Vifa is a Danish consumer electronics company that designs and manufactures audio products. The brand name stems from "Videbæk Højttalerfabrik" (eng: "The Videbæk Loudspeaker Factory"), originally founded in 1933 by N.C.Madsen, which manufactured electrodynamic loudspeaker drive units in the town of Videbæk. From 1981, operating under the acronym Vifa, the company quickly grew to become a respected OEM supplier for many high-end loudspeaker brands, until production seized in 2009.
With a turbulent history of changing ownership and periods of economic hardship, leading to several mergers and restructuring efforts, the Vifa brand is no longer associated with loudspeaker transducers. Since 2014, the current company is manufacturing a series of Bluetooth-enabled wireless loudspeaker systems for the consumer market, named after the capital cities of Scandinavian nations.
History
Founding
The predecessor to Vifa was founded in 1933 by Niels Christian "N.C." Madsen, in the small town of Videbæk in western Denmark. Originally from the agricultural town of Hjerm near Holstebro, Madsen had developed a talent for mechanical and electrical engineering. At a time when electricity still wasn't available in many rural areas, he among other things built windmills and converted car engines for use as stationary generators by farmers. As he settled in Videbæk, he started a small automotive repair shop.
At the time, the Bang & Olufsen radio factory in Struer was importing electrodynamic loudspeaker drive units for their radio receivers out of France, and was looking to have them manufactured locally instead. They had approached Niels Christian Madsen's brother-in-law, who was a blacksmith, and although he was unable to meet their request, he instead put B&O in touch with Madsen. Together with two of his brothers, who were already employed at the Bang & Olufsen plant, Niels Christian Madsen started developing the required components. The experiments were successful, and Madsen's final designs were approved by B&O.
The early Videbæk speaker drive units were handmade, with metal parts manufactured in Madsen's auto workshop. Materials for the soft parts, such as cardboard diaphragms and leather suspensions, were sourced from local suppliers. Final assembly was taken care of by mrs. Madsen at the kitchen table. The business was eventually named "Videbæk Højttaler-fabrik" ("The Videbæk Loudspeaker Factory"), and in 1947, production moved into a dedicated factory building at Stationsvej 3, Videbæk.
In 1953, the "Aktieselskabet Videbæk Højttalerfabrik" corporation was formed, with N.C. Madsen as the only share owner. The product brand Hroswitha was at some point chosen for the transducers. The name is claimed to be an older spelling form of Videbæk, but likely just refers to the medieval Saxon poet of the same name.
Apart from B&O, other domestic radio manufacturers, such as SP Radio and Århus Radiolager, would be added to the customer list. Attempts were also made at export, although details are scarce on this point.
Norwegian ownership
In 1961, preparing for his retirement, Niels Christian Madsen decided to sell the factory shares to his son, engineer Carl Christian Nørgaard Madsen, and Radionette founder Jan Wessel, who by then had established their own loudspeaker manufacturing business in Norway, known by the name SEAS ("Skandinavisk Elektro-Akustisk Selskap"). After the acquisition, technology was shared between the two plants, while the SEAS name and model nomenclature was applied to products from both factories. Videbæk-made models would have the words "SEAS Hroswitha" stamped into their magnet steel caps.
The Danish and Norwegian factories had already collaborated to some extent during SEAS' startup in the late 40's, with the Videbæk factory supplying SEAS with inner suspension parts, which were difficult to manufacture to precision. The two now experienced great growth together, and were formally made sister companies in 1971. While the facilities in Moss, Norway focused on technological development and production at the higher end of the product stack, the Videbæk factory continued to manufacture more traditional and lower-cost products.