We Make the
Best Braces in the World
and Run a
Company We Can Be Proud Of
California Medical Products is established in Long Beach, CA. To meet the US Army’s need for better emergency neck brace, Geof Garth brings to market the first Stifneck™ Extrication Collar.
Dan Williamson joins California Medical Products. Over one million Stifneck™ collars are sold and the company is acquired by Laerdal Medical.
International Healthcare Devices is formed and the Aspen® Cervical Collar is introduced, providing long-term motion restriction while minimizing the incidence of skin breakdown.
Fiji Enterprises, a development and contract manufacturing company is established to assemble the Stifneck™ and Aspen® Collar as well as new product introductions including the Headbed™, V-Vac™, and Aspen® CTO.
Aspen Medical Products is formed, merging Fiji Manufacturing and International Healthcare Devices. Aspen launches the first off-the-shelf lumbar braces to be clinically tested and shown to equal the motion restriction of custom braces: the Aspen® LSO, Aspen® LSO LoPro and the Aspen® TLSO.
Aspen headquarters moves to Irvine, CA. The Aspen® Pediatric Collar is redesigned and two smaller infant collars are added. The QuikDraw™ PRO is introduced and quickly grows to be one of Aspen’s most successful new products. Aspen expands QuikDraw into a line by introducing the Contour™ Bracing System.
Aspen introduces the Vista® Cervical Collar, the first one-sized adjustable long-term collar. The Vista® Collar will go on to become the standard of care among U.S. Trauma Centers nationwide.
Aspen introduces the Summit™ Line and immediately becomes Aspen’s most successful new product launch to date. Aspen also introduces the Vista® CTO and Evergreen® Line.
Aspen introduces the Vista® Lower Spine line, a fully adjustable design allowing one size to fit the majority of patients. The Horizon™ Line is also introduced and immediately becomes Aspen’s most successful new product.
Aspen introduces the Vista® MultiPost and Vista® CTO4. Aspen also introduces the Peak Scoliosis Bracing System™, the first product specifically developed for adult patients with scoliosis to help bring them into a more neutral alignment.
Aspen introduces the Vista® MultiPost Therapy Collar offering a compression bladder that helps achieve cervical neutral.
Aspen expands globally, opening its first international headquarters in Griesheim, Germany servicing Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Aspen also opens East Coast and European distribution centers.
Aspen Elite™ line featuring the newly developed UltraKnit™ technology is introduced as the first product designed specifically for the international market.
Customer Commitment
Innovations are at the heart of the Aspen experience. We listen to our customers to understand the problem, apply creative thinking then get to work. Whether it’s helping to resolve skin breakdown issues through transformative cervical collar design, showing practitioners how to increase efficiency with adjustable products or tackling new issues like posture alignment and adult scoliosis. Aspen is committed to delivering the best possible products that help improve lives.
Company Commitment
We have a mission to develop industry-leading products and provide the support to deliver the best patient and business outcomes, while running a company that we can be proud of. We pride ourselves on serving and leading the industry with products that make a real difference in people’s lives. We are a team of originals who are inspired by doing things worth doing. Not satisfied with good enough, we continually look at old problems with fresh eyes, innovating our way to better patient outcomes.
Believing the opportunity at Aspen MP is to evolve the existing and past successes of the organization to a new level of accomplishment, Jim is committed to continuing the Aspen MP track record of developing innovative products that help transform the lives of people in recovery, pain management and returning to normal levels of activity. All this while continuing to focus on meeting the needs of the customer and maintaining the award winning culture that Aspen MP has become known for enjoying.
Married to his college sweetheart, Susan, Jim is the father of two sons. A strong advocate of college athletics, Jim is also a fan of professional sports, including being an avid Dodger and Laker supporter. A wine connoisseur of note, in his spare time Jim is also a golfer and enjoys mountain hiking. Actively involved in his church, Jim also devotes his time serving as a mentor of young professional talent aiding in their growth and development. Additionally, Jim serves on two corporate boards, Banner Industries, a leading provider of metal bar products to the medical and industrial markets, and Marrow Access Technologies a provider of novel devices for cartilage defects.
