Topping-Out Ceremony for the Otto Bock Science Center Medical Technology in Berlin Mitte

Six months ago, the foundation stone was laid for the Otto Bock Science Center Medical Technology in Berlin’s Ebertstrasse. On Friday, October 10th, 2008, the topping-out ceremony will be hosted by the builder-owner ORCO Germany and the Center’s future operator, Otto Bock GmbH.

In keeping with the fall weather, the guests will be welcomed at their arrival with mulled wine and punch. Rainer Bormann (CEO of ORCO Germany) and Professor Hans Georg Näder (chairman and CEO of Otto Bock HealthCare) will thank the construction workers. As it is tradition, their foreman Guido Raschke will read a poem wishing the building and its inhabitants well. After the topping-out wreath has been raised, all of the guests are invited to enjoy the “Richtschmaus” reception with food and drink and celebration.

The new building located on an 850 m² site is being constructed according to the design by the Berlin architectural firm of Gnädinger Architekten. Its façade is modeled on the structure of muscle fibers. Beginning in the spring of 2009, the Science Center Medical Technology will be open to the public. Its interactive exhibition will be geared to interested laypeople, who will experience first-hand how exciting medical technology can be by understanding the fascinating processes behind their own physical mobility. Otto Bock partnered with the renowned Berlin agency ART+COM in designing the exhibition.

ORCO Germany
ORCO Germany S.A. is a real estate company, registered in Luxembourg, and listed in the Prime Standard on the Regulated Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The ORCO Germany group, which operates under the uniform registered trademark ORCO Germany, has been pursuing its activities in Germany since 2004 and concentrates on commercial properties, as well as, on asset management and project development. ORCO Germany currently employs about 210 staff members in Germany.
In 2006, ORCO Germany strategically reinforced its project development operations by acquiring Viterra Development. Viterra Development was renamed ORCO Projektentwicklung GmbH at the beginning of 2008 and is one of the leading project developers and investors specializing in commercial and residential properties in the core German markets of Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich. ORCO Germany expanded its portfolio of properties in Berlin in June of 2007 by taking over
Gewerbesiedlungs-Gesellschaft mbH (GSG); the company now manages more than 1 million square meters of developed and undeveloped areas in the German capital. GSG was established in 1965 and is the largest owner of commercial space in Berlin with about 850,000 square meters of office and multifunctional space. ORCO-GSG owns 45 so-called commercial courtyards and centers, as well as, 235 residential units. Most of the properties are located in the city center with excellent connections to the Berlin public transportation network. Orco Germany S.A. is a subsidiary of Orco Property Group, one of the leading Central European real estate firms holding a portfolio worth EUR 2,7 billion (as evaluated on June 30th, 2008). Established in 1991, the company has its registered seat in Luxembourg and is listed on the Euronext, Prague, Budapest and Warsaw stock exchanges. It operates primarily in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Croatia, the Slovak Republic and Germany.
By switching from the Open Market, where ORCO Germany S.A. had been listed since 2006,to the Regulated Market (Prime Standard) in November of 2007, ORCO Germany has demonstrated that it is implementing a capital market strategy consistent with its rapid operating growth of recent years. By meeting the most exacting standards of transparency in place at the German Stock Exchange, ORCO Germany S.A. has improved its accessibility to capital market players even further.

Otto Bock HealthCare
Otto Bock HealthCare is the flagship of the Otto Bock group of companies. Technology for people, the highest quality standards and the proximity to our customers all over the world form the foundations for the growth that the MedTech Company has been enjoying. The exceptional products of Otto Bock have set new benchmarks in the care for people with limited mobility, giving them new vitality. As the first leg prosthesis system fully controlled by a micro-processor, the C-Leg® offers above-knee amputees the highest possible security and mobility. A particularly fascinating result of the research and development under way at Otto Bock is the first neurally controlled (thought-powered) arm prosthesis. Otto Bock presented the prototype in 2007 in Vienna. The nerves previously in charge of moving the healthy arm are used to transfer signals from the brain to the prosthesis, which is thus controlled intuitively and directly. – Never before has a prosthesis been so closely modeled on nature.
The objective of restoring mobility to people and protecting those functions that are still intact informs the entire product range offered by Otto Bock HealthCare. This covers two fields: Orthobionics®, providing prosthetic and orthotic solutions, and Bionicmobility®. This is comprised of; on the one hand, the Mobility Solutions offered by a broad range of electrically and manually operated wheel chairs, and neuro-stimulation on the other. As a global company, Otto Bock exports its products into more than 140 countries of the world. The network in 38 countries is one aspect reinforcing our strong brand image, and it is how we ensure our proximity to clients.
The competence and experience of the Otto Bock orthopedic technicians are of particular importance for the Paralympics, which are the focus of the group’s international sports sponsoring. It all began at the 1988 summer games in Seoul, and Otto Bock has since continually expanded its commitment to the Paralympics. The company was represented by 136 experts at the Paralympics in Peking where it managed the technical services for 4.000 athletes from all around the world. Through its co-operations with the International Paralympics Committee, Otto Bock HealthCare has been an official member of the Paralympics family since 2005.

Contact ORCO Germany
Sabrina Eilers
Head of Marketing & Communications ORCO Germany
Kurfürstendamm 103/104
10711 Berlin
T: (030) 440 123 190
F: (030) 440 123 299
M: (0170) 768 8802
E: seilers@orcogroup.com
http://www.orcogermany.de/

Contact Otto Bock
Joachim F. Hamacher
Leitung Unternehmenskommunikation/Unternehmenssprecher
Otto Bock HealthCare GmbH
Max-Näder-Str. 15
37115 Duderstadt
T: (05527) 848-1239
F: (05527) 848-3360
E: joachim.hamacher@ottobock.de
http://www.ottobock.de/