About e3 Gordon Stowe

In 1956, Gordon N. Stowe purchased the Chicago-area Beltone audiometer distributorship with the goal of providing greater audiometric equipment and service to the Chicagoland area.

Initially working out of his home, Stowe invented a desk console using two Beltone audiometers that added binaural sound field, talk-over, and talkback functionality. He also incorporated a motor-driven SISI unit and added a phonograph for recorded speech. For dichotic and delayed auditory feedback testing, he made a multiple-head, reel-to-reel tape deck. He went on to name this innovation the Stowe Console, and it was an instant success.

This meteoric rise to success allowed Gordon Stowe to move the business out of his home and establish a headquarters in the Chicagoland area. From there, he opened multiple locations in major Midwest cities, including Detroit, MI and Cleveland, OH. Coupling his business savviness with his love of flying, he responded to customers quickly by flying his personal plane to them to provide prompt service. Customers said that Stowe treated them like family; a reputation we strive to maintain to this day.

A Service Organization that Sells Equipment

In 1985, Stowe sold the business to long-time sales manager Gary Tobias. Hired in 1975 to lead sales in the Detroit office, Tobias had a vision to take over the business, expand into new regions, and put a strong emphasis on service. Chick Clemen, who was with the company longer than Tobias, was instrumental in making this happen with his strong engineering background, unparalleled drive, and pro-customer philosophy. Together, they turned Gordon Stowe and Associates from an audiology equipment distributor into a service organization that sells equipment.

Within the first few years, Tobias and Clemen opened new offices in Milwaukee, WI, Kansas City, MO, St Louis, MO, and Memphis, TN. With this expansion came the need to hire more talent, so Tobias and Clemen put a strong emphasis on hiring the right people and training them to be the best. Clemen took responsibility for hiring and training new technicians, as he had a strong engineering background, formerly working on guided missiles for the U.S. military. Tobias focused on hiring new sales and administrative personnel, emphasizing the need for expertise so the staff could effectively consult the customer to the best solutions.

Over the next few decades, Gordon Stowe and Associates grew exponentially because we were more attentive than the competition, had more expertise, and made sure our customers were calibrated on time. We developed tight-knit relationships with manufacturers, often working with them on ways to improve their technology. When it came to customers, we took a consultative approach to servicing their equipment, examining their setup, and making recommendations based on their needs. All these values still carry on at Gordon Stowe today.

New Name, Same Philosophy

After decades of success, Tobias had built a business that essentially ran itself. Having accomplished everything he sought to achieve, he approached William Demant Holdings (WDH) with intent to sell Gordon Stowe and Associates. As the owner of the most renowned brands of hearing and balance equipment, such as Interacoustics and Grason-Stadler,Inc., WDH wanted to buy Gordon Stowe and Associates to make it their sales team of the midwestern United States. The acquisition was finalized in the summer of 2011, and e3 Gordon Stowe was born. Shortly after, WDH acquired other distributors across the country, creating a strong, nationwide presence of e3 distributors.

Tobias helped transition everything over and create the “Expertise, Excellence, Everyday” tagline before retiring. Clemen stayed on to help with technician training and service operations before closing the book on his legendary career in 2018. While they are no longer with e3 Gordon Stowe, their philosophy sticks with us. We maintain a strong focus on responsive, prompt service, putting the customer first, and treating them like family, and providing the most advanced, cutting-edge hearing and balance equipment from the industry’s strongest brands.

If you’re in need of state-of-the-art hearing and balance equipment, prompt and responsive repair and calibration services, or high-quality supplies from leading brands, get in touch with us today. We’d love to show you why we’ve been the Midwest’s leading provider of audiometric equipment sales and service for more than 65 years. We look forward to working with you.