Tucked away off the Princes Highway at Nowra is a business you might not even be aware of.
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A business that is bringing mobility back to people who have in some cases suffered horrific injuries.
And while he provides prosthetics to some high profile people, prosthetist and orthotist, Jens Baufeldt, who runs X-tremity Prosthetics and Orthotics, has an incredible story of his own.
Originally from Namibia in Africa, he saw the impact of a civil war in neighbouring Angola, where a number of people lost limbs in the fighting.
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"There were a lot of land mines and people losing limbs," Jens said.
"I had limb deficiency in and around me all of my upbringing. I was aware of it.
I saw the impact of a civil war in neighbouring Angola. There were a lot of land mines and people losing limbs in the fighting.I had limb deficiency in and around me all of my upbringing. I was aware of it.
- Jens Baufeldt, of X-tremity Prosthetics and Orthotics
"Many people might grow up and go through their life and maybe see one prosthetic leg ever and happily die.
"I was seeing it all my life and was very exposed to it.
"At one stage, I met someone who was making them and was in the profession and from that moment onwards I knew I wanted to finish my schooling and do that."
That was over 11 years ago.
"He was a retired professional who came to Namibia and stayed with our family in our granny flat," he said.
"He told me what he was doing, an interest was sparked and I just knew I wanted to go into that and be an engineer."
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Upon finishing school Jens, now 35, ventured to Germany to follow his dream and studied prosthetics and orthotics.
"In Germany, prosthetics and orthotics are seen as engineering, while here in Australia it's seen as medical," he said.
"A lot of things don't really correlate with the Aussie way of studying. There are a lot of mismatches in our ideas and our approaches to how things are done.
"Aussies do it very differently. But because we do it so differently is why I hold such a strong validity in the industry because I bring such a different aspect to the table.
"I learnt how to make all these prosthetics myself and I can now train my own staff.
"The industry here is heavily reliant on people to build their devices because that's not what they get taught. In Germany, you get taught how to build the device, fit the device and the clinical side of things.
"Here it is just clinical.
"There is no one who could just open this business and be self-sufficient - but I could.
"I can go to Bunnings, buy a few tools, order a few materials online and build prosthetic legs the next day.
"I got offered a job by a German company in Australia doing a military contract for prosthetics.
"Eventually they sent me down here to Nowra and I worked at the prosthetic clinic in Plunkett Street."
He did that for nearly two years before starting his own company locally.
That was three years ago, and although admitting the first "half a year was tough" the next two years have been "good".
"There is competition in Unanderra, Canberra and the other outlet in Nowra and a couple in Sydney," he said.
In some cases, we give people their freedom back - that is very special but it is also just part of the job.
- Jens Baufeldt, of X-tremity Prosthetics and Orthotics
"While some make their own prosthetics, they are big teams, multi-million dollar companies with very established clinicians and technicians who work together."
Jens and his small team are now even manufacturing prosthetics for some companies in New Zealand, northern NSW and Newcastle.
And while competing against big companies is a "challenge" Jens said there is a shortage of services on the South Coast.
"Really the area is underserviced from here to the Victorian border," he said.
"Patients are used to travelling to Canberra for a government-based facility, I saw a huge gap and filled it."
That move has paid off with at one stage Jens having up to seven staff.
"We are back to about three or four now," he said.
"There is a demand in the Shoalhaven for such services. I could close my books now and live off the customers I have and I haven't fitted everyone I have to fit."
He has 60-70 clients he and his team services.
"The other Nowra business would be the same," he said.
"It is an eye-opener when you realise just how many people in the area need prosthetics."
He said a prosthetic lasts around two to two and a half years before needing to be replaced.
"I have 20 clients who every second year have to have a full refitting of what they have," he said.
"When you walk on it every day they don't last, no matter what warranty they put on it.
"If you have just one of those patients a month that's enough to keep a small team going."
Made out of carbon fibre, laminate and epoxy-resin, Jens now enlists the latest in technology, using 3D body scanners and then 3D printers to ensure the prosthetics are almost millimetre perfect.
"We do a 3D scan of limbs, parts of limbs and then do digital rectification if needed," he said.
"It's not plaster orientated where you do plaster models - it's all digital nowadays. You can say and take a 3mm reduction here, 2mm there and 6mm there and the model is finished and I know it's exactly perfect.
"Before I had to do that in plaster - it's good but you have to have a lot of experience.
"With the digital, the precision is spot on. Then it's just a matter of saving the model in the computer."
In an Australian first, Jens has adapted a toy-making software device to be able to create and mould his models and eventually prosthetics.
