Second in LU’s Brand Spotlight series. Where Amylior is the Canadian-made power chair maker most users have not heard of, Permobil is the global company whose name sits behind a set of brands many users do know. This profile maps what Permobil actually owns, using the company’s own published brand list, press releases and financial reports.
If you push a manual wheelchair, you may be sitting on a ROHO cushion, in a TiLite chair, using a SmartDrive power assist. All three are Permobil brands. So is PDG Mobility, the Vancouver tilt-in-space manufacturer. Permobil keeps the acquired names on the products, so the equipment itself rarely says Permobil.
That matters for one practical reason. When you are offered two options and told they come from different manufacturers, it is worth knowing whether that is still true.
Company background
Permobil dates itself to 1967 and is headquartered in Timrå, Sweden. Its About page carries the line “Innovating for individuals since 1967,” and Nordic Capital’s 2013 press release opens its company description with “Since being founded in Sweden in 1967.” The founder was Dr Per Uddén, a Swedish doctor.
Permobil’s own account of the origin is specific: Uddén “met polio patients who were confined indoors and he was passionate about finding a solution to help them. As a result, he created some of the first power wheelchairs.” His founding principle, as Permobil states it, was that every person “has the right to have his or her disability compensated as far as possible by aids with the same technical standard as those we all use in our everyday lives.”
Ownership left family hands in stages. Nordic Capital acquired Permobil in 2006 and announced its sale to the Swedish holding company Investor AB on 27 March 2013, at an enterprise value of SEK 5,500 million. At that point Permobil had roughly 700 employees and 2012 revenues of about SEK 1,600 million. Permobil now describes itself as a wholly owned subsidiary of Investor AB. Patricia Industries, which holds Investor AB’s wholly owned subsidiaries, puts its own stake in Permobil at 91 per cent of capital and 91 per cent of votes. Patricia Industries, the arm of Investor AB that holds its wholly owned subsidiaries, lists Permobil with an initial investment year of 2013, and states that Investor AB’s main owner is the Wallenberg Foundations, controlling 50 per cent of the votes.
Permobil publishes its own year-end results. Revenue for 2025 was SEK 6,161 million, down 5 per cent from SEK 6,518 million in 2024, with organic growth of 1 per cent. EBITDA was SEK 1,406 million, a margin of 23 per cent. Those are the company’s figures in its own currency. Converting them to Canadian dollars means choosing an exchange rate and a date, so this profile does not print a converted number. Patricia Industries lists Permobil at 1,920 employees. Chuck Witkowski became chief executive on 1 July 2025, succeeding Bengt Thorsson.
The portfolio: brands Permobil owns
Permobil publishes its brand list on its product ranges page. As of this writing it names ten: Permobil, TiLite, Progeo, Panthera, PDG Mobility, ROHO, Comfort, SmartDrive, EvoShape and V-Trak.
Permobil (power wheelchairs). The flagship line. The current range Permobil lists is the F3 Corpus, F5 Corpus, F5 Corpus VS, M1, M3 Corpus, M5 Corpus, M Corpus VS and X850 Corpus 3G, plus the Explorer Mini, Koala R-Net and K300 PS Jr. for children.
TiLite (manual wheelchairs, acquired May 2014). Custom titanium and aluminium manual wheelchairs, based in Pasco, Washington. Permobil said at the time that it would not change the TiLite brand, and it has not. The range Permobil currently lists is the TR, TRA, Aero T, Aero X, Aero Z, ZR, ZRA, 2GX, Pilot, TWIST and CR1.
ROHO (pressure-management cushions, announced 24 March 2015). Air-cell cushions using what ROHO calls DRY FLOATATION technology. ROHO was founded in 1973 by the electrical engineer Robert H. Graebe and remained headquartered in Belleville, Illinois. Permobil bought the medical division: cushions, backrests, support surfaces and air-cell accessories. ROHO’s non-medical seating lines were not part of the deal. The current cushion range includes the HIGH PROFILE, MID PROFILE and LOW PROFILE single-compartment cushions, the QUADTRO SELECT and CONTOUR SELECT series, and the Hybrid Elite and Hybrid Select cushions.
MAX Mobility and SmartDrive (power assist, announced 27 December 2017). MAX Mobility, then headquartered in Antioch, Tennessee, made the SmartDrive power assist that attaches to a manual chair. Permobil now presents the SmartDrive line through its control options, the PushTracker App and SwitchControl, rather than by a model number.
