`
`Dick Youngblood
`
`New product
`boosts firm’s
`stalling sales .
`
`WAITE PARK, MINN. — In a way, the ac-
`cident that took Carl Caspers' lower leg 42
`years ago has meant that Gary Hooks can
`play 18 holes of golf with none of the blis-
`ters and pain once caused by the prosthesis
`chafing against his stump.
`For the same reason, Peter Hamborg no
`longer is limited by pain to spending only a
`few minutes at a time on his prosthesis. In
`fact, he’s seriously considering resuming
`the treks onto the floor of the Grand Can-
`yon that he enjoyed before losing his leg to
`a congenital vascular problem.
`Caspers, 60, lost his lower left leg at 18 .
`when his Colt revolver discharged prema-
`turely as he was practicing fast draws. The
`bullet took out a major artery and nerve
`
`
`
`Star Tribune photo by Dick Youngblood
`
`With the introduction of their Harmony Sock-
`et Enhancement System, TEc Interface
`founders Scott Schneider, left, and Carl Cas-
`pers expect a 48 percent rise in 2001 sales.
`
`Otto Bock
`
`Exhibit 2010
`
`Page 1
`
`Otto Bock Exhibit 2010 Page 1
`
`

`

`>
`
`‘ IIII’ISTWIVG’ T '—
`
`WAITE PARK, MINN. —— In a way, the ac-
`cident that took Carl Caspers’ lower leg 42
`years ago has meant that Gary Hooks can
`play 18 holes of golf with none of the blis-
`ters and pain once caused by the prosthesis
`chafing against his stump.
`For the same reason, Peter Hamborg no
`longer is limited by pain to spending only a
`few minutes at a time on his prosthesis. In
`fact, he’s seriously considering resuming
`the treks onto the floor of the Grand Can-
`yon that he enjoyed before losing his leg to
`a congenital vascular problem.
`Caspers, 60, lost his lower left leg at 18
`when his Colt revolver discharged prema-
`turely as he was practicing fast draws. The
`bullet took out a major artery and nerve
`
`_
`
`
`
`Star Tribune photo by Dick Youngblood
`
`With the introduction of their Harmony Sock-
`et Enhancement System, TEc Interface
`founders Scott Schneider, left, and Carl Cas-
`pers expect a 48 percent rise in 2001 sales.
`
`and ensuing complications forced the am-
`putation.
`Since then, he has spent much of his life
`seeking solutions to the chafing that often
`left his stump bloody and blistered —— and
`his life limited to only a few painless min-
`utes at a time on his feet.
`If Hamborg’s and Hooks’ testimonials
`are any indication, it would appear that
`Caspers has found his solution.
`
`YOUNG-BLOOD continued on D8:
`—— “I’m never in pain anymore, ” said cus-
`tomer—turned- regional sales rep.
`
`Otto Bock
`
`Exhibit2010
`
`Page2
`
`Otto Bock Exhibit 2010 Page 2
`
`

`

`Search - 1 Result - "new product boosts firm's stalling sales"
`
`Page 1 of 3
`
`New product boosts firm's stalling sales Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) November 25, 2001,
`Sunday, Metro Edition
`
`Copyright 2001 Star Tribune
`Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
`
`November 25, 2001, Sunday, Metro Edition
`
`SECTION: BUSINESS; Dick Youngblood; Pg. 1D
`
`LENGTH: 1044 words
`
`HEADLINE: New product boosts firm's stalling sales
`
`BYLINE: Dick Youngblood; Staff Writer
`
`DATELINE: Waite Park, Minn.
`
`BODY:
`RSEC: In a way, the accident that took Carl Caspers' lower leg 42 years ago has meant
`that Gary Hooks can play 18 holes of golf with none of the blisters and pain once caused by the
`prosthesis chafing against his stump.
`
` For the same reason, Peter Hamborg no longer is limited by pain to spending only a few
`minutes at a time on his prosthesis. In fact, he's seriously considering resuming the treks onto
`the floor of the Grand Canyon that he enjoyed before losing his leg to a congenital vascular
`problem.
`
` Caspers, 60, lost his lower left leg at 18 when his Colt revolver discharged prematurely as
`he was practicing fast draws. The bullet took out a major artery and nerve and ensuing
`complications forced the amputation.
`
` Since then, he has spent much of his life seeking solutions to the chafing that often left his
`stump bloody and blistered _ and his life limited to only a few painless minutes at a time on his
`feet.
`
` If Hamborg's and Hooks' testimonials are any indication, it would appear that Caspers has
`found his solution.
`
` Caspers is CEO of TEC Interface Systems, a Waite Park company that he and son-in-law
`Scott Schneider started in 1989 to develop innovative prosthetic devices.
`
` In July, the company introduced its Harmony Socket Enhancement System, a vacuum pump
`that maintains a snug fit between an amputee's stump and the prosthetic socket.
`
` To Caspers and Schneider, the new product is yielding a significant boost in TEC Interface
`sales, which have stalled at about $4 million since 1996.
`
` But to Hooks, an Edgewater, Fla., resident, and Hamborg, of Rio Verde, Ariz., the results are
`even more gratifying.
`
` Before Hamborg received a demonstration model of the Harmony pump, "I couldn't walk or
`stand for more than 10 minutes at a time," he said. "Now I can walk the dog for an hour
`without a problem."
`
` No more 'bad steps'
`
`https://www.lexis.com/research/retrieve?_m=051f25e1a0b9eb97e3df99a7615928d1&_bro...
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`2/25/2014
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`

