December 9, 2021 | #Scewo Family

Wow dear 2021, this was crazy!

What a year! Almost as turbulent as a roller coaster and with just as many ups and downs. But we have overcome all the challenges and made tremendous progress: In the development of BRO, as a company, and especially as a team. In this blog post you will find out what we have achieved.

A cheer for the new series

Isn’t our new series beautiful? You don’t see any difference between the «Pioneer Series» and the «Series One»? Well, most of the changes were made “under the bonnet”. Our engineers introduced a total of 85 new features. But a lot was also done in other areas. The first delivery of the «Series One» is a milestone that reflects the fabulous cooperation between the teams.

Scewo BRO Series One

A thousand and one parts

During the rework of the «Pioneer Series», our mechanics’ team inspected every single part of BRO at least once and made adjustments where necessary. In total, there are no less than 1122 parts! This also included the motor for the support system, which was examined very closely. The new gas spring mechanism was developed by our mechanics themselves and has been patented.

Always two steps ahead

Like in cars, various chips are installed in the BRO, which ensures communication between the various electrical and mechanical components. There is currently a worldwide shortage of these chips. Thanks to good planning and a feel for the market, our electronics engineers have managed to ensure that we have been largely unaffected by this shortage.

Smart, smarter, BRO

Not only has the hardware changed since the first series, but some new functions have also been added to the software. Thanks to regular updates, climbing stairs has become even safer, the parking position has become more stable and the controls have become more versatile, among other things. Our app, too, has evolved considerably since the beginning of the year and is now also available in the official Apple App Store. You can also look forward to the release of our Android app, which is planned for next year! 

On your marks, get set, test!

Wondering how we make sure our BROs work flawlessly? With an own testing team, of course. For this purpose, they have set up a testing park that makes the heart of the entire development team beat faster.

A BRO is seldom found alone

In case you thought that we assemble the BROs here in our office, we, unfortunately, have to disappoint you. Because we have an awesome partner and an even more awesome production team for that. Together they have set up a complete assembly line to ensure the ongoing production of new BROs. The parts are stored and assembled and the quality of the finished BROs is checked for us in a «Scewo-own» production hall at Phoenix Mecano in Stein am Rhein.

Germany here we come!

But what good is such a great wheelchair if no one can try it out? This is where our sales team comes into play. Which pulled off an incredible test drive marathon and visited many potential partners along the way. Among others, they brought on board our first three partners in Germany, Sanitätshaus Häussler, agivia and Stolle.

Click, scroll & marvel

In case you haven’t noticed it yet, you probably weren’t looking too closely, because our marketing team has also done a great job. The entire website has been revised and appears in a new design and with fresh texts. A project that not only drew sweat but also tears of joy when the website weathered the onslaught that followed the airing of the TV show «Die Höhle der Löwen» (The Lion’s Den).

Design matters – always!

Proportions, dynamics and reduction are part of our designers’ everyday work. By default. Our wheelchair’s design is in a league of its own, and so is Scewo’s entire presentation: The app, the website, brochures and so on. This attention to detail was once again honoured with an award. Namely the German Design Award for Excellent Product Design.

More is more

Our team has grown by no less than 14 Scewonauts within a year. This means not only more onboardings, but also more invoices, transactions, expenses and, ultimately, that we need more space. This is where our office fairies come into play, who always keep track of things in the hectic daily routine, crunch numbers like world champions and organised a great new office for us. Where we are going? More on that soon. 

«The nickel and the dime»

A large team with an even larger vision also requires the corresponding financial resources. Expressed in numbers: 8.5 million. Our founders were able to attract investors such as Verve Ventures, Wingman Ventures, the Zürcher Kantonalbank, medtech entrepreneur Willi Miesch, Boundary Holding and others. So we were able to successfully conclude the investment round even without the support of lions.

A very special award

It is always remarkable to see just how many emotions three words can trigger. No, not «I love you», but «we have won»! Namely the Swiss Medtech Award, THE award of the Swiss medtech industry. What a super motivation for and validation of the work of the whole Scewo family.

Here’s to a new one!

These were our biggest milestones of the year. We could not have done all this without our BRO crew, the whole Scewo family, our partners, investors and everyone else who has given us a helping hand.
Thank you and here’s to an even more exciting 2022!