Heiko Schmidgall, an Ortema orthopedic technician and sales manager, works on equipment at the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, Finland – Latvia.
photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Andrea Cardin
There’s no time to waste. A national team hockey star has just broken the strap on his shoulder brace and needs a replacement before the second period starts. He’s whisked to the Ortema office, located at ice level at Tampere’s Nokia Arena, where repairs are performed in under 15 minutes, enabling him to get right back out on the ice.
That’s just one of the real-life scenarios where Ortema has come to the rescue at the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, Finland – Latvia. The 1993-founded German sports equipment manufacturer specializes in providing customized protective gear for athletes on short notice.
Based in the Stuttgart area, Ortema partners with the Markgröningen Orthopedic Clinic to offer a full range of services that encompass not only sport protection, but also the latest innovations in orthopedic technology, physiotherapy, and rehabilitation.
“We see individual athletes and cater to their needs,” said Heiko Schmidgall, an orthopedic technician and sales manager who has worked with Ortema for more than 20 years. “Hockey has different needs than football or American football, for instance.”
If players get injured during an Ice Hockey World Championship, they can count on Ortema to help them return to action safely. Knee braces are a specialty. Ortema scans the leg to create a 3D model of a player’s knee and can get a carbon knee brace ready to go within a day. As the Austrian press reported, defenceman David Reinbacher took advantage of that service at this tournament.
Plastic finger braces and splints can be made even more quickly to help injured players with their puckhandling. A famous example is Jaromir Jagr during the 2005 Ice Hockey World Championship in Vienna. The Czech legend suffered a broken pinkie there, but thanks to Ortema, he was able to keep going, win the gold medal, and join the IIHF’s Triple Gold Club.
Schmidgall’s first Ice Hockey World Championship was in Germany back in 2001. In 2006, Ortema kicked off its partnership with the IIHF WMs.
Schmidgall has put in a lot of long hours at IIHF tournaments, including this year with Ortema general manager Ruediger Loy. There is also a two-person Ortema team on-site in Riga.
“In a typical Ice Hockey World Championship day, we’re here from 8:30 am to 11 pm,” Schmidgall said. “We see the officials and the teams going on the ice. The physiotherapists and trainers come by: ‘We have an injured player. I need something, say, for an ankle or a foot.’ We make special socks for lace bites, customized so you don’t aggravate a blister. They’re very popular. It’s probably the busiest about three or four days in when there are lots of games and everyone knows where our office is.”
While medical treatment is naturally confidential, just a few players who have spoken about their beneficial experiences with Ortema products include Austria’s Thomas Raffl, Sweden’s Dennis Everberg, and Germany’s Tim Stutzle and Moritz Seider. German captain Moritz Muller even made an Instagram post where he credited Ortema with prolonging his hockey career.
From individualized skate in-soles to back protectors, you can find whatever gear you need in the Ortema office, a busy space awash in boxes, bandages, brochures, pens, and promotional posters.
The work for the Ortema team, naturally, doesn’t end when the Ice Hockey World Championship does.
“We want to keep developing new products to help players with their needs,” said Schmidgall. “For example, we’re developing new core shorts and power shorts to give them more support. And we’re always innovating with ways to make our signature knee braces lighter.”
“We want to help all injured players get back on the ice as quickly as possible and have success,” added Loy. “That is the bottom line.”
Ortema roadtests its hockey products with SC Bietigheim-Bissingen (Bietigheim Steelers) and also enjoys collaborations with the German Ice Hockey Federation (Deutscher Eishockey-Bund) and Adler Mannheim. But there’s more to the company than hockey. They also create products for sports as diverse as football, American football, motocross, and Alpine skiing.
“And we make a lot of products for the general public,” said Schmidgall. “For example, people who have arthritis or older people with knee problems can come to Ortema.”
The clock is ticking down toward the final moments of the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, Finland – Latvia. But right to the end, Ortema will be there to help players keep safe and perform at the highest level.
That’s just one of the real-life scenarios where Ortema has come to the rescue at the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, Finland – Latvia. The 1993-founded German sports equipment manufacturer specializes in providing customized protective gear for athletes on short notice.
Based in the Stuttgart area, Ortema partners with the Markgröningen Orthopedic Clinic to offer a full range of services that encompass not only sport protection, but also the latest innovations in orthopedic technology, physiotherapy, and rehabilitation.
“We see individual athletes and cater to their needs,” said Heiko Schmidgall, an orthopedic technician and sales manager who has worked with Ortema for more than 20 years. “Hockey has different needs than football or American football, for instance.”
If players get injured during an Ice Hockey World Championship, they can count on Ortema to help them return to action safely. Knee braces are a specialty. Ortema scans the leg to create a 3D model of a player’s knee and can get a carbon knee brace ready to go within a day. As the Austrian press reported, defenceman David Reinbacher took advantage of that service at this tournament.
Plastic finger braces and splints can be made even more quickly to help injured players with their puckhandling. A famous example is Jaromir Jagr during the 2005 Ice Hockey World Championship in Vienna. The Czech legend suffered a broken pinkie there, but thanks to Ortema, he was able to keep going, win the gold medal, and join the IIHF’s Triple Gold Club.
Schmidgall’s first Ice Hockey World Championship was in Germany back in 2001. In 2006, Ortema kicked off its partnership with the IIHF WMs.
Schmidgall has put in a lot of long hours at IIHF tournaments, including this year with Ortema general manager Ruediger Loy. There is also a two-person Ortema team on-site in Riga.
“In a typical Ice Hockey World Championship day, we’re here from 8:30 am to 11 pm,” Schmidgall said. “We see the officials and the teams going on the ice. The physiotherapists and trainers come by: ‘We have an injured player. I need something, say, for an ankle or a foot.’ We make special socks for lace bites, customized so you don’t aggravate a blister. They’re very popular. It’s probably the busiest about three or four days in when there are lots of games and everyone knows where our office is.”
While medical treatment is naturally confidential, just a few players who have spoken about their beneficial experiences with Ortema products include Austria’s Thomas Raffl, Sweden’s Dennis Everberg, and Germany’s Tim Stutzle and Moritz Seider. German captain Moritz Muller even made an Instagram post where he credited Ortema with prolonging his hockey career.
From individualized skate in-soles to back protectors, you can find whatever gear you need in the Ortema office, a busy space awash in boxes, bandages, brochures, pens, and promotional posters.
The work for the Ortema team, naturally, doesn’t end when the Ice Hockey World Championship does.
“We want to keep developing new products to help players with their needs,” said Schmidgall. “For example, we’re developing new core shorts and power shorts to give them more support. And we’re always innovating with ways to make our signature knee braces lighter.”
“We want to help all injured players get back on the ice as quickly as possible and have success,” added Loy. “That is the bottom line.”
Ortema roadtests its hockey products with SC Bietigheim-Bissingen (Bietigheim Steelers) and also enjoys collaborations with the German Ice Hockey Federation (Deutscher Eishockey-Bund) and Adler Mannheim. But there’s more to the company than hockey. They also create products for sports as diverse as football, American football, motocross, and Alpine skiing.
“And we make a lot of products for the general public,” said Schmidgall. “For example, people who have arthritis or older people with knee problems can come to Ortema.”
The clock is ticking down toward the final moments of the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, Finland – Latvia. But right to the end, Ortema will be there to help players keep safe and perform at the highest level.