Unitron’s evolution from a local hearing aid manufacturer to a global player highlights Waterloo’s strategic advantages: location, talent and ecosystem.
In 1964, Unitron’s founders, Fred Stork, Rolf Strothmann and Rolf Dohmer, established Canada’s first hearing aid technology business in Newfoundland with a vision to build a manufacturing operation that could grow over decades. But they needed more than just an inspiring vision – they needed a location that could promise innovation, growth and talent for their business.
Within a year, they moved their business to Kitchener, Ontario, a city within the Waterloo region. Not only did this area offer a strong German community – much to the delight of its founders who had German roots – but also ticked all the boxes for building a strong foundation for the business:
- Availability of top-tier talent
- Easy access to markets
- Manufacturing and tech expertise
- Highly collaborative ecosystem
What began as a small business grew to become a globally recognized brand in the hearing care industry. We sat down with Nicola McLaughlin, Senior Director Marketing of Unitron, to discuss Unitron’s growth journey.
Here are the highlights:
Making a global footprint
From the very beginning, Unitron’s strategic decision to invest in user-friendly product design and its physical presence in an innovative community helped with its steady growth. By the 1980’s, Unitron had established itself as a leader in the Behind the Ear (BTE) hearing aids technology.
As the technological landscape began to shift around the year 2000, Unitron became part of Sonova Group, a global leader in the hearing care industry.
The partnership brought Unitron to new heights with access to bigger markets, more resources and extensive R&D. “This was a transformative time in the hearing industry. We were moving from analog to digital devices,” shared Nicola.
“The pace of innovation really picked up as part of a global organization and we’ve grown significantly since. Today, you can buy a hearing aid with Unitron technology across 100 countries.”
With its head office in Switzerland, the Sonova Group chose Kitchener as its key site with expanded missions that contribute across all of the Sonova business units. Their decision exemplifies how our region continues to support world-class innovation and attract international investments.
Driven by talent and innovation
Readily available skilled talent has always been a big catalyst for Sonova to deepen its roots in the region and to support continued growth.
“We have truly diverse and exceptionally skilled talent in this region – especially in areas like software engineering, machine learning, data science, audiology and business. We have some of the top universities that also create strong pipelines for talent, research and innovation,” shared Nicola.
“We have people in our team who’ve come from other tech companies in the region. We feel fortunate that we can encourage great talent to stay local and grow their careers here while making a difference.”
The proximity to post-secondary institutions like the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, Conestoga College and Western University means that Sonova has direct access to engineers, hearing care experts and business and R&D professionals. Currently, Sonova has approximately 300 full-time employees working at its Kitchener location.
“We significantly leverage the co-op programs from the universities. Many of the co-ops end up as our full-time employees. The talent pool and expertise in R&D, business, marketing and other functions is phenomenal here. It really does make this region the ideal location for a key Sonova facility which includes the team that leads Unitron’s global brand team,” added Nicola.
" The talent pool and expertise in R&D, business, marketing and other functions is phenomenal here. It really does make this region the ideal location for a key Sonova facility which includes the team that leads Unitron's global brand team. "
Nicola McLaughlin
Senior Director of Marketing, Unitron
Connecting with the community
As Unitron’s global impact grew by becoming part of Sonova family, its presence in the local community also strengthened. Sonova has been a key tech player, boosting the local business ecosystem by providing job opportunities for local talent and partnering with innovation hubs to explore new ideas.
“Over the years, we’ve had strong ties with Communitech, Canada’s largest regional innovation hub for entrepreneurs. Many of our leaders have been part of their peer-to-peer groups, CEO breakfasts and leadership conferences. We also ran an innovation lab at the Communitech for several years exploring different innovation models.”
Waterloo is a community that thrives on collaboration, problem-solving and business support, as Nicola explained:
“We’ve benefited greatly from local infrastructure. For instance, we invited powerful local experts like Iain Klugman and Jennifer Moss in 2023 for our Unitron Global Sales and Marketing Conference in Waterloo. These local partnerships elevate our events and spark fresh ideas that offer value to everyone.”
Business growth continues
While R&D and innovation are part of Unitron’s DNA, the company acknowledges the advantages of operating within Waterloo’s dynamic ecosystem.
“The region is a large innovation and technology hub with so many global companies coming here, especially in technology, health sciences and fintech. We also see one of the highest number of startups here. It’s a strong ecosystem,” said Nicola.
As the global consumer behavior around hearing aids shifts, Unitron believes the coming years will bring greater opportunities and bigger impact. “We’re in a truly exciting time in our industry. The stigma around hearing aids is reducing and the age at which people start hearing care journey is dropping,” she added.
“We’re going to see even more powerful, personalized and sophisticated hearing solutions as we harness the power of AI.”
As these AI and consumer driven advancements continue to unfold, Unitron stays committed to keep innovating for better solutions, supported by the region’s world-renowned tech talent and ecosystem.
Success stories are built here
Unitron came to the region for its rich manufacturing history and strong German heritage but stayed for the community’s spirit of innovation, skilled talent and thriving tech ecosystem. As we celebrate the Unitron brand’s continued growth, we expect that the next chapter promises even more success.
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