Bang & Olufsen

Why it is renowned

Bang & Olufsen is the Danish name best known abroad in sound and vision. By 1960 it had begun selling on world markets, and Jacob Jensen designed its products from 1965 to 1985.¹ In 1978 the Museum of Modern Art in New York held an exhibition of its designs.¹ Its sound systems are fitted in cars from Audi, BMW, Aston Martin and Mercedes-AMG, and the company operated in 70 countries in 2023.¹

The story

Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen, two young engineers, founded the company on 17 November 1925 in the attic of Quistrup, the Olufsen family's manor in Struer.² Their first product, the Eliminator, let a radio run from the mains instead of a battery.² The Beolit 39 radio in Bakelite followed in 1938, and after the Second World War the factory, burnt down by saboteurs, was rebuilt.¹ The families owned the company until it was listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange in 1977.² Its products still take shape in Struer, where aluminium is worked in its own factory.³

What to know it by

• Eliminator1925Peter Bang and Svend OlufsenMains adaptor for the radio
• Beolit 391938Radio in a Bakelite cabinet
• BeoLab 5Floor speaker with acoustic lenses and room correction
• BeoCom 6000Henrik Sørig ThomsenCordless telephone with a scroll wheel
• Beolab 90Loudspeaker, also made in Atelier Editions