Demant A/S is an international

hearing Hearing, or auditory perception, is the ability to perceive sounds through an organ, such as an ear, by detecting vibrations as periodic changes in the pressure of a surrounding medium. The academic field concerned with hearing is audit ...

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health ...

company within

hearing aid A hearing aid is a device designed to improve hearing by making sound audible to a person with hearing loss. Hearing aids are classified as medical devices in most countries, and regulated by the respective regulations. Small audio amplifiers su ...

s, audiometric equipment, and personal communication.

History

The Demant Group was founded in 1904 by Hans Demant, under the name Oticon. After his death in 1910, his son William Demant took over. Already before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Oticon increased its sales volume to cover

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

and

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. In the twenties and thirties, a network of agents was established in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Oticon started its own production due to the scarcity of goods from other countries. In 1957, William and his wife Ida Emilie donated the Demant family's shares in the company to the Oticon Foundation which is today called The William Demant Foundation. The Foundation's general aim is charity with particular emphasis on helping people with a hearing impairment and today the Oticon Foundation is the main

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal ...

in William Demant Holding A/S with a holding of app. 61%. During the 1990s the company expanded further, buying the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internati ...

hearing aid manufacturer Bernafon, Phonic Ear, the headset manufacturer DanaCom and Interacoustics. In 1995 the company was listed at the

Copenhagen Stock Exchange The Nasdaq Copenhagen, formerly known as the Copenhagen Stock Exchange ( da, Københavns Fondsbørs), is an international marketplace for Danish securities, including shares, bonds, treasury bills and notes, and financial futures and options. ...

. In 1997, it was decided to change the name of the parent company from Oticon Holding A/S to William Demant Holding A/S because it was considered disadvantageous to use the same name, both for the Group, and for one of its businesses. Further in 2019 William Demant Holding A/S changed its name to Demant A/S In February 2017 it was announced that former President & CEO Niels Jacobsen would step down after 25 years in charge of the company. Instead, he would become CEO of William Demant Invest A/S. the company is led by President & CEO, Søren Nielsen and board chairman Niels B. Christiansen. Demant is headquartered in Smørum northwest of Copenhagen and had sales of DKK 13.9 billion in 2018. In April 2022, Demant announced it had agreed to sell Oticon Medical to Australian company

Cochlear Limited Cochlear is a medical device company that designs, manufactures, and supplies the Nucleus cochlear implant, the Hybrid electro-acoustic implant and the Baha bone conduction implant. Based in Sydney, Cochlear was formed in 1983 as a subsidia ...

for DKK850 million and would exit the hearing implant business. In June 2022, Demant acquired Chinese retailer ShengWang at a cost of RMB 1.8 billion.

Business units

Today the company focuses on three separate business units: ; Hearing aids : Oticon,

Bernafon Bernafon Bernafon is a globally operating company that defines and markets hearing aids and hearing aid accessories, including fitting software and consumer apps. Headquartered in Bern, Switzerland, the company employs some 500 people worldwid ...

, Sonic Innovations, Neurelec (

cochlear implant A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for improved speech und ...

s, being divested) and Oticon Medical (bone anchored hearing aids) ; Diagnostic instruments
Maico Diagnostics
Interacoustics, Amplivox
Grason-Stadler
an
MedRx, Inc.
ref name="Ref2"> ; Personal communication : Phonic Ear, Sennheiser Communications (defunct)
EPOS
; Instrument dealers : Gordon Stowe & Associates Inc., Northeastern Technologies Group Inc., Midlantic Technologies Group Inc.

References

External links

* {{authority control Health care companies of Denmark Electronics companies of Denmark Otorhinolaryngology organizations Companies listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen Danish companies established in 1904 Danish brands Companies based in Egedal Municipality Technology companies based in Copenhagen Health care companies established in 1904 Hearing aid manufacturers