Being one of the darlings of the largest consumer electronics shows in the world has proved fortuitous for Lakewood-based Able Planet Inc.
The company, whose proprietary technology improves sound quality in audio devices such as headsets and telephones, has increased its revenue and is expanding its facilities.
Able Planet, a spin-out from research at Colorado State University, develops a special component, a coil for headsets and telephones that aids individuals with hearing loss.
“Linx technology is a technology that alters the audio signal so that people with all levels of hearing can use common everyday consumer electronics,” said Able Planet chief executive Kevin Semcken.
In January, the company received five-star treatment at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, showing off its Linx technology in an area exclusively for the most innovative inventions. It won a CES award for the best embedded technology innovation and three for design and engineering.
“Sales since that time have jumped dramatically,” Semcken said.
Able Planet has one headphone already on the market and is developing three new headphones and two telephones for individuals with moderate-to-severe hearing loss, said Tom Porcarello, the company’s vice president of sales.
Able Planet was founded in 2003, and since January, it had sold 5,000 headphone units directly to customers through its website and to several retailers and distributors. It plans to increase headphone shipments to 5,000 a month by August, Porcarello said.
And they’re hiring. With four full-time employees, Able Planet aims to have 20 employees by the end of the year.
Originally based in Fort Collins, the company moved its headquarters to Lakewood in May and has a sales satellite office in Grapevine, Texas.
Spurring the company’s growth is its new deals with third parties to put its Linx component in various brands of headsets. Able Planet recently announced a distribution deal with Hall Telecommunications Supply Ltd., a marketer of telecommunications products in Canada.
“They’re working with some of the biggest retailers in Canada to placing our product and (in) other special need retail environments,” Porcarello said.
In addition to headphones and telephones, Porcarello said the company is negotiating with major manufacturers on eliminating buzz in some cellphones. It is also developing a hearing aid.
But the Consumer Electronics show hasn’t been the only place for Able Planet to drum up business. In April, the company attended a conference for the American Academy of Audiology to display its headphones.
“When using this device, (people who have a hearing problem) likely will be able to hear the sound without using a hearing aid,” said Sherwin A. Basil, a doctor of audiology at Riverview Hearing, Speech and Language Center in Long Beach, Calif. “They would not have to keep the CD or radio as loud, because they are getting a richer, fuller sound.”
Staff writer Ameera Butt can be reached at 303-820-1233 or abutt@denverpost.com.
