Myd'l: Diverse, innovative and individual – ramps for all occasions

Shopping – especially in city centers – can quickly turn from pleasure to frustration. Namely, when stores are only accessible via one or more steps and a ramp is missing. Often, in existing buildings, historic preservation is used as an excuse to make improvements. The French company Myd'l has a solution ready for every barrier in terms of accessibility – whether private or business. Successfully active in international business for 22 years, the manufacturer now also offers its products in Germany – customized, aesthetic and one hundred percent accessible.

REHACARE.com spoke with Benjamin Dupuis, Sales Manager Myd'l Germany, about inclusion, safety and barriers of all kinds.

What is the biggest (argumentative) barrier you encounter with potential customers when it comes to accessibility and ramps?

Benjamin Dupuis: Despite Myd'l's 22 years of experience in France, our ramps are new to the German market and the company's challenge is to publicize these unique products and their considerable advantages over other accessibility solutions. To this end, Myd'l is helped by the very positive feedback from the commissioners for people with disabilities and housing consultants who have had the opportunity to see and test the ramps. In addition, the success of the first installations and the praise they have received from customers and people in charge of disability issues will make the benefits of Myd'l's solutions even better known.

Myd'l has several designs on offer. What makes your products unique?

Dupuis: The variety of ramps offered by Myd'l makes it possible to adapt to almost any possible configuration, which often makes other solutions obsolete. Myd'l can thus offer a solution adapted to a pavement that is too narrow or too steep, an irregular step or a need for aesthetic discretion. The mode of operation also makes it possible to adapt to the customer's needs and budget, ranging from a manual ramp to a fully automated ramp. What all these models have in common, however, is that they are patented by Myd'l and therefore unique on the market.

To what extent does feedback from wheelchair users play a role in the development of your wheelchair ramps?

Dupuis: Wheelchair users have been involved in the design of Myd'l ramps from the outset to ensure that these solutions best meet their specific needs. However, Myd'l takes many other factors into account, such as other disabilities (e.g. visual, hearing or mental) or the specific needs of other user groups: parents with children, delivery professionals, senior citizens. The feedback received by Myd'l illustrates this broad inclusion: Myd'l ramps satisfy users, owners and shop managers while respecting the need for safety and aesthetics in public spaces.

You work with many international companies – now also in Germany. Would you say that people with disabilities are also being discovered or more intensively perceived as a customer group in retail?

Dupuis: At Myd'l, we believe that accessibility benefits not just a particular group of people, but the entire population. Inclusion is the watchword. This is why Myd'l takes into account many of society's aspirations in the design of its products: the inclusion of people with disabilities, the protection of historic buildings, safety... Myd'l ramps are easy to use, discreet, safe, adapted to the needs of everyone, whatever their situation. The patenting of the ramps ensures the uniqueness and therefore the quality of the ramps, as Myd'l has control over their design, manufacture and installation.

As a company, would you want something like 100 percent accessibility, or do you think that's even possible?

Dupuis: As far as new buildings are concerned, "100 percent accessible" is already required (DIN norm 18040-1). The big challenge is for existing buildings, whose design did not take these needs into account. At Myd’l, we are convinced that there is a solution for the vast majority of barriers in these buildings, and that our experience and adaptation will further strengthen our ability to remove barriers.