[BFM/ Le JDE] Eppur: “Our goal is to reach 5,000 pairs of wheels sold by the end of 2025” – Le Journal des Entreprises

Created in Lille in 2020, Eppur is preparing to deliver the first series of its wheels with integrated braking for wheelchairs. The founders of the innovative company have been working since 2016 to meet a specific need: to allow wheelchair users to slow down or stop quickly, without having to grab their wheels with both hands. Because using your hands as brake pads, the only braking solution currently available on wheelchairs, causes the risk of burns and injuries to the arms and shoulders.

To put an end to this problem, Colin Gallois and Lancelot Durand, the co-founders of Eppur, have developed an innovative wheel, which integrates a braking system directly into the hub. Inspired by the back-pedal braking system of certain Dutch bicycles, this device can be installed on any wheelchair. Eppur is now preparing to deliver the first hundred of its pairs of wheels, half to individuals and half to its partners, specialized resellers of medical equipment. “Our goal is to reach 5,000 pairs of wheels sold by the end of 2025. But the market is very large: it is estimated that in France 400,000 people use a wheelchair, and 65 million worldwide. We We therefore have major export challenges”, explains Colin Gallois.