This July marks 34 years since Robert Tillges opened the doors to Tillges Orthotics & Prosthetics. What started as one practitioner's commitment to better patient care in the Twin Cities has grown into a team that serves people across Minnesota and Wisconsin, all while holding onto the same idea it began with: you're not just a patient, you're a partner.
How did Tillges begin?
Robert founded the practice in July 1992. The goal then was the same one that guides the team now, which is to give each person we serve the highest-quality custom devices and the kind of attention that treats mobility as personal, not transactional.
Three-plus decades later, that founding principle still shows up in the small things. Same-day castings. On-site fabrication. A practitioner and a technician working together and with you to achieve the best end result. The work has scaled, but the standard hasn't moved.
What does "Partners for Life" mean?
It's the tagline, but it's meant literally. A prosthetic or orthotic device isn't a one-time purchase. Bodies change, goals change, and life keeps moving, and the team at Tillges is here to continue to be your partner for life through all of those changes.
For many of the people Tillges serves, that relationship spans years:
- First fittings and the learning curve that comes with them
- Adjustments as needs and activity levels shift
- New technology as it becomes available
- The everyday check-ins that keep a device working the way it should
Partners for life means the team is there for you through it all, not just the first appointment.
A family business, in more ways than one
Tillges is a family name on the door and throughout the building. Alongside Robert, the practice includes Michael, Steve, David, and Thomas Tillges, each contributing to the clinical and operational side of the business.
But the family extends past the surname. Over 34 years, the team has built a network of staff, patients, referring physicians, therapists, and partners who keep coming back, and who send friends and neighbors their way. That word-of-mouth trust is the quiet measure of three decades done right.
Thank you for 34 years
None of this happens without the people who chose Tillges, and who keep choosing it. To every patient who has trusted our team with their mobility, every physician and therapist who referred a patient, and every family member who showed up to appointments: thank you. You have built this alongside us.
What's next for Tillges?
The next chapter looks a lot like the last one, with better tools. The team keeps investing in fabrication technology and clinical training while protecting the part that never gets automated, which is the relationship. Here's to the years ahead, and to staying Partners for Life.