Widex Aps plans big for India via JV

The Denmark-based Widex Aps, a leader in digital hearing aids, has big plans for India through its joint venture called Widex India.

The $300 million company, a couple of days back, introduced Inteo, which allows customised sound programming. The hearing aids embedded computer processes sounds before directing it to the amplifier.

An in-built sensogram can measure the precise degree of hearing loss. Besides, Inteo also performs tasks such as noise reduction and cancelling of sounds from multiple points.

On November 8, the Danish company pumped in Rs 2.5 crore (Rs 25 million) to raise its stake in the Indian company to 67 per cent. The remaining stake is owned by the company's managing director TS Anand.

"Digital hearing aids make up 25 per cent of the total hearing aid market in the country. According to the Hearing Association of India the market size is Rs 66 crore (Rs 660 million). However, the retail market is worth Rs 80 crore (Rs 800 million). Widex controls 50 per cent of the digital market," said TS Anand, MD, Widex India. The company has lined up Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million) expansion over the next 18 months.

It already has a Widex Academy in Bangalore where dispensers are trained to deal with hearing-impaired patients. It is also planning other audiology and speech therapy centres across the country. There are plans to increase headcount to 150 from the current 100. Widex India is also setting up a computerised hearing aid shell-making facility.

It plans to use this facility as an export hub for the South Asian market.

The company recorded a turnover of Rs 11 crore (Rs 110 million) last year. "This year we expect Rs 18 crore (Rs 180 million) turnover. In five years we aim to make the company a Rs 100-crore (Rs 1 billion) one," Anand said.

The company conducts audiology tests on new-born children in hospitals in Mumbai and Pune. "We regularly go to KEM Hospital and Ruby Hall in Pune, and Breach Candy in Mumbai. It is important to detect hearing loss at a very early stage," Anand said.

"Almost 100,000 hearing aids are sold per year in Denmark which is a big figure keeping in view the country's five million population. In the US, two million aids are sold in a year to a population of approximately 300 million. In Europe 2.5 million aids are sold.

However, considering India's population, only 150,000 machines are sold every year. Of these, one lakh are analogue. We, however, see immense potential in the India market and plan to introduce new models in the country at regular intervals," said Tom Westerman, executive V-P, sales and marketing, Widex.

Incidentally, a study conducted by the European Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association revealed the European society loses almost ¤200 billion per year due to hearing-related problems. It also found that the cost of treating auditory disorders is only one-fifth of the total loss to society.

EHIMA said the losses primarily occur as most hearing impaired people tend to drop out of work due to their problem.