Roman Aranin, Inventor, entrepreneur, activist, CEO of the factory for the special equipment for PwDs “Observer”, Kaliningrad
Roman was born in the Saratov region. He is the head of the Kaliningrad public organisation for people with disabilities “Kovcheg” (“Ark”). As a professional pilot and retired military serviceman as well as due to his love for flying machines he was nicknamed the “Plane-Man”.
In 2014 he became one of the winners of the Russian national competition “Social Entrepreneur”.
Mr Aranin founded the first Russian company that makes special equipment for PwDs. Before that, almost all electric wheelchairs, not to mention more sophisticated products, were imported. Indeed, people with disabilities were unable to afford them.
“The decision came by chance,”- recollects Roman in his interview for the magazine “Secrets of the Firm”, – “there was not even a thought to do something for sale!” He was going to the sea in a wheelchair. The descent was steep. And Roman fell, having his nose almost broken. Usually, while a wheelchair is moving, the centre of gravity gets displaced, and the paralyzed person falls, explains Roman.
At first, he ordered a wheelchair for himself from one of the factories in Taiwan. Then, when a video of his hi-tec wheelchair popped up on the Internet, and requests from potential clients began pouring in. That was when he decided to create a new business to manufacture and sell wheelchairs on his own.
It was a completely new theme in Russia, thus he had to start from scratch. According to Aranin, his business depends heavily on the state, which allocates funds to people with disabilities to purchase a wheelchair. With active support from the state, sales increased. The authorities of the Kaliningrad region also support Aranin’s business and social project.
In 2012, along with a few other activists, Aranin started running a social initiative, named “Kovcheg”, a public organisation for people with disabilities, which he is the head of to this day. For 3 years, he has been a member of the general council under the mayor of Kaliningrad.
