Starkey’s revolutionary technology

Source: ExecUKDecember

Date :03/12/2007 13:39:18

According to figures from the Royal National Institute for the Deaf, 8,945,000 people suffer with hearing problems in the UK. Starkey Laboratories is focused on helping these people.

As part of a multinational group, Starkey Laboratories in the UK has a long history in the hearing device industry. William Austin founded the company in 1967 in Minnesota and the business has developed at a rapid rate.

Written by Lucy Mowatt and produced by Ben Weaver

The first facility outside of the US was established in Cheshire in 1977 and a number of other subsidiaries have rapidly appeared. Today the group has 35 facilities in 24 countries worldwide, which offers an excellent support network for the individual subsidiaries.

In spite of these developments, Starkey is still owned by William Austin and the UK facilities remain in Cheshire. Alec Whipday, the company’s operations manager in Cheshire, gives Exec UK an overview of how these facilities have changed: “The first building was in Handforth in Cheshire. From there we moved to Hazel Grove, also in Cheshire. The building we’re in now is our third, just across the road to our second facility.”

This site is rapidly being outgrown, as the number of orders increases. The operations manager was keen to explain how the company intends to combat this. He says: “We’re pushing the boundaries of this facility already. We’re now looking to operate a shift pattern, rather than keep changing sites; we want to change shift patterns and take on more people.”

Model business

Recently, significant investments have been made. Alec Whipday explains that the Cheshire-site has Stereo Lithography Apparatus (SLA) which digitally makes shells for hearing aids. These developments in CAD technology mean that ear impressions can be scanned into a computer and electronically transmitted to Starkey Laboratories. From here the company can download the model and build a shell for that ear. It removes the need to send ear impressions by post, reducing the time needed to produce devices…

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