1 – The company is based in Ploemeur in Brittany. Vipamat has chosen a town by the sea to develop the Hippocampes. After 20 years, the company remains faithful to this city where it was born.
2 – In 20 years, 1 300 000 parts have left the Vipamat workshop. This is at least what was needed to manufacture and distribute the 3 Hippocampe models around the world.
3 – At first, the idea of the Hippocampe was born because Patrice Faucogney, now co-manager, wanted easy access to his favorite water sports: kayaking and diving. He developed the product with his physiotherapist of the time: Vincent Leroy, now second co-manager.
4 – 20 options allow to personalize the Hippocampe Beach and All-terrain, 13 for the Hippocampe Marathon and Trail.
5 – Vipamat has been awarded numerous design and innovation prizes since 2002 for the Hippocampe beach wheelchair.
6 – In 2021 Vipamat marketed its products in more than 40 countries.
7 – If we put the aluminum tubes that make up the Hippocampe end to end, the distance would be 64 km.
8 – 3 wheelchairs make up the Hippocampe range: The Hippocampe Beach and All-Terrain, the Hippocampe Marathon and Trail and the Hippocampe Pool.
9 – The tubes of the Hippocampe are inspired by windsurfing booms.
10 – In 2021, Vipamat obtained ISO 13485 certification in order to comply with the new CE quality obligations imposed in 2021.
11 – Vipamat has an office in the USA since 2004. Today the office is in Houston.
12 – 15,348 km is the distance covered by a Hippocampe Beach and All-Terrain from our workshop to reach a user based in Bora-Bora.
13 – In 2020, the Hippocampe Marathon and Trail served as a torchbearer for the Paralympic Games in Japan.
14 – Vipamat works with a network of distributors. It is thanks to them that the wheelchair Hippocampe can develop internationally.
15 – At the launch in 1999, Vipamat was an association, it became a company 20 years ago in 2002.
16 – By the end of summer 2022, the team will manufacture the 10,000th Hippocampe wheelchair.
17 – 800m² is the surface area of our workshop in France.
18 – Transportable and dismountable, was one of the priority objectives during the development of the prototype. Hippocampes can even be transported in a roof box on the car !
19 – Vipamat à la certification FDA aux USA, indispensable à la mise sur le marché de matériel destiné aux personnes en situation de handicap.
20 – Adventure is the first word that comes to mind for the team to sum up the last 20 years. Moments of sharing with collaborators, suppliers, distributors and users. A shared trust that the Vipamat team hopes to keep for many more years to come