Invental Comfort LLC is a Russian private engineering company founded in 2010 by entrepreneurs Alexei Fomenko and Kirill Ershov. It specializes in the adaptation of buildings and structures for people with limited mobility, people with disabilities and mothers with strollers. Most famous for the I-Rampus trademark, the line of stationary fixed ramps installed in entrances with narrow stairways.
| Invental Comfort | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type of | private company |
| Base | 2010 year |
| Founders | Alexey Fomenko, Kirill Ershov |
| Location |  Russia , Moscow |
| Key figures | Anastasia Krasnikova (CEO) |
| Industry | research and development in the field of natural and technical sciences |
| Site | izobretal.ru |
Content
History
The company was founded in 2010 by graduates of the Moscow State Technical University named after N.E.Bauman Alexei Fomenko and Kirill Ershov, who, while still in their student years, carried out various inventive orders on a fee basis, helping customers solve various technical problems when developing new equipment. Having accumulated start-up capital, they registered a limited liability company “Invental”, created a full-fledged engineering company with a staff of several employees [1] [2] .
The turning point in the work of the company was 2011, when, while working on one of the projects, Fomenko and Ershov found that because of fire safety standards in standard houses with narrow stairwells, it is impossible to install any lifts for the disabled, and this makes such entrances completely unsuitable for people with limited mobility. Together with four other engineers, they decided to design special retractable ramps for such buildings, development was ongoing during the year, about 2 million rubles were spent, as a result, the first prototype of the “I-Ramp” appeared (the letter “I” - from the word “ideal” ) Business development was also facilitated by the victory in the NTTM youth scientific and technical creativity competition and the ensuing grant in the amount of 400 thousand rubles [3] [4] .
The developers presented their invention in 2012 at an exhibition in the Moscow City Hall, where they were noticed by the first deputy mayor of the capital on housing and communal services and improvement Peter Biryukov . As Fomenko noted, “after success at the exhibition, there was a line of people who wanted to invest in the company. But we needed not a money bag, but a man who knew the housing and communal services market. ” The company did not disclose the name of the investor who invested 9 million rubles in the startup , but according to some publications, it is businessman Andrei German, who received a 49.94% stake in a separate legal entity, Invental Comfort, created specifically for the implementation of I-Rampuses [3] [5] .
The main customers of the ramps were state and municipal organizations implementing the “Accessible Environment” infrastructure adaptation program, sometimes orders came from commercial companies, as well as from HOAs and management companies in homes. Since the start of mass production by the end of 2013, the company's revenue has grown seven-fold, out of 125 Moscow service managers the company used 20. On average, the company produced six ramps per month at a price of 180-200 thousand rubles. By the end of 2014, the company installed about 70 ramps in Moscow, deliveries to Tula and Tyumen took place, management announced plans to promote their products in Latin America and China [3] .
Being one of the most prominent representatives of the Russian social entrepreneurship sphere, Alexey Fomenko participated in the discussion of the Law on Social Entrepreneurship with Alexander Borisov , Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy, leader of the Working Group on improving the legislation of the Russian Federation in the field of social entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship [ 6] .
Activities
The company mainly deals with the sale and installation of I-Rampuses, special devices made of composite anti-vandal materials that facilitate climbing stairs for disabled people, mothers with strollers, senior citizens with trolley bags and other people with limited mobility. Ramps are mounted in the entrances of houses, shops, government offices, factories, warehouses - in any buildings that require free travel on carts and strollers. When folded, the I-Ramp does not occupy the stairs, does not interfere with the movement of people and does not violate fire safety standards, since it is located under the railing or mounted near the wall. The support can be moved or moved apart by pressing a button (in the model with electric drive) or by scrolling the handle (in the model with mechanical drive). It is possible to adjust the distance between the supports, which allows you to use the "I-Ramp" for strollers and trolleys with different track widths. To control the ramp in some models, electronic keys or remote controls are used, the use of which eliminates mischief and misuse [7] [8] [9] .
In addition, the company is engaged in the development of secondary projects in the field of radio electronics, mechanical engineering, small energy and production automation, carries out information-analytical and information-retrieval work, provides production with design, technological documentation and other information materials, including the results of computer modeling of the virtual model of the device. To solve various problems, intuitive search methods ( brainstorming , synectics , focal object method ) are used, systematic search methods ( morphological approach , system analysis , Koller method), logical search methods, including the theory of solving inventive problems [10] .
Notes
- ↑ Valery Lyashchenko. A ramp that will suit everyone . Apartment row (August 9, 2011). Date of treatment May 17, 2015.
- ↑ Anastasia Sukhoroslov. The art of breaking down barriers . New Business (November 26, 2014). Date of treatment May 17, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Victoria Charochkina. Inventors of lightness . Kommersant (June 17, 2014). Date of treatment May 17, 2015.
- ↑ Engineering company "Invental" won a grant of NTTM-2011 . Prefecture of VAO Moscow (July 11, 2011). Date of treatment May 17, 2015.
- ↑ Ilya Nosyrev. Investments in ingenuity . Business environment (December 11, 2012). Date accessed May 17, 2015. (unavailable link)
- ↑ Maria Kochetova. Alexander Borisov: The Law on Social Entrepreneurship will give the right to receive state support . Parliamentary newspaper (December 12, 2014). Date of treatment May 17, 2015.
- ↑ Alexander Zyuzyaev, Dmitry Potapenko. Ramps for all occasions. Guest of the program: co-founder of the company “Invental Comfort” Kirill Ershov . Komsomolskaya Pravda (August 29, 2014). Date of treatment May 17, 2015.
- ↑ Oleg Potapov. A city of endless possibilities. In Moscow, the production of sliding ramps gaining momentum . All-Russian site of disabled people (November 30, 2013). Date of treatment May 17, 2015.
- ↑ Yuri Egorov. Innovative ramp . Science and Life (April 12, 2012). Date of treatment May 17, 2015.
- ↑ Techniques . Invental (April 12, 2012). Date of treatment May 17, 2015.
Links
- Invental Comfort - the official website of the company