Customer reference

A castor that’s impossible - In theory

Imagine for a moment you are looking at a castor:

It has a certain size and height. However, this latter measurement depends on an intelligent overall design. In hospitals especially, this is particularly important, since safety considerations dictate that the height of the castor fitting should not be more than the castor diameter. It’s impossible really to retain the ideal wheel size and at the same time reduce the height – in theory, at least. But, in fact, we have managed to do so and, in the process, have supplied our customer Stiegelmeyer with the TENTE Linea.

The starting point

The Stiegelmeyer Group specialises in the manufacture of hospital beds. Their portfolio additionally includes hospital furniture. In hospitals, it is important to enable a low mattress base position to be set to enhance patient safety. Falls can have serious consequences, particularly for people of an advanced age. To reduce the risk of injury, hospitals rely on beds whose mattress bases can be lowered substantially to a low height level.

It’s the overall height that matters

Half of all patients in hospitals are over 65 years old. It is to be expected that this trend will continue to increase in view of demographic change. This makes fall prevention a crucial factor. Stiegelmeyer developed the Puro hospital bed which enabled nursing staff to set the height of the mattress base to a particularly low level. The castors on the bed contribute decisively to how low this level can be.

Our smart mobility solution

We have been a reliable partner to Stiegelmeyer for more than 60 years. On top of that, we were also able to deliver the ideal solution in the case of the Puro hospital bed: the Linea hospital bed castor. Its outstanding feature is a fitting that is barely higher than the wheel size. With a diameter of 125 millimetres, the total height of the castor is only 130 mm.

Safety was just one of the deciding factors when developing the Linea castor. It was also important for our engineers to take the overall hospital environment into account and to focus on all influential factors. This included the design, hygienic aspects, noise development and the running characteristics. This resulted in the use of two precision ball bearings to allow the castor to swivel exceptionally easily. The central locking mechanism is also maintenance-free.

When it comes to the appearance, the colour scheme of the castor can be matched to the adjacent components and the bed frames. The cover in the centre of the wheel offers further options for customising the castor. Additionally smooth surfaces discourage dirt pick-up and are easy to clean. Also, since a hospital is primarily a place for rest and relaxation, the castor locking and release mechanism is much quieter than with conventional products.

Our two family-owned companies have been working together closely for almost 50 years now. That speaks for itself.

Georgios Kampisiulis Kemmler, Managing Director, and Anja Kemmler, Shareholder of the Stiegelmeyer Group

Improved safety

The Linea castor makes it possible to significantly improve the safety of patients in hospitals. Thanks to its minimal overall height, nursing staff can adjust the mattress base so that it is only 28 centimetres off the ground. Due to this, the Linea twin wheel castor is making a significant contribution to considerably reducing the risk of injury in hospitals.

This smart solution also ensures that the running characteristics are satisfactory across the whole Linea range. The castor offers the same load-bearing capacity as models with a larger overall height and also effortlessly overcomes thresholds and any uneven areas. It also meets the highest hygiene standards, excels through particularly straightforward operation – and proves its true greatness with its low overall height.