Rauland is an American-owned manufacturing company based in
Mount Prospect, Illinois that produces workflow and communications products for hospitals and schools worldwide. Rauland's healthcare product, Responder, is a nurse call system designed for direct patient-to-staff communication, intelligent call routing, and real-time reporting of patient care. Rauland's education product, Telecenter, is a communications platform designed to assist school communications involving emergencies, scheduling and events, and everyday messaging.
History
Rauland was founded in 1922 by inventor 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
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, Rauland manufactured power amplifiers and equipment for
public address systems and won various government contracts to produce radio and communication systems for the military.
In 1941, Norm Rauland and George Borg entered a partnership. The Rauland Corporation acquired the Webster-Chicago Corporation, a then-leader in school communications, making Rauland the dominant supplier of internal school communications systems. In 1948, Norm Rauland and George Borg started a new company, Rauland-Borg Corporation, continuing the sound and communications business.
After recognizing the need to keep school instructors and staff in touch with each other, Rauland-Borg introduced the first generation of Telecenter products in 1968. Telecenter was the first-ever commercial application of touch-tone technology.
In 1979, after the acquisition of the Picker-Briggs Company, the manufacturer of the Responder health care communications systems, Rauland-Borg established itself as a leader in nurse call communications.
In 2017, Rauland was acquired and became a division of
AMETEK Inc., a global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices.
Today, Rauland has two distinct communication system product lines: Responder, designed for the healthcare industry and Telecenter which serves the educational market.
References
Business services companies established in 1922
1922 establishments in Illinois
Radio manufacturers
Companies based in Mount Prospect, Illinois
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