Shure Incorporated is marking its 96th year and is planning several celebrations of the company’s history throughout the next 12 months.
S.N. Shure started the audio company in downtown Chicago in 1925, selling radio parts kits, and since then, the company has grown into a global leader, offering a portfolio of wired and wireless microphones, personal and professional listening products, and conferencing and meeting products. The products are now sold in more than 120 countries, and through the decades have been utilized by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Elvis Presley, Pope Francis, Nelson Mandela, The Beatles, and every United States President since Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Throughout the anniversary, Shure will celebrate key milestones, including:
25 years ago – 1996. Rose Shure named Chairman of the Board. Sandy LaMantia hired as VP of Engineering (he was later named Shure’s third President).
50 years ago – 1971. Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn appear in Nashville as endorsers of Shure products as Shure begins to aggressively market to the country music industry.
55 years ago – 1966. The Shure SM58 is introduced, one of the most iconic vocal microphones in history.
60 years ago – 1961. Shure established Shure Electronics Ltd, London,– the company’s first wholly owned subsidiary in the UK and the forerunner to Shure UK today.
65 years ago – 1956. Shure completes its headquarters move from Chicago to nearby Evanston, Ill.
70 years ago – 1951. Shure introduces the Unidyne II Model 55S, known as the “Super 55” for its revolutionary style. It is a smaller version of the Unidyne I Model 55 from 1939.
75 years ago – 1946. Shure transitions from war-time production back to peace-time products.
80 years ago – 1941. The Uniphase Acoustical Network patent is issued to Shure engineer Ben Bauer, the most valuable patent in the company’s history.
Fast forwarding to the present, over the past 12 months the company has expanded its systems integration business with the acquisition of Stem Audio and the expansion of networked audio ecosystems for companies, educational institutions, governments, and others to conduct quality virtual meetings. Shure IntelliMix Room with digital signal processing (DSP) for AV conferencing was unveiled globally last summer.
On the professional audio side, Shure introduced DuraPlex microphones, the company’s new mid-tier miniature (5 mm) omnidirectional lavalier and headset microphones. Shure also rolled out the SLX-D digital wireless system, the newest addition to the digital wireless portfolio. Shure also increased the frequency of free online training sessions from the Shure Audio Institute to provide professionals with new tools and information.
For consumers, the AONIC line of listening products was expanded to include AONIC 3, 4, and 5, while Shure also launched the MV7 and MV5C microphones to increase podcast and work-from-home microphone options.
“While our 95th year provided several challenges as it relates to the pandemic, we continued with our superior product innovation and customer support,” states Christine Schyvinck, Shure President and CEO. “Our founder, S.N. Shure, would be proud of how our Associates banded together to persevere during these difficult times – positioning our company for a 96th year of global success.”
