MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Winkley Orthotics & Prosthetics
Landmark Care Fifth generation continues a family tradition at 129-year-old facility
T
HE HISTORY OF WINKLEY
Orthotics & Prosthetics added a new chapter in January when the fifth generation of family members took ownership. Alexander Gruman, CO, and his sister, Amalia Gruman Laird, CP, purchased the business from their father, Gregory S. Gruman, CP, who had served as president since 1983. Original Winkley facility
Alexander Gruman, CO, and Amalia Gruman Laird, CP
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JUNE 2017 | O&P ALMANAC
OWNERS: Alexander Gruman, CO, and Amalia Gruman Laird, CP LOCATION: Headquarters in Golden Valley, Minnesota, with seven satellite offices in Minnesota and Wisconsin HISTORY: 129 years
Alex Gruman and Amalia Gruman Laird expect their technological contribution to involve an increasing use of advanced materials and processes in the clinical area. Winkley O&P uses CAD/CAM to design and fabricate devices and has recently adopted 3-D scanning and purchased a seven-axis robotic carver. “Using these tools will help us be able to do more, faster,” says Gruman. Like their father, Gruman and Laird became familiar with the family business at an early age. “We used to do odd jobs here as children,” says Laird. She and her brother both graduated from Century College in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and joined the firm soon after. Headquartered in the Minneapolis suburb of Golden Valley, Winkley O&P has offices in Minneapolis, Coon Rapids, St. Paul, and Redwing, Minnesota, as well as Eau Claire and Rice Lake, Wisconsin. The Golden Valley facility handles the major share of custom fabrication for all of the Minnesota offices, while the Eau Claire site’s fabrication lab serves Rice Lake as well.
The company has about 60 employees, including 28 clinicians. Both Gruman and Laird plan to continue some clinical work as they shift into managerial positions. “Our general manager, Terry Woodman, CO, is retiring in a couple of years, and we are slowly taking over his responsibilities,” says Gruman. “But we still want some clinical interaction. It keeps us in tune with what’s going on, and we both enjoy it. No one wants to sit at a desk all day.” Winkley offers a full line of O&P services for adults and children, including upper- and lower-extremity devices. Laird estimates that orthotics accounts for about two thirds of the company’s business. “We have a sizable diabetic population in the area,” says Gruman, “and we see a large number of stroke and trauma patients as well.” Winkley has such a longstanding reputation that the company has never needed a dedicated marketing director. Gruman has begun to manage the company’s website and social media presence, including accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google, and Yelp. For many family businesses, transferring ownership can be fraught with complications. “It helps to have a good succession plan and good management team in place,” advises Gruman. “We definitely had that here, and the transition has been seamless.” The company’s longevity—it is the oldest privately owned O&P facility in the nation—also has something to do with its mission. “We provide the best quality patient care and products that we can,” says Gruman. “We always try to put the patient first. That’s why we have lasted as long as we have.” Deborah Conn is a contributing writer to O&P Almanac. Reach her at deborahconn@verizon.net.
PHOTOS: Winkley Orthotics & Prosthetics
Winkley O&P was founded in 1888 by Albert Winkley, an amputee who invented the adjustable double-slip socket in 1888, and his partner, Lowell Jepson, who brought marketing expertise to the fledgling business. Winkley returned to horse farming after a few years, and Jepson—Alex and Amalia’s great-great-grandfather—ran the business with his brother from 1892 until 1938. The Winkley brand was well known by then, so the Grumans decided not to change the name of the company. As time passed, successive generations of Grumans took control: Del (A.P.), from 1938 to 1962; Robert, from 1962 to 1983; and Gregory, from 1983 to 2017. “My dad always said that each generation instituted some technological change in the company,” says Alex Gruman. “A.P. introduced carbon paper, Robert brought in dictation machines and photocopiers, and Dad introduced computers to the workplace.”
FACILITY: Winkley Orthotics & Prosthetics
Albert Winkley
By DEBORAH CONN