I really enjoyed this story run on PSB Monday March 5th 2010.  Hotchkiss proves that it’s possible and viable to produce quality, functional products with a small scale manufacturing model.  Additionally, he’s producing repairable and modifiable products that are likely to be in use for at least a lifetime.  According to the NPR story, 50k chairs have been purchased by NGO’s and distributed world wide.

Here is a link to the PBS video.  The Hotchkiss story begins at the 30 minute mark.
http://video.pbs.org/video/1441941479

Here is a link to Whirlwind Wheelchair International’s website.
http://www.whirlwindwheelchair.org/about.htm