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Demant is a world-leading hearing healthcare and technology group built on a heritage of care, health and innovation since 1904. The Group offers solutions and services to help people connect and communicate with the world around them. For more than a century, the Demant Group has played a vital part in developing innovative technologies and gathering know-how to help improve people’s hearing and health. In every aspect, from providing hearing care to delivering hearing aids, hearing implants and diagnostic equipment and services to hearing care professionals and users all over the world, Demant is active and engaged. And with the Group’s many years of experience with audio and hearing technology, Demant has evolved into a growing business within premium audio and video solutions for enterprises and gaming.

The Demant Group operates in a global market with subsidiaries in more than 30 countries, employs more than 21,000 employees and generates annual revenue of more than DKK 22 billion. Our products are sold in more than 130 countries where we create life-changing differences through hearing health.

 

  • 1904

    Passionate to help his hearing-impaired wife, Hans Demant buys a hearing instrument for her after learning that Queen Alexandra of England, who was Danish by birth, was wearing one at her 1902 coronation. He wins a contract with the American manufacturer General Acoustic Company and sells his first hearing aid in Odense, Denmark.

    queen-alexandra-of-england
  • 1907

    Hans Demant and his family move to Copenhagen where he sells the first Acousticon church hearing aid system, featuring a double microphone and four earpieces.

    hans-demant
  • 1908

    Hans Demant becomes the sole distributor of Acousticon hearing aids for Scandinavia with an order book building up.

    orderbook-hans-demant-acousticon-hearing-aid
  • 1910

    Hans Demant's son, William Demant, takes over the company after his father's death and builds it up along with his mother Camilla. 

    1910-hearing-device
  • 1920

    Recognising a business opportunity, William Demant starts visiting churches in Denmark and gets Acousticon church hearing aid systems installed in several churches around the country.

    acousticon-churc-hearing-aid-systems
  • 1923

    William moves the company to the centre of Copenhagen and starts a licence production of hearing aids. The new hearing aid name Acousticus becomes a registered trademark.

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  • 1929

    William begins to import unassembled hearing aids without wires or batteries. He sets up a production line on Danish soil to assemble the devices.

    production-line-hearing-aids-without-batteries
  • 1938

    Equipped with William Demant's Acousticon Seatphone, Denmark's most modern cinema, Palladium, is inaugurated, allowing hearing-impaired moviegoers to follow the soundtrack from specially modified seats.

    acousticon-seatphone-palladium-1938
  • 1939

    The company now has 15 employees. Loudspeaker systems are installed in Kastrup airport.

    loudspeakers-kastrup-airport-1939
  • 1940

    During World War II (1939-1945), William Demant is unable to import goods from the USA, England and France. He decides to produce components for the latest Acousticon devices in Denmark. He then manufactures the first Danish-made licenced hearing device – the Acousticus – a copy of the original Acousticon model.

    first-danish-made-hearing-device-aucusticus
  • 1946

    William Demant enters into a partnership with American hearing aid producer, Charles Lehman. Together, they establish the American-Danish Oticon Corporation, headquartered in Copenhagen.

    1946 Oticon Corporation
  • 1957

    William and his wife Ida Emilie donate the family's shares in the company to William Demants og Hustru Ida Emilies (Millas) Fond - kaldet Oticon Fonden (William Demant's and wife Ida Emilie's (Milla's) Foundation - called Oticon Foundation). The Foundation's general purpose is charity with particular emphasis on helping people with a hearing impairment. Today, the Oticon Foundation has changed its name to William Demant Foundation, and the Foundation is the main shareholder in Demant A/S holding approx. 55-60% of the shares through the investment company William Demant Invest A/S.

    helping-people-with-hearing-impairment-oticon-foundation
  • 1968

    Bent Simonsen, Henning Mønsted, Torben Nielsen and Bengt Danielsen take over the management of Oticon, with Bent Simonsen as General Manager. Opening of subsidiaries in Norway and Switzerland.

    management-oticon-1968
  • 1973

    The production facilities are expanded by a factory in Denmark and a factory in Scotland.

    production-facilities-scotland-1973
  • 1977

    Eriksholm Research Centre is inaugurated.

    research-centre-eriksholm
  • 1978

    The world's first hearing aid offering the possibility to switch between omni and directional microphones, the Oticon E24V, is launched.

    oticon-e24v-worlds-first-hearing-aid
  • 1983

    Oticon Holding is established.

