Baby Boomers, International Growth and a Changing Marketplace Behind Name Change of 45-Year-Old Organization.
Minneapolis, Jan. 10, 2011 - Starkey Laboratories, Inc., one of the world's leading hearing technology companies, announced today it is changing its parent company name to Starkey Hearing Technologies. The 45-year-old company is making the change based on its overall technology focus, global expansion and a changing marketplace that is looking for cutting-edge technology and personalized service.
Starkey Hearing Technologies is a near billion-dollar, privately held technology organization which operates in 21 countries and conducts business in more than 100 countries worldwide. The company develops, manufactures and distributes hearing aids via five distinct brands - Audibel®, AudioSync™, NuEar™, MicroTech™ and its original brand, Starkey. In recent years, the company has earned several awards for innovation and design, including International Consumer Electronics Innovations Design and Engineering Awards in 2010, 2011 and 2012;the red dot: product design award honoring products from around the world;an Edison Bronze in the Science & Medical category;and an iF product design award, recognizing design-relevant innovation worldwide.
"Over the past decade, we have gone from a manufacturing company, to a global technology company with several businesses residing inside our walls," said Jerry Ruzicka, President of Starkey Hearing Technologies. "The name change better aligns with both who we are as an organization, as well as our focus on innovation, technology and the diverse customers we serve."
More than 36 million U.S. citizens have hearing loss, and that number will continue to grow with the brand-savvy baby boomers entering the likely candidacy age for hearing aids at 65. Starkey Hearing Technologies will increase its efforts toward educating consumers about the importance of hearing care and the recent breakthroughs in technology such as advanced noise reduction and speech preservation, wireless media connectivity and invisible hearing aid options. Adding "Hearing" to the name was done to not only emphasize the company's sole focus on hearing care, but also to help consumers more quickly identify the organization as a hearing care company.
Starkey Hearing Technologies will also continue to support its philanthropic arm, the Starkey Hearing Foundation. Founded in 1978 as the Starkey Fund, The Foundation strives to foster greater understanding among individuals and communities through hearing care by focusing on awareness, education, protection and treatment so the world may hear. Hearing loss affects one in 10 Americans and 63 million children worldwide, yet many do not have access to the hearing devices that can help them.
From 2000 to 2010, the Starkey Hearing Foundation fit more than 500,000 hearing aids on people in need in the U.S. and around the world. The Foundation has grown that commitment to more than 100,000 hearing aids annually and is dedicated to fitting one million hearing aids this decade. In addition to giving the gift of hearing through worldwide hearing missions, the Starkey Hearing Foundation promotes hearing health awareness through the Listen Carefully initiative and provides hearing instruments to low-income Americans through the Hear Now program. For more information on the Starkey Hearing Foundation, visit StarkeyHearingFoundation.org.
About Starkey Hearing Technologies
Starkey Hearing Technologies is a privately held, global hearing technology company headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minn. The company is recognized for its innovative design, development and distribution of comprehensive digital hearing systems. Founded in 1967, Starkey Hearing Technologies currently employs more than 3,500 people, operates 21 facilities and conducts business in more than 100 markets worldwide. The company develops, manufactures and distributes hearing aids via five distinct brands - Audibel, AudioSync, NuEar, MicroTech and its original brand, Starkey. For more information, visit StarkeyHearingTechnologies.com or the Starkey web channel on AudiologyOnline.