My oldest patient is 93 and the youngest amputee is in their teens, while I also work with two and three-year-olds.
- Jens Baufeldt, of X-tremity Prosthetics and Orthotics
"I'm the only one in Australia doing this," he said.
"Using a pencil-like device on an adjustable arm, when you touch the model on the screen, you can actually feel the model as a solid object, as if it were a plaster model.
"This is used to make figurines, mannequins and toys - an open software for making these figures. I bought the software suite and tools and adapted them to what I need. Now others in the US are doing the same.
"If in three months the patient might develop a pressure spot - we can look why there could be one, do a few modifications in the computer and print out a new prosthetic for them to trial.
"There is a quick turnaround, the team doesn't have to be as big as there is less technical work to do."
He said it is also an advantage as in time people's bodies change.
"Fat layers get reduced, muscle petrifies and there is a constant change in reduction until most muscle in the stump transfers into harder tissue," he said.
"It becomes connective tissue rather than muscle."
He said technology is coming so far that he believes in time he will be able to use his mobile phone to take the initial photos and scans.
"The latest iPhone is so precise and only costs around $2000, which is a big difference to the middle of the road laser scanner which goes for between $20,000-$30,000."
He works with a number of high profile international clients to provide prosthetics.
Australian paracanoeist Curtis McGrath, who took up canoeing competitively after having both of his legs amputated as a result of a mine blast while serving in the Australian Army in Afghanistan, and has gone on to win 10 gold medals at ICF Paracanoe World Championships
Private Paul Warren lost his right leg above the knee after an improvised explosive device went off next to him while serving in Iraq.
Former Commando Damien Thomlinson lost both legs and was lucky to survive after driving over an improvised Taliban bomb in Afghanistan while serving with the 2nd Commando Regiment.
Navy clearance diver Paul de Gelder lost an arm and leg after being attack by a bull shark during a counter-terrorism exercise in Sydney Harbour.
And then there is world champ amputee golfer Shane Luke, who lost his right leg to bone cancer at aged 15. Jens also builds his legs.
"I see a good group of retired commandos, some with very recent injuries," he said.
"My oldest patient is 93 and the youngest amputee is in their teens, while I also work with two and three-year-olds."
As well as making limb prosthetics, Jens and his team also produce a range of other health aids, like braces for stroke victims, or for children who might suffer foot deformities etc.
"We like to do colourful work, we are probably the most colourful in our profession and the kids really love that," he said.
"And being able to put cool designs on them.
"Being able to do both the high-end prosthetics or basic orthotics is what differentiates us from other businesses and companies who often just concentrate on one or the other.
It's satisfying to make someone mobile again or make a difference in their life.
- Jens Baufeldt, of X-tremity Prosthetics and Orthotics
"Because we can offer those services we have an established name for ourselves and we are getting more and more referrals - people are coming back for second fittings and refittings."
He said it was "satisfying " to make someone "mobile again" or "making a difference in their life".
"It is so great when you see them come in and the difference you can make when they go out," he said.
"In some cases, we give people their freedom back - that is very special but it is also just part of the job.
"A bit like someone putting wheels on a car. There would be joy in that as well.
"It is a special occupation.
"And we are competing with some of the big guns in the industry.
"The difference is I really like what I do and I own the business.
"Even if a job goes into the red we still make an effort to make it work.
"We come across problems like all businesses do but we try and make them work.
"The best thing is that my staff and I live here so the money stays in our community."
Being able to do both the high-end prosthetics or basic orthotics is what differentiates us from other businesses and companies who often just concentrate on one or the other.
- Jens Baufeldt, of X-tremity Prosthetics and Orthotics
Also on this incredible journey are Aaron Neary and Owen Smith.
Owen, who is workshop manager, joined the company after spending almost 20 years in the air force where he was a life support fitter, working with aircrew helmets, masks, G suits and safety and survival equipment, life rafts and ejection seats.
"I was doing a lot of 3D printing and modelling as a hobby, my wife is a physio and knew Jens and I started doing a bit of work and here we are," he said.
"I do all the 3D printing of the models. Now make all sorts of things."
"There is no official training but we bounce off each other. A lot you make us as you go and use your experience from other jobs and find your way," Jens said
Aaron, originally from Dapto and now living at Minnamurra has really taken to the industry.
"He's just 24 and has no real experience in the industry but he has become a vital part of our business," Jens said.
"As a prosthetic technician he has a real handle on everything we do and is able to take our ideas and develop them.
"He has a great willingness to be able to adapt and come up with solutions to problems."