    oticon-holding-1983
  • 1988

    Lars Kolind is appointed CEO of Oticon.

    lars-kolind-ceo-oticon-1988
  • 1991

    Headquarters move to a new location at Strandvejen. Under the motto "Time to think the unthinkable", new and revolutionary ways of working are introduced across the whole company. With Lars Kolind and, from January 1992, Niels Jacobsen leading the way, Oticon enters a new phase of transformation.

    oticon-headquarter-1991
  • 1995

    1995 becomes a year of major changes: In January, the Group acquires Bernafon – a hearing aid manufacturer based in Switzerland, which is today still a company in the Demant Group. The acquisition also includes the manufacturer of diagnostic equipment Maico, thus laying the foundation for the Group’s diagnostics division. In May, Oticon Holding is listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange.

    william-demant-holding-listed-copenhagen-stock-exchange
  • 1996

    Oticon launches the first fully digital hearing device, DigiFocus. Users can now enjoy fully automatic volume control and immaculate sound quality. 

    oticon-fully-digital-hearing-device-digifocus
  • 1997

    In May, parent company Oticon Holding A/S changes name to William Demant Holding. Also, Phonic Ear is acquired this year. In December, Lars Kolind resigns, Niels Jacobsen is appointed CEO and, from April 1998, takes over and continues driving the company forward to international success.

    1997 Niels Jacobsen
  • 2000

    Interacoustics is acquired. Interacoustics manufactures audiometers and is today an important part of Demant’s Diagnostics business area.

    interacoustic-audiometers-diagnostic-instruments
  • 2003

    Sennheiser Communications A/S is established as a joint venture between German Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG and William Demant Holding A/S.

    2003 Headset
  • 2007

    Oticon launches Epoq, a unique product with wireless binaural capability, revealing more about the nature and origin of sounds than any other solution available.

    oticon-epoq-wireless-binaural-capability
  • 2008

    With the acquisition of Amplivox in 2008 and Grason-Stadler in 2009, Demant's Diagnostics business area solidifies its position as the world's largest supplier of diagnostic equipment.

    demant-holding-supplier-diagnostic-equipment
  • 2009

    Oticon Medical enters the market for bone anchored hearing systems and releases its first products for sale.

    oticon-medical-bone-anchored-hearing-system
  • 2010

    Otix Global is acquired, adding a third hearing aid brand, Sonic, to the Group's portfolio.

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  • 2013

    An important milestone is reached when the Group acquires French Neurelec, thus gaining access to the important hearing implant market.

    neurelec-acquired-hearing-implants
  • 2015

    A majority stake in the French retailer, Audika, is acquired, and the Group launches its own hearing implant, Neuro.

    audika_french-retailer
  • 2016

    Oticon launches Opn™ – a paradigm shift in hearing aid technology. Opn introduces the OpenSound Experience, the world’s first hearing aid with a dual communication system (TwinLink™) and connection to the internet.

    oticon-opn-minirite-c068royalblue-speaker60-opendome
  • 2017

    Søren Nielsen is appointed new CEO of William Demant Holding. Niels Jacobsen, who has steered the company for 25 years steps down and becomes CEO of William Demant Invest A/S.

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  • 2018

    Demant and Sennheiser KG announce an end to their joint venture in headsets. Going forward, the Enterprise Solutions and Gaming segments will make up the Communications business area in the Demant Group. In 2018, Demant and Philips announce that they have entered into a partnership where Demant will bring Philips-branded hearing solutions to market, thus adding a fourth hearing aid brand to the Demant Group. 

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  • 2019

    William Demant Holding A/S changes name to Demant A/S and launches a new brand strategy to support collaboration across the Group and increase the sense of belonging to a global parent company with a long history and foundation ownership. At the same time, the Oticon Foundation is renamed William Demant Foundation.

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  • 2020

    Demant launches EPOS: a high-end audio solutions company for enterprises and gamers. 

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  • 2021

    Oticon launches Oticon More™, the first-ever hearing aid built with an on-board deep neural network (DNN), to give people with mild-to-severe hearing loss a fuller, more balanced and more effortless hearing experience.

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  • 2022

    Demant acquires Chinese retail chain, ShengWang. ShengWang adds around 500 hearing aid clinics and more than 1,300 employees to the Demant Group. Oticon announces the launch of Oticon Own™, developed for ultimate discreetness and superior sound quality, Oticon Own™ is a fully customised in the ear hearing solution.

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