PDG Mobility (manual tilt-in-space wheelchairs, announced 13 September 2023). The Canadian company in the portfolio. PDG was founded in Vancouver in 1995 to build custom wheelchairs for people whose needs existing devices did not meet, and its chairs are sold in more than 20 countries. Permobil said at announcement that there would be “no immediate change or impact to PDG’s customers,” and did not disclose the terms. For Canadian readers this is the acquisition that most directly changes the domestic picture, and it is recent.
Progeo and Panthera (manual wheelchairs). Two European ultralight brands now inside Permobil. Permobil lists the carbon fibre Panthera X at 2.1 kg. Their presence matters when you are comparing a Permobil against “an ultralight from someone else,” because several ultralights are now Permobil-owned.
Comfort, EvoShape and V-Trak (seating and positioning). Comfort makes foam-base, contoured and hybrid cushions. EvoShape is custom moulded seating. V-Trak is a positioning line.
Digital. Permobil’s connectivity products are MyPermobil and Permobil +Connect for its power chairs, and the SmartDrive PushTracker App for power assist.
What this means in the Canadian market
The honest version of the Canadian picture is narrower than a market analysis. LU does not have sourced Canadian data on dealer share, prescribing patterns or comparative pricing, and will not assert any.
What the record above does support is this. A Canadian user being fitted for a power chair, an ultralight manual chair, a tilt-in-space manual chair, a pressure cushion, custom moulded seating or a power assist could be offered a Permobil-owned product in every one of those six categories, under six different brand names. That is worth knowing before a comparison is presented to you as a comparison between manufacturers.
Two practical points that do not depend on any market claim.
Ask who owns each option. If a clinician or vendor puts two products in front of you, ask whether they come from the same parent company. Permobil answers the question in one screen on its product ranges page, and other manufacturers publish equivalent brand pages.
Get approved before you buy. Provincial funding is device-category specific and the order of steps matters. Ontario’s Assistive Devices Program mobility aids page is the clearest example. For mobility aids, “the ADP-registered business will bill the ADP directly for 75% of the cost for your mobility aid. You must pay the remaining 25%.” ADP covers 100 per cent of the cost for people receiving Ontario Works, the Ontario Disability Support Program, or Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities. To qualify you must be an Ontario resident, hold a valid Ontario health card, and have a disability requiring a mobility aid for six months or longer; income is not considered. The first step is an examination by an occupational therapist or physiotherapist registered with the program, who confirms that you need a mobility aid and which type suits you. But the page is blunt about sequence: “If you order or buy your mobility aid(s) before these steps have been completed, you will be responsible for paying the full cost.” Ontario aims to review an application within eight weeks.
Two further Ontario details worth knowing before an assessment. A high technology power wheelchair, meaning one with power dynamic tilt or recline, must be bought through the Central Equipment Pool for High Technology Wheelchairs if you are funding it through ADP. And ADP does not cover repair costs at all: care and maintenance are yours. Rules differ in every province, so check your own program’s page rather than assuming Ontario’s terms travel.
The consolidation question
Consolidation in adaptive equipment is a real subject and it is argued over in the trade press. LU is not going to referee it here, because the arguments on both sides turn on evidence about pricing and innovation that this profile has not verified and cannot source.
What is documented is the sequence: TiLite in 2014, ROHO in 2015, MAX Mobility in 2017 and PDG Mobility in 2023, alongside Progeo, Panthera, Comfort, EvoShape and V-Trak. The trade reporting linked in the sources below covers each deal at the time it happened, including what the companies themselves said they intended.
Alternatives worth knowing
Naming alternatives is not a ranking. It is a list of manufacturers you can ask about by name at an assessment.
Amylior. Quebec power wheelchair manufacturer, profiled separately on LU.
Motion Composites. Quebec ultralight manual wheelchair manufacturer, carbon fibre and aluminium, rigid and folding.
Sunrise Medical, including Quickie and the JAY cushion line. Sunrise gets its own Brand Spotlight.
Quantum Rehab. Complex rehab power wheelchairs.
Vicair. Dutch air-cell cushion manufacturer.
What to take from this
The point of this profile is not that Permobil is the right choice or the wrong one. Permobil builds equipment a great many Canadians rely on every day, and the brands it has bought have kept their names and their design identities.
