s type public traded as nasdaq copenhagen bo b founded 1925 ; 91 years ago 1925 founder peter bang svend olufsen headquarters struer denmark key people henrik clausen ceo ole andersen chairman products audiovisual revenue 2.86 billion kr 2013 14 1 number of employees 2 050 2014 1 website www.bang olufsen.com bang olufsen beovision televisions avant & mx5000 bang olufsen beocom 1401 telephone bang & olufsen b & o stylized as bang & olufsen is a danish consumer electronics company that designs and manufactures audio products television sets and telephones . it was founded in 1925 by peter bang and svend olufsen whose first significant product was a radio that worked with alternating current at a time when most radios were run on batteries . in 2004 the company opened a factory in the czech republic where it employs approximately 250 staff producing mainly audio products . 2 contents 1 history 1.1 early history 1.2 recent history 2 operations and products 2.1 design 3 subsidiaries 4 products 5 see also 6 references 6.1 further reading 7 external links history edit early history edit peter bang 1900 1957 son of camillo bang a successful danish businessman showed great interest in radio technology from an early age . after graduating as an engineer in 1924 he spent six months working in a u.s. radio factory . upon his return to denmark he teamed up with his friend svend olufsen 1897 1949 whose parents made the attic of their manor house in struer in jutland available for experiments . when they officially opened their business in 1925 bang concentrated on the technology while olufsen dealt with business . there were a number of successful developments in the 1930s and 1940s including a sound recording system for the film industry roof mounted loudspeakers for circuses and army vehicles and the iconic beolit 39 radio with a bakelite cabinet . beolit 39 from 1938 b & o s first radio in bakelite it was however many years before their business became significantly profitable . the firm suffered a huge setback towards the end of world war ii when its factory at gimsing in struer in northwestern jutland was burnt down by pro nazi saboteurs as punishment for the management s refusal to collaborate with the germans . undeterred bang and olufsen rebuilt the factory producing electric razors until 1955 and then going on to develop a range of radio radiogram and television sets later influenced by designer ib fabiansen when he began work for the company in 1957 . 3 in the 1990s b & o opened dedicated b & o stores selling directly to users instead of selling through retailers . production of audio separates was discontinued in favor of mini type audio systems sold as was usual for b & o at a price higher than the industry average . recent history edit due to the economic crisis of 2008 the company experienced a sharp decline in sales and announced significant losses ; between 2008 and 2009 annual revenue plunged from 853 million to 528 million and its stock price plummeted from 52 to 8.50 . 4 a restructuring plan included 300 layoffs in denmark on 21 october 2008 and the abandonment of development of new mobile phones mp3 players and standalone systems like dvd2 and hdr2 . instead the company will focus on its traditional strengths high quality audio and video products as well as sound systems for the automotive industry . 5 b & o returned to profitability in 2010 . bang & olufsen revealed in january 2015 that the firm would consider bid approaches from rivals due to a profit warning issued at the end of 2014 . 6 in march 2015 hp announced that bang & olufsen would become the company s new premium audio partner for its computers and other devices . the partnership replaced one with beats electronics which ended upon its acquisition by apple inc. 7 operations and products edit despite its decision to suspend the manufacture of separate components b & o continues to develop and market loudspeakers . its flagship speaker the beolab 5 uses digital signal processing to adjust its frequency response to the room and location in which it is placed . its midrange and treble drivers use the audio lens technology developed by sausalito audio s manny lacarrubba to spread the sound over a 180 degree range in order to fill the room overcoming the directional range limitations of normal midrange and treble drivers and preventing the sound from reflecting off the ceiling and floor before reaching the listener . b & o acquired the audio lens technology in 2007 . in 2003 bang & olufsen entered into an agreement with audi to provide an advanced sound system 8 and in 2005 a sound system based on the beolab 5 with 1000 w amplifiers became available to audi s flagship model the a8 . 9 audi markets this sound system using the bang & olufsen brand name . a unique feature of this sound system is its motorized tweeters that emerge from the dashboard when the sound system is turned on . the tweeter in an audi a8 audi subsequently extended the optional advanced sound system to their a4 a5 a6 a7 q5 q7 a8 tt and r8 models . it is a us 6 300 option on the a8 q7 . 10 bang & olufsen also supplies sound systems for higher end premium vehicles such as the aston martin dbs bmw 5 series bmw 5gt bmw 6 series bmw m6 bmw s flagship 7 series bmw x5 11 and mercedes benz amg models . 12 in addition to consumer products the company also produces business to business services particularly in the area of custom audio visual installations for car manufacturers and the service industry hotels etc. additionally the company s expertise in aluminium manufacturing is available to other businesses for the production of non b & o products . 