1948

– Founding of the company in Hamburg, Germany

1949

– The first surgical instruments from our own production

1950

– The name LINK appears at conventions Exposition at the Ophthalmology Congress, Hamburg University

1953

– Initial company headquarters in Hamburg

1960

- Development of company’s own joint prosthesis systems LINK  becomes a pioneer of modern arthroplasty

1968

- First total hip joint prosthesis, St. George^® Mark I

1969

- St. George^® Sled prosthesis

– St. George^® Intracondylar total knee joint prosthesis, Generation I and II

1970

- St. George^® Finger joint prosthesis

1971

- St. George^® Elbow joint prosthesis

- St. George^® Ankle joint prosthesis 


1973

- LINK expands First company-owned building in Hamburg, Germany

- Total femoral replacement

- Modular system First modular revision system for total femoral replacement 

1975

- Lubinus^® Total hip system Innovative stem design

1977

- St. George^® Mark II Total hip  prosthesis

1978

- Expansion of  production facilities Implementation of modern production plants in Hamburg-Norderstedt on over 6,000 square meters      

- St. George^® Sled prosthesis, Generation II Further development of the model St. George^®   

- SP I^® Total hip prosthesis The first hip prosthesis stem following the natural anatomy  

- Endo-model^® Knee fusion nail The first intramedullary implant for knee treatment  

-  Vario-Cup Prosthesis System                

1979

- SKI^® - Knee joint prosthesis system Successful knee joint surface replacement    

- Screw-in acetabularcup, Type K Cementless spherical threaded cup system  

- Endo-Model^® Rotational knee prosthesis system Rotational and hinged version for primary or revision surgery   

1980

- Waldemar Link receives the seal of the German society of surgery

1981

- Endo-Model^® Saddle prosthesis Unique implant type for major pelvic defects  

- Endo-Model^® Sled prosthesis Bone-sparing unicondylar knee system    

1983

- Endo-Model^® Total ankle prosthesis

- Screw-in acetabular cup, Type V Cementless cup system, developed by Dr. Heiner Thabe, Bad Kreuznach   

1984

- Lubinus^® SPII^® Hip joint prosthesis system First anatomically adapted modular hip stem with the best long-term results in the Swedish hip register   

– Ribbed hip system with teeth Proximally fixed, cementless stem with high elasticity    

- Lubinus^® Reconstruction hip prosthesis Precursor of the MP^® reconstruction stem, later implemented globally  

1985

- Endo-Model^® Rotational knee prosthesis system With anti-luxation device

1986

- Endo-Model^® Mark III Hip prosthesis system Adapted to the knowledge from SPII^®

1987

- T.A.C.K.^® Knee prosthesis system Cementless knee joint system    

- Endo-Model^® Elbow Prosthesis

- McMinn Acetabular reconstruction cup system 

1987 - 2003

- SB Charite Intervertebral disc* Lumbar intervertebral disc prosthesis used clinically worldwide

*Patent and trademark rights are the intellectual property of DePuy Spine, Inc.

1988

– Endo-Model^® Total knee joint prosthesis with hinge axis

1990-2009

- S.T.A.R.^® Total ankle joint prosthesis* Natural kinematics-maintaining three-component system  

*Patent and trademark rights are the intellectual property of Small Bone Innovations.

- ComForm^® Endosystem Computer-aided production of custom-made prosthesis and anatomic models    

1991

- GEMINI^® Total knee replacement First to take account of female as well as male anatomies

1992

- Endo-Model^® Modular knee prosthesis system Supplement to Endo-Model® knee joint prosthesis, rotational and hinged version

1993

– Ribbed hip prosthesis system without teeth

-  MP^® hip reconstruction prosthesis Cementless – globally successful and pioneering hip revision system 

1994

- DIN ISO 9001 certification

1995

– The first industrial robots are used in production

1996

– Lubinus Classic Plus^® Hip joint prosthesis System Cemented straight stem      

– Endo-Model^® Mark II Shoulder joint prosthesis            

1997

– Expansion of the production facilities To over 12,000 square meters with a new logistics center   

- VACUCAST^® -owned precision foundry In this way LINK  offers uninterrupted quality surveillance from raw material to the finished product       

1998

– C.F.P.^®/T.O.P^® Hip prosthesis system Cementless – neck retention, bioharmonious short stem hip system

1999

- GEMINI^® MK II Modular knee joint prosthesis system Adaptation of knee surface replacement to state-of the-art knowledge    

-  MPH – Modular physiological wrist prosthesis by Thabe Uncoupled or coupled version

2000

- N-VAC^® Sterilization Sterilization technique developed to maintain the material integrity of UHMWPE implants

2001

- MITUS^® - Minimal invasive technique for the unicondylar sled prosthesis        

2001

- HX^® and TiCaP^® coatings Promote infiltration and long-term anchoring of bone into the surface structure of the prostheses

2002

- TOOLBOX^® Implant Service A special “just in time” service for LINK  customers           

- CAS – computer assisted navigation For various prosthesis systems in collaboration with external suppliers       

2003

- Founding of DERU Our own research and development body within the LINK group of companies

2004

– MIT–H^® Minimal invasive surgical technique for hip      

- BetaCone^® Cementless total hip prosthesis system Next generation economic straight stem   

– Endo-Model^® SL^® Rotational and hinged knee prosthesis system Innovative idea for intraoperative flexibility     

2005

- BetaCup^® Acetabular cup system with ceramic/ceramic-compounds New generation cementless press-fit cups

2006

– BoneLINK^® Bone regeneration material Innovation from bone induction surgery   

– MEGASYSTEM-C^® Tumor and revision system New megaprosthesesfor revision and tumor surgery    

2007

– Knee system SL^® Novel knee family concept for the highest flexibility within the SL^® knee system

-  GEMINI^® SL^® Knee surface replacement Further development of the GEMINI^® fixed-bearing knee prosthesis and new instruments       

- Coating for prosthesis allergies Novel titanium nitride (TiN) and titanium-niobium-nitride coatings for allergy patients      

2008

- CAS-System Computer-assisted navigation with personalized workflow    

- BetaCup^® Update Increasing the range of motion (ROM)    

– MIT-K^® Minimally invasive surgical technique – knee For the GEMINI^® SL^® surface replacement    

2009

– Endo-Model^® SL^® Rotational and hinged knee prosthesis system Update new instruments

2010

- Standard hip products Adding to the hip portfolio with customary LINK quality  

- X-LINKed^® Highly crosslinked UHMWPE for acetabular cups and inlays   

- CombiCup SC^® and CombiCup PF^® Press-fit and screw cups for cementless implantation     

– CombiCup R^® Modular, cementless cup for hip joint revision   

2011

– PorEx^® (TiNbN = Titanium niobium nitride) Novel anti-allergenic surface modifications

- HX^® CaP coattings

2012

– GEMINI^® Extrabone instruments

– Improved SPII^® instruments