Award-winning North Wales based manufacturer, Limb-art, designs and manufactures high quality decorative prosthetic leg covers for lower-limb amputees all over the world.
Founded in 2018 by former Paralympian, Mark Williams, Limb-art was born out of a desire to help prosthetic leg users raise their confidence, after Mark experienced self-image issues around his prosthetic leg, which he had had since he was 10 years old. Initially creating one-off designs for himself, a comment from a child in a supermarket on how ‘cool’ his leg looked inspired him to make covers on a bigger scale so they could be accessible to others.
Starting out receiving individual orders through its website, the company went on to
work in partnership with NHS England and NHS Wales, supplying leg covers to amputees in the domestic market, before turning its attention to international opportunities as part of a wider growth strategy. The business began by working with health boards and insurance companies overseas to enable people around the globe to access its products.
Designed for all users of above and below knee prostheses, Limb-art leg covers combine quality materials and construction with cutting edge design and technology to provide robust, affordable and appealing leg covers.
With an estimated 1.5 million people undergoing amputations around the world each year, the demand for prosthetic services is expected to double by 2050.
Exports currently account for a quarter of Limb-art’s trade, with its products currently sold in Australia, the US, and the Netherlands. International sales make up £50,000 a year in revenue and the company is expecting to grow this figure by 25% year on year to reach £100,000 by 2026.
With a focus on growing European sales, the company recently participated in OT World 2024, an international trade show for prosthetics, orthotics, orthopedic footwear technology and technical rehabilitation in Germany, where it met with several potential new distribution partners.
Key to Limb-art’s export success has been support from the Welsh Government, which has included feasibility studies for target markets, such as the US, as well as on-the-ground support to locate potential distributors overseas.
The company plans to access further Welsh Government support to help it secure more business in Europe - a key growth market - including market research, introductions to contacts within target regions, and access to subsidised market visits and trade missions.
Mark Williams, founder and CEO at Limb-art said: “Exports have continued to grow each year since the company was founded and in June this year, we actually sold more prosthetic leg covers internationally than domestically, which was a first for us.
“It’s been incredible seeing how exporting has already completely transformed our revenue streams and we can see how international sales could fuel our growth over the years to come.
“Our exporting journey has not been without its challenges. Paperwork has been a particular difficulty for us when entering new markets as our product is so unique that it doesn’t appear on custom forms. The Welsh Government has been instrumental in making it as easy as possible for us to get our products to our overseas distributors, saving us valuable time and energy.
“The main stand out support for us has been the work that goes on behind the scenes by international trade advisors at the Welsh Government. You’re able to deal with real experts who understand your company and potential customers. The online export training has also been invaluable for us, enabling us to learn how to correctly ship our products, the paperwork involved, the VAT and such; there are so many resources available on the site.”