The point is that brand names on adaptive equipment no longer tell you how many companies you are choosing between. Before an assessment, it is reasonable to ask who owns each option, what the alternatives are, and what your provincial program will pay for and in what order. Those three questions cost nothing and they are yours to ask.
Related LU content
- Brand Spotlight: Amylior, the Quebec power wheelchair manufacturer
- Forthcoming: our review of the Motion Composites Helio A7 ultralight
- Our review of the SmartDrive power assist
- When Your Adaptive Equipment Breaks: the repair guide
- Forthcoming: Brand Spotlight Sunrise Medical and Quickie
- Forthcoming: Brand Spotlight Motion Composites
Frequently asked questions
What brands does Permobil own?
Permobil publishes its brand list on its product ranges page, and as of this writing it names ten: Permobil, TiLite, Progeo, Panthera, PDG Mobility, ROHO, Comfort, SmartDrive, EvoShape and V-Trak.
Are ROHO, TiLite and SmartDrive the same company?
Yes. All three are Permobil brands, as is PDG Mobility, the Vancouver tilt-in-space manufacturer. Permobil keeps the acquired names on the products, so the equipment itself rarely says Permobil.
Where is Permobil based, and when was it founded?
Permobil dates itself to 1967 and is headquartered in Timra, Sweden. Its About page carries the line “Innovating for individuals since 1967”, and the founder was Dr Per Udden, a Swedish doctor.
Why does it matter who owns an adaptive equipment brand?
Because when you are offered two options and told they come from different manufacturers, it is worth knowing whether that is still true. Brand names on adaptive equipment no longer reliably tell you who made the product.
What alternatives to Permobil can Canadians ask about by name?
Naming alternatives is not a ranking, it is a list of manufacturers you can ask about by name at an assessment. They include Amylior, the Quebec power wheelchair manufacturer, Motion Composites, the Quebec ultralight manual wheelchair manufacturer, Sunrise Medical including Quickie and the JAY cushion line, Quantum Rehab for complex rehab power chairs, and Vicair, the Dutch air-cell cushion manufacturer.
Sources
- Permobil, “This is Permobil.” “Innovating for individuals since 1967.”
- Permobil, “Our history.” Dr Per Uddén and the founding principle, quoted above.
- Permobil, “Permobil power wheelchairs.” The polio-patients account of the founding, and the current power chair range.
- Permobil, “Financial reports.” Year-End Report 2025: revenue SEK 6,161m against SEK 6,518m in 2024, organic growth 1 per cent, EBITDA SEK 1,406m at a 23 per cent margin.
- Patricia Industries, “Permobil.” Initial investment year 2013, 1,920 employees, the Witkowski appointment effective 1 July 2025, and Investor AB’s ownership by the Wallenberg Foundations at 50 per cent of votes.
- Nordic Capital, “Nordic Capital divests global market leader Permobil to Investor,” 27 March 2013. The 2006 acquisition, the SEK 5,500m enterprise value, the 2012 revenue and headcount, and the 1967 founding.
- Permobil, “Our product ranges.” The ten Permobil-owned brands, and the 2.1 kg Panthera X.
- Permobil, “TiLite” and Mobility Management, “Permobil Acquires TiLite,” 28 May 2014. The acquisition, Pasco, Washington, and the commitment to keep the brand.
- Permobil, “ROHO” and Mobility Management, “Triple Play: Permobil Acquires ROHO,” 25 March 2015. The 24 March 2015 announcement, Robert H. Graebe and the 1973 founding, Belleville, Illinois, and the medical-division-only scope.
- Mobility Management, “Permobil Acquires MAX Mobility,” 3 January 2018. The 27 December 2017 announcement and the Antioch, Tennessee headquarters.
- Permobil, “Permobil acquires PDG Mobility,” 13 September 2023. Vancouver, founded 1995, sold in more than 20 countries, no immediate change for customers, terms undisclosed.
- Permobil, “SmartDrive.” The PushTracker App and SwitchControl.
- Ontario, “Mobility aids.” The 75 per cent and 25 per cent split, 100 per cent coverage for Ontario Works, ODSP and ACSD recipients, income not considered, the eight-week review target, the consequence of buying before approval, and the Central Equipment Pool requirement for high technology power wheelchairs.
- Ontario, “Assistive Devices Program.” The three funding models and the statement that ADP does not cover repair costs.
