Gentex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and supplies digital vision, connected car, dimmable glass, and fire protection technologies, including automatic-dimming rearview and non-dimming mirrors and electronics for the automotive industry; dimmable aircraft windows for the aviation industry; and commercial smoke alarms and signaling devices for the fire protection industry.
The company’s largest business segment involves designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing in...
Gentex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and supplies digital vision, connected car, dimmable glass, and fire protection technologies, including automatic-dimming rearview and non-dimming mirrors and electronics for the automotive industry; dimmable aircraft windows for the aviation industry; and commercial smoke alarms and signaling devices for the fire protection industry.
The company’s largest business segment involves designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing interior and exterior automatic-dimming automotive rearview mirrors that utilize proprietary electrochromic technology to dim in proportion to the amount of headlight glare from trailing vehicle headlamps. Within this business segment, the company also designs, develops and manufactures various electronics that are value added features to the interior and exterior automotive rearview mirrors as well as electronics for interior visors, overhead consoles, and other locations in the vehicle. The company ships its products to all the major automotive producing regions worldwide, which it supports with numerous sales, engineering and distribution locations worldwide.
The company began making shipments of the Full Display Mirror (‘FDM’), which is an on-demand, mirror-borne LCD display that stream live, panoramic video of the vehicle's rearward view to improve driver rear vision. Also in 2015, the company introduced the integration of toll module technology into the vehicle in a first-to-market application referred to as Integrated Toll Module or ‘ITM’.
The company announced an agreement entered during the ordinary course of business with VOXX International Corporation (‘VOXX’) to become the exclusive aftermarket distributor of the Gentex Aftermarket Full Display Mirror in North America. The company has also displayed a three-camera rear vision system that streams rear video – in multiple composite views – to a rearview-mirror-integrated display. Further, the company has announced an embedded biometric solution for vehicles that leverages iris scanning technology to create a secure environment in the vehicle. There are many use cases for authentication, which range from vehicle security to start functionality to personalization of mirrors, music, seat location and temperature, to the ability to control transactions not only for the ITM system, but also the ride sharing car of the future. The company’s iris recognition is among the most secure forms of biometric identification, with a false acceptance rate as low as one in 10 million, far superior to facial, voice, and other biometric systems. The company's future plans include integrating biometric authentication with many of its other electronic features, including HomeLink and HomeLink Connect or the ITM. The biometric system allows for added security and convenience for multiple drivers by adding an additional factor of authentication for increased security, when a driver (or passenger) enters a vehicle. The company announced in January 2018 that it entered into an exclusive licensing agreement, in the ordinary course of business, with Fingerprint Cards AB to deploy its ActiveIRIS iris-scanning biometric technology in automotive applications.
In 2019, the company announced that it offers, as optional content, its latest generation of variable dimmable windows on the Boeing 777X aircraft. The first production shipments of variably dimmable windows were made to Boeing for the 777X program that same year. In 2020, the company announced that Airbus also be offering the company's dimmable aircraft windows on its aircraft, with production having begun in 2021.
Also in 2020, the company unveiled an innovative lighting technology for medical applications that was co-developed with Mayo Clinic. This new lighting concept represents the collaboration of a global, high-technology electronics company with a world leader in health care. The company's new intelligent lighting system combines ambient room lighting with camera-controlled, adaptive task lighting to optimize illumination for surgical and patient-care environments. The company continues to work on the intelligent medical lighting system in order to assess system performance and work toward obtaining any necessary approvals.
Further in 2020, the company, in the ordinary course of business, acquired Vaporsens, Inc. (‘Vaporsens’), which specializes in nanofiber chemical sensing research and development.
In 2021, the company announced a partnership, in the ordinary course of business, with Simplenight to provide drivers and vehicle occupants with access to enhanced mobile capability for booking personalized entertainment and lifestyle experiences in addition to everyday purchases. Simplenight integrated into the company's connected vehicle technologies, including HomeLink, the automotive industry’s leading car-to-home automation system. HomeLink consists of vehicle-integrated buttons that can be programmed to operate a myriad of home automation devices. Integration of Simplenight into the company's HomeLink Connect app is occurring. The HomeLink Connect allows users to program their HomeLink buttons and control cloud-based devices from their vehicles.
Also in 2021, the company announced the acquisition of Guardian Optical Technologies (‘Guardian’), an Israeli startup that pioneered a unique, multi-modal sensor technology designed to provide a comprehensive suite of driver- and cabin-monitoring solutions for the automotive industry.
In 2022, the company obtained an approximate 20% equity share in GreenMarbles, in the ordinary course of business. GreenMarbles is a provider of sustainable solutions for integration into properties. The company intends for this relationship to promote the HomeLink Connect App, PLACE and HomeLink Smart Home Solutions with property developers and contractors.
In 2023, the company announced a partnership, in the ordinary course of business, with Adasky Ltd. (‘Adasky’), a developer and manufacturer of intelligent, high-resolution thermal sensing systems for vehicle safety and perception applications and smart city roadway solutions. In addition to the partnership, the company has obtained an approximate 27% equity share in Adasky.
Also in 2023, the company acquired certain technology assets from eSight Corporation (‘eSight’), in the ordinary course of business. The company has been developing, initially for contract manufacture and as the owner, the technology, referred to as eSightGo.
In January 2024, the company announced a partnership, in the ordinary course of business, with Solace Power, an innovative wireless power transfer technology company. This collaboration is intended to further develop, manufacture, and commercialize Solace Power’s unique wireless power systems for a wide variety of industries. In addition to the partnership, the company obtained an approximate 13% equity share in Solace Power. The company’s Solace Power’s technology not only has immediate applications in the company product portfolio but also play an important role in the company continued expansion into new markets.
Also in 2024, the company announced the introduction of a suite of smart home safety products with room-specific functionality called PLACE.
In November 2024, the company acquired GalvanEyes, LLC, which is the managing partner and 50% owner of the BioCenturion joint venture with Eyelock, a subsidiary of VOXX. BioCenturion specializes in creating and deploying authentication solutions to help clients secure their worlds, optimize their workload, and organize their data through customized biometric solutions. The company's significant IP portfolio, including more than 100 patents granted, patents pending, and proprietary technology enables a high-speed, convenient, touchless, contactless, frictionless, and secure authentication of individuals across different business verticals.
Automotive revenues represent approximately 98% of the company's total revenue in 2024, mostly consisting of interior and exterior electrochromic automatic-dimming rearview mirrors