Widex
{{Short description|Danish hearing aid manufacturer}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Widex A/S
| logo = Widex logo.png
| logo_size = 220px
| type = Family-owned Aktieselskab
| traded_as =
| foundation = 1956
| key_people = Jan Makela(CEO)
| industry = Health care
| products = Hearing aids
| revenue =
| operating_income =
| assets =
| num_employees = 3,800 (2014){{cite web|url=http://www.widex.com/en/aboutwidex/facts/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201072216/http://widex.com/en/AboutWidex/Facts|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 1, 2010|title=Facts=English|publisher=Widex|accessdate=2013-04-10}}
| subsid =
| homepage = [http://www.widex.com www.widex.com]
}}
Widex A/S is the world’s sixth largest hearing aid manufacturer. In close collaboration with international audiological researchers and specialists, the company has developed a wide range of digital hearing aids. They introduced the world's first commercially available 100% digital in-the-ear hearing aid in 1995 based on the research model developed by Oticon that same year.{{Cite web|url=http://beckerexhibits.wustl.edu/did/timeline/|title=Hearing Device Timeline|website=beckerexhibits.wustl.edu|access-date=2019-02-04}}
The Danish company{{cite news |title=Noisy Newcastle tops league table |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/6320799.stm |access-date=24 April 2021 |publisher=BBC News |date=2 February 2021}} was founded in 1956 by the Tøpholm and Westermann families, and is still owned by the relatives of the company’s original founders. The CEO of Widex is Jan Makela, who was appointed in July 2024. Widex hearing aids are sold in almost 100 countries and the company employs approximately 3,800 people around the world.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021|reason=previous link went to Italian ecommerce page}}
Widex’s new headquarters are located in Allerød Municipality, Denmark, north of Copenhagen. The new headquarters use groundwater for cooling in the summer and heating in the winter. Widex also placed an energy-generating wind turbine beside the building.
In 2018, Widex and Sivantos (which owns Signia, Rexton, TruHearing, Audibene, HearUSA and Hear.com) announced an $8B merger, creating the 3rd largest hearing conglomerate in the world.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sivantos-m-a-widex/sivantos-and-widex-in-8-billion-merger-to-create-no3-in-hearing-aids-idUSKCN1IH0KL|title=Sivantos and Widex in $8 billion merger to create No.3 in hearing aids|last=Jacobsen|first=Stine|work=U.S.|access-date=2018-06-19|language=en-US}} Widex also launched its newest product, Widex Evoke, which is the first hearing aid to incorporate machine learning technology.{{Cite web|url=https://forum.hearingtracker.com/t/widex-launches-the-worlds-first-machine-learning-hearing-aid-widex-evoke/35564|title=Widex launches the world's first machine learning hearing aid: Widex EVOKE|website=Hearing Aid Forum - Active Hearing Loss Community|date=18 April 2018 |language=en|access-date=2018-06-19}}
Since March 1, 2019 Widex has been part of WS Audiology, a company formed that day through the combination of Singapore-headquartered former Siemens owned (until 2015) Sivantos with Lynge/Denmark-based Widex.{{cite web |url=https://www.sivantos.com/|title=A new company|website=Sivantos |access-date=24 April 2021}}
In 2020 Widex introduced the smallest (RIC) rechargeable lithium-ion hearing aid on the market: Widex Moment.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021|reason=previous link went to Italian ecommerce page}}
See also
{{Portal|Companies}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.widex.com Official Widex Website]
- [https://www.widex.com/en/service/hearing-test/ Official Widex Online Hearing Test]
- [https://www.widexpro.com/ Widex Pro Website]
{{Authority control}}
Category:Hearing aid manufacturers
Category:Medical technology companies of Denmark
Category:Technology companies based in Copenhagen
Category:Companies based in Allerød Municipality
Category:Danish companies established in 1956
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