Rea Wheelchair Timeline

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A wealth of experience

Rea has many years' experience developing and manufacturing wheelchairs. It is now more than 50 years since the first wheelchair was produced in Diö. The evolution of Rea has been a great success, and Europe in particular is a key market for our wheelchairs.

Meeting customer needs

We recently carried out a customer analysis to ensure that our priorities were directly aligned with our customers' needs and that we were developing in the right direction. Results showed that our users really like Rea wheelchairs and particularly appreciate the following characteristics:

High quality
High functionality
Durability and low maintenance

We will continue to integrate these qualities into the future development of our wheelchairs and their associated parts.

The table below shows how we have continually developed the Rea range over the years:


	First Rea wheelchairs A fixed base with upholstered 'ribs' for the seat. The chassis was known as a 'centerfolding' design that offered fold-ability and low rolling resistance. The back was fitted with lumbar support for a good sitting position and a fixed seat base to encourage upright posture. The chair had a shaped seat, so no cushion was necessary. Rea wheelchairs had a very low maintenance requirement and were almost indestructible!
	Rea steel wheelchairs One of the first tubular steel wheelchairs made by Ragnar Sandström. The wheelchair featured a fixed base with upholstered ‘ribs' for the seat. The chassis was known as a ‘centerfolding' design that offered fold-ability and low rolling resistance. The back was fitted with lumbar support for a good sitting position and a fixed seat base to encourage upright posture. The chair had a shaped seat, so no cushion was necessary. Rea wheelchairs had very low maintenance requirements and were almost indestructible!
	Rea 600 (1970-1995) A development of its predecessor. A front-wheel-drive version of the Rea wheelchair, it was produced for users who had difficulty reaching behind, and who required a wheelchair with easy-handling.
	Rea 700 (1970-1995) A wheelchair similar to the Rea 600, but with drive wheels at the rear. Both the Rea 600 and Rea 700 series were equipped with a number of accessories such as adjustable backrest and footrest angles, and both had a degree of body length adjustment.
	The footrest angle adjustment The footrest angle adjustment was a truly pioneering innovation. Ragnar Sandström noticed early on that when the footrest angle was changed, leg angles changed too. He created a number of prototypes and discovered that the footrest angle fulcrum needed to be made higher - resulting in the famous 'pretzel' shape. This design is still in use today on most adjustable angle footrests, both by Rea and its competitors.
	Rea 703 LX (1985 - 2003) This is a Rea 700 with a drive wheel plate. For many years it was primarily sold as a 'Senior Active Wheelchair' in Germany and the Netherlands.
	XLT (1986-2008) Extra Light Titanium. An active wheelchair from Rea with excellent durability and many options for adjustments. XLT was recently developed further and is produced in many different versions.
	Rea Wheeler (1999) A wheelchair for children aged from two to early teens. Because children have such different needs, Wheeler was developed with ease of adaptation high in mind. It has a rich assortment of accessories and many adaptation possibilities, all designed to suit children who require support when sitting.
	Rea Comfort (1992-2007) The first 'Comfort' wheelchair developed by Rea. We were already using DSS ™ (Dual Stability System) which resulted in more stably-tilted wheelchairs and higher fulcrums for back and legs, so that users enjoyed body length adaptability.
	Rea Spirea (1993) A foldable wheelchair developed for refurbishment, with many durable components. Rea Spirea has its most important adaptability alternatives suited to users with good trunk stability. It was followed by Rea Spirea 2 and Rea Spirea 3.
	Rea Adapt (1994-2006) Rea Adapt was developed for the more active user requiring good seated stability and ergonomically-designed support. It is highly compatible with Rea Spirea, and partly with Rea Comfort. This wheelchair marked the beginning of our efforts to develop new wheelchairs that are highly compatible with existing models.
	Rea Assist (1997-2009) Another 'Comfort' wheelchair, Assist was developed for users needing a great deal of support and help. It has a relatively simple design. Body length adaptation is a key feature, and many of the parts fitted to Rea Assist were from Rea Comfort. It has very good seat width adjustability.
	Rea Bellis (1999) "An active Comfort wheelchair" was the motto for this model. It has the same seat system as Rea Assist and Rea Comfort, with excellent adaptation alternatives regarding seat height and drive wheel balance. Developed for the user with a certain degree of mobility.
	Rea Focus (2003) Rea Focus combines the experience gained from the Rea series and a more stable design, with modern requirements for ergonomic sitting postures. It is well suited to users that need an easily-manoeuvrable, stable wheelchair with good sitting support.
	Rea Clematis (2004) This is a 'Comfort' wheelchair with the most basic adaptation alternatives. It is suitable for users who need a tilted seat position to be able to sit upright.
	Rea Azalea (2007) Our latest 'Comfort' model is a combination of Rea Assist and Rea Comfort, to which we have added a lot of new technology. This model is now used in the development of a number of versions such as Rea Azalea Tall, Rea Azalea Minor and Rea Azalea Base, and future models like Rea Azalea Max and other Rea Azalea versions. Rea Azalea's objective is to provide a 'Comfort' wheelchair based on the DSS ™ (Dual Stability System), and which meets most user requirements.

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