Aquila Corporation Company Story

In 1999, Paul Kohlman became ill resulting in paralysis from the waist down.  He was prescribed a popular, multi-cell, static air cushion for use in his wheelchair.  After only a few weeks of using this cushion, the cushion failed and became completely deflated.  Unfortunately for Paul, because he had no feeling below the waist, he didn’t know the cushion had gone flat.

The resulting damage to Paul’s skin was a Stage IV pressure sore in his ischial area.  The sore required two flap surgeries to be repaired and several weeks in bed to allow for healing time.  If the cushion would have had a low pressure warning device, Paul would have been alerted to the cushion being flat and most likely could have avoided the expensive surgery and associated restrictive sitting time needed to heal the sore.

It was common knowledge that one of the primary causes of pressure sores for wheelchair users was periods of prolonged sitting time without pressure relief.  While there were many different types of wheelchair cushions on the market, there were none with a low-pressure warning device.  To Steve Kohlman, Paul’s son, it was obvious that his father needed a more effective and a safer cushion option.

Steve decided to try and design a cushion for his father that would provide improved pressure relief and also create a warning system should the cushion fail.  After several months of trial and error, the result was the design of an alternating pressure cushion with a built in low-pressure audio and visual alarm.  Steve named the cushion the Airpulse PK in honor of his father Paul Kohlman.

Paul used the Airpulse PK cushion and experienced no further problems with pressure sores.  Steve saw an opportunity to help many more wheelchair users with his new design and left his job as an account executive for FedEx to start Aquila Corporation. 

The Airpulse PK has been modified many times since that first model built by Steve for his dad back in 1999, but always with the goal of making it the most effective cushion option for those at the highest risk of pressure sores.  Over the past eleven years, Aquila has made over 2,400 cushion systems benefiting wheelchair users worldwide.  Every cushion system produced is still customized for each client’s needs, just like the very first cushion was for Paul Kohlman.

“Our company remains dedicated to providing the most effective therapeutic seating devices for wheelchair users. We are constantly improving our cushion systems and inventing new options to meet our client’s needs, because we care”.

Steve Kohlman
President