, manufactured and marketed at the Albstadt location.

2006

Introduction of the new generation of e-fix. The new e-fix E25 / E26 is characterized by its tremendous maneuverability and higher permissible person weight. During the rehacare in Düsseldorf, the new sliding and braking aid viamobil eco is presented with a patented ErgoDrive.

2007

Presentation of the new additional drive Quix. Quix is the first accessory for manual wheelchairs which is controlled by a steering rod - similar to a bicycle. This makes its operation intuitive and the wheelchair extremely manoeuvrable.

2008

Presentation of the new e-motion M15 with new lithium-ion battery technology. The new e-motion directly wins the Focus Design Award, which recognizes sustainably produced products and the REHACARE design award for design performance.

2010

Alber is awarded the QVH seal of quality by the quality assurance tool e.V. Introduction of the new staircase family scalamobil S35 and scalacombi S34.

2011

Alber celebrates its 25th anniversary. The company history "25 years Alber" in pictures for download (5MB)

Presentation of the new viamobil V25 with lithium-ion batteries and the innovative EasyConnex magnetic plug system. The optimized sliding and braking aid viamobil V25 is characterized especially by its particular user-friendliness and longevity.

2013

Fair presentation of the new drive for wheelchairs twion at Rehacare in Düsseldorf. The new twion from Alber is lightweight, compact and offers many new features over the smartphone connectivity. Active manual wheelchair users benefit from the low weight of 6 kg per wheel and a dynamic driving behavior with speeds of up to 10 km/h.

2014

Renamed to Alber GmbH. Alber wins the Focus Design Award in gold with twion. Alber employs 230 people at the end of the year.

2015

Introduction of the new e-fix generation. No component of the e-fix E35 weighs more than 7.8 kg, all in all, the entire system is only 18.9 kg. This is also due to the extremely light, considerably smaller battery, which is only 2 kg thanks to lithium-ion technology.

2017

Hansjörg Reiner is the new Managing Director of Alber GmbH. The number of employees now exceeds 250.

2020

Introduction of the SMOOV one, an innovative add-on electric drive that you can easily dock on to and off your wheelchair whenever you need some extra power. This modern and sporty power unit significantly increases the driver’s mobility and range.