Kathryn received degrees from the University of Heidelberg and University of Maryland and attended law school at Boston University. She is a frequent topical Leadership, Organizational Development and Personal Development speaker to a wide range of regional and national organizations. An avid horsewoman, terrible golfer and weekend home chef, Kathryn is married to a high school buddy and has two daughters with matching son-in-laws, and four grandchildren.
An Aspen MP employee since 1996, John has held a variety of positions with the company ranging from Project Manager to R&D, IT leader, and most recently prior to his current position, Vice President of Operations. A key supporter of Aspen MP’s original charitable recipient, Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), John is responsible for procuring, assisting with training, and supporting the athletes that make up the teams that Aspen fields for the Aspen Medical Products San Diego Triathlon Challenge each October.
A graduate with honors of the Industrial Design Program at the University of Cincinnati, John is an avowed outdoorsman, having completed a 120-mile backpacking trip with his wife and youngest son. He has also participated in the CAF San Francisco to San Diego bike challenge to raise funds and awareness for CAF. Married to his college sweetheart and the father of two college age sons, John is also a member of a Visage Key Executive Group.
A Canadian by birth, who swears he no longer says “eh”, Scott holds a Bachelors in Economics from Colorado College and an MBA from the Anderson School of Business at UCLA. A former Division 1 college hockey player, current soccer coach and soccer referee when time permits, Scott is also an avid golfer. Scott and his wife have a son in high school and a daughter attending college.
A natural sales person, Tom quickly was drawn into sales at Aspen and for twenty years, in progressively more responsible positions, directed the sales force. Under Tom’s leadership, Aspen grew and developed both direct and distributor sales, securing double digit sales growth for the company. With his knowledge of the industry, markets and patient needs, Tom became the company’s leader in Marketing and Business Development in 2017. Under Tom’s guidance, the company will be expanding into new opportunities as Aspen MP continues its expansion and growth trajectory.
A graduate of Loyola Marymount University, Tom holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science. A gifted musician, Tom’s talent with guitar and harmonica puts he and his band in high demand throughout the area. An avid golfer and gifted story teller, which sometimes go hand-in-hand, Tom and his physical therapist wife have two sons and a daughter.
After several years in practice as an Prosthetist - Orthotist, Duane spent several years as a professor of Prosthetics and Orthotics at the University of Texas. During his tenure at the UT Southwestern Medical Center, Duane was instrumental in developing Orthotic and Prosthetic curriculum for the department, eventually launching Prosthetic courses online. With a knack for innovation, he gravitated towards research and development and joined Össur Americas. Duane took on increasingly more responsible positions within that organization until he led R&D and ultimately became Director of New Technology Orthopedics. It was from this position that he came to Aspen Medical Products as the leader of the R&D group.
A self-described “tinkerer” Duane spends much of his free time thinking of futuristic orthopedic product opportunities and out-of-the-box ideas. Married to Patti, they have one daughter who is married and living in the Las Vegas, Nevada area. A licensed pilot, drummer and coffee connoisseur, Duane has a single engine plane to soar on weekends.
Dave has developed partnerships and key distributor relationships on every continent for Aspen Medical Products and was instrumental in opening our first direct sales office outside the United States in Griesheim, Germany. Dave also was critical to the recent acquisition of Promedics, a leading soft goods manufacturer in the UK that Aspen Medical Products bought in early 2020. Leading the international sales and marketing team, Dave continues to expand and grow Aspen MP’s world-wide network.
A graduate of Pepperdine University with a degree in Business Administration, Dave is a native Californian married to Liz and the father of three young children. An avid outdoorsman, Dave hunts elk in the west, ocean fishes via free diving and is a former Jiu Jitsu fighter. With his family in tow, Dave also enjoys camping and fishing in the great outdoors in their RV.