Rauland-Borg

Not to be confused with Roland Corporation.

Rauland-Borg Corporation

Industry	Healthcare, Education, Hospitality
Founded	1922
Founder	Norman Rauland
Headquarters	Mount Prospect, Illinois, USA
Products	critical communication systems, solutions for healthcare facilities and schools
Website	www.rauland.com/

Rauland-Borg Corporation is an American company based in Mount Prospect, Illinois that produces school intercoms and healthcare products.

History

Rauland-Borg's roots are in the founding in 1922 of the Rauland Company by inventor and radio enthusiast E. Norman Rauland. In 1924, he became a pioneer in the radio broadcast industry by launching his own, Chicago-based radio station, WENR. Throughout the Depression, Rauland manufactured power amplifiers and equipment for public address systems. During this time, the Rauland Company won government contracts to produce radio and communication systems for the military.

In 1941 the Rauland Corporation acquired the Webster-Chicago Corporation, a leader in school communications, and Rauland became firmly established as the dominant supplier of internal school communications systems.

In 1942, the Rauland Corporation acquired Baird Television of America. Rauland began developing the cathode ray tube (CRT), and as a result, the company became an important supplier of communications and radar equipment during WWII. After WWII, the Rauland Corporation began manufacturing CRTs for 10 and 12 inch televisions.

In 1948, Zenith Radio Corporation purchased the Rauland Corporation to acquire the CRT business. Norm Rauland and George Borg started a new company, Rauland-Borg Corporation, for continuing the sound and communications business. As the company further developed its commercial and industrial communications components, they remained an important military contractor providing such essential products as the Navy's ship-to-shore radios, airborne radar jamming transmitters, walkie-talkies, classified cryptographic switching adapters, tank radios, intercom systems and radios for arctic regions.

In the early 1960s, the use of transistors was still limited, but Rauland-Borg transformed its entire line of sound and communications products to transistorized and solid state components. Recognizing the need to keep school instructors and staff in touch with each other, Rauland-Borg introduced the first commercial application of touch-tone technology in 1969.

In 1979, with the acquisition of the Picker-Briggs Company, Rauland-Borg entered the nurse call communications market. In 1989, Rauland-Borg acquired Biamp Systems Company, a long-time designer and manufacturer of professional audio equipment. And, in the 1990s, the company further expanded its existing product lines into Latin America and the Pacific Rim.