Integral Orthopedics Inc.,
Debt sinks Obus Forme
Hamilton Spectator
TORONTO (Jul 26, 2008)
Ten years after the inventor of the Obus Forme backrest was slain in his factory's parking lot, his company has been forced into receivership.
Frank Roberts became a business celebrity when he invented the Obus Forme back support in the late 1970s.
He was shot on August 13, 1998, as he pulled into the parking lot of the company's Toronto factory. The homicide remains unsolved.
Nearly 10 years later, Roberts' company, Integral Orthopedics Inc., has been pushed into receivership after piling up roughly $11 million in debt. A court-appointed receiver, RSM Richter Inc., has put the business up for sale and hopes to line up a buyer by the end of next month.
After Roberts died, his son Brian took over the company.