13 design edit b & o has a distinctive design appeal that wired described as quality media delivery via striking objects . 4 their work with radios and loudspeakers led them to value high fidelity musical reproduction uninfluenced by technological limitations ; in danish rlig musikgengivelse meaning honest music reproduction . to this end psychoacoustics was important to designing and testing b & o products . citation needed by 1960 bang & olufsen had begun its foray into global markets with star designers henning moldenhawer and jacob jensen . 4 b & o hires designers rather than directly employing them in the company . 14 david lewis who became involved with b & o in 1965 then went on to design most of the company s products after 1980 . citation needed in 1978 the museum of modern art in new york city held an exhibition dedicated to bang & olufsen designs . 15 it is known to give its designers a lot of free rein . 4 it s also been discussed that apple s ipod design was inspired by bang & olufsen s beocom 6000 a wireless telephone designed by henrik s rig thomsen with a wheel to scroll . 16 subsidiaries edit icepower a s was formed in 1999 as a joint venture between b & o and karsten nielsen . the company is a technology research and design organisation working in the field of switching type class d amplifier . 17 bang & olufsen medicom a s manufacturers and designs medical products such as inhalers and automatic syringes . 18 bang & olufsen telecom a s. b & o play is the newest member of the bang & olufsen family launched in 2012 . b & o play website products edit b & o products often have a unique appearance and user interface . citation needed early models are collectible decades later . 19 b & o uses a beo prefix for the names of its product lines . beocord refers to tape recorders both open reel types and cassette decks . b & o was a pioneer in cassette technology citation needed having had design involvement with dolby hx pro . beomaster refers to receivers . b & o s more recent receivers feature the ability to receive complex programming . the 5000 series through the 7000 series features two way communication with the remote controller called the master control panel . the most famous beomaster is the beomaster 1900 from 1976 . it was the first consumer electronics product with touch controls . similar models were made until the end of the 1980s beogram refers to turntables and later cd players . b & o developed electronically controlled tangential turntables in the 1970s starting with the beogram 4000 of 1972 . the last tangential tracking turntable was the beogram 7000 which were taken off the production lines in 1995 . b & o has also produced radial tracking turntables . beolab refers to amplifiers and powered speakers loudspeakers with built in amplifiers and as of 2011 all new powered speakers use icepower . 20 beovox refers to passive loudspeakers i.e. without internal amplification beolit refers to the range of portable radios beosystem early refers to a line of components e.g. beomaster beogram and beocord which matched one another in both appearance and operation . the first beosystem were the beosystem 1200 of 1969 1973 and the last were the beosystem 7000 of 1992 1994 . and now refer to the audio video central processing unit beosystem 2 ; beosystem 3 . beocenter refers to one piece audio systems . b & o at one time made elaborate products that incorporated receivers turntables and cassette decks into a single components called beocentres beomic refers to performance or recording microphones such as the dynamic microphone dm 1 or ribbon microphones such as the bm 2 bm 3 etc. beocom & beotalk refers to the company s line of telephones and telephone accessories such as answering machines beovision refers to a line of televisions beosound refers to the current range of music systems and audio products . since november 2010 the range has included an ipod iphone ipad dock . beotime refers to the company s advanced alarm clock beoplayer refers to the company s media player for free download b & o play is a consumer oriented brand marketing headphones and wireless speakers . see also edit beocenter 9500 interior music an album by jean michel jarre a special release for bang & olufsen list of phonograph manufacturers references edit a b http az498215.vo.msecnd.net static files annual reports bo ar13 14 uk final.pdf b & o in the czech republic bang olufsen.com the true story behind bang and olufsen william schwark scanorama november 2007 a b c d walker rob september 27 2011 . can the cult of bang & olufsen last . wired . bang & olufsen rolls out strategy plan bang olufsen.com denmark s bang & olufsen would listen to bid approaches reuters 5 january 2015 hp makes bang & olufsen its new audio partner . cnet . retrieved 21 february 2016 . holt julie ring hansen 25 october 2006 . seks ud af ti nye audier f des med b & o anl g six out of ten new audis are born with bang & olufsen system in danish . mediehuset ingeni ren a s. retrieved 6 november 2014 . kr yer kent 13 march 2005 . audi med indbygget koncertsal fra b & o audi with built in concert hall from b & o in danish . mediehuset ingeni ren a s. retrieved 6 november 2014 . audi glossary . retrieved 11 november 2011 . 1 mercedes amg s class mercedes amg.com bang & olufsen business to business bang olufsen.com 10 classic jacob jensen gadgets . elegant design of sound equipment focus of moma show pdf . museum of modern art . march 1978 . apple s inspiration for the ipod bang &