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`Search - 1 Result - "new product boosts firm's stalling sales"
`
`Page 2 of 3
`
` The only thing standing between him and another hike into the Grand Canyon is a bit of
`conditioning to get the rest of his body in shape, he said.
`
` Hooks tells a similar story: "For 30 years I endured the pain" produced by the chafing, he
`said. "You'd get up in the morning and know you only had so many good steps before it'd start
`hurting again. So, every day you'd have to allocate those steps."
`
` With the the Harmony pump, however, "I don't have any bad steps any more," said Hooks,
`whose leg was amputated as a result of an auto accident. "Where I used to have sores all the
`time, I haven't had so much as a pimple in a year and a half. I'm never in pain any more."
`
` Hooks was so impressed with the results that he put his restaurant up for sale in February
`and signed up as a TEC Interface regional sales rep. Meanwhile, he has a simple answer for
`folks who ask why he's walking the golf course instead of riding.
`
` "Because I can," he tells them.
`
` Despite Harmony's $4,000 price tag, it won enthusiastic support when it was introduced in
`Bloomington this summer to 150 prosthetists from across North America.
`
` "We'd been hoping to take orders for about $200,000," said Schneider, the company's
`president and chief administrative officer. "In a day and a half, we ended up with orders for
`$1.4 million."
`
` Not all the orders were for delivery in 2001, but there were enough to boost this year's sales
`projections 48 percent, from $4.2 million to about $6.2 million. For 2002, Caspers and
`Schneider are projecting a 37 percent sales increase, to about $8.5 million.
`
` Record profits
`
` Better yet, after seeing pretax earnings slump to a low of $90,000 in 1997, the partners
`expect operating profits this year to reach a record $1.1 million _ double the pretax gain in
`2000.
`
` Caspers, who earned a two-year degree in prosthetics from Northwestern University, started
`a private practice in St. Cloud in 1979 to fit patients with artificial limbs and braces.
`
` "But I was increasingly frustrated with the technologies available," he said. "I kept looking
`for ways to resolve the difficulties my patients and I were having [with the chafing and
`abrasions]."
`
` One problem was the excessive movement allowed by conventional foam and silicone liners
`used to protect the stump from the pounding applied by the prosthesis.
`
` Caspers' answer, which launched his company, was a urethane liner designed to even the
`pressure across a wider surface and provide a closer, more natural fit. That core product
`hoisted sales to $4 million by 1996, after which competition from larger companies hammered
`both growth and profitability.
`
` But the comfort offered by Caspers' urethane liner was limited. The reason: With each step,
`body fluids are forced upward into the leg, eventually changing the size of the stump and
`loosening the prosthesis fit as the day wears on. His solution was the vacuum pump, which
`pulls fluids back into the stump to maintain the fit and prevent chafing and pain.
`
` It took Caspers more than three years, in partnership with St. Cloud State University, to
`develop the Harmony system, which is designed to work specifically with his urethane liners.
`
`https://www.lexis.com/research/retrieve?_m=051f25e1a0b9eb97e3df99a7615928d1&_bro...
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`

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`Search - 1 Result - "new product boosts firm's stalling sales"
`
`Page 3 of 3
`
`The upshot: Along with the encouraging acceptance of the Harmony system, sales of the liners
`have jumped 25 percent, Schneider said.
`
` Meanwhile, Caspers might be the best advertisement for his new product available. The
`reason: Not only does he play racquetball with some alacrity, but in his gym workouts, he has
`pushed upward of 1,000 pounds on the hip sled.
`
` "That's not bad for a guy with just one and a half legs," he said.
`
` Dick Youngblood can be reached at 612-673-4439 or at yblood@startribune.com.
`
` Interface Systems
`
` - Business: Develops prosthetic devices
`
` - Founded: 1989
`
` - Headquarters: Waite Park, Minn.
`
` - Executives: Co-founders Carl Caspers, CEO, and Scott Schneider, president
`
` - 2001 revenue: Projected $6.2 million, up from $4 million in 2000
`
` - Outlook: After five years of flat sales, the recent introduction of its new Harmony Socket
`Enhancement System has increased revenue by more than 50 percent, with another 30 to 40
`percent jump expected in 2002.
`
`GRAPHIC: PHOTO
`
`LOAD-DATE: November 26, 2001
`
`Source: Find a Source > Star Tribune (Minneapolis MN)
`Terms: "new product boosts firm's stalling sales" (Suggest Terms for My Search)
`View: Full
`Date/Time: Tuesday, February 25, 2014 - 1:15 AM EST
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`Otto Bock Exhibit 2010 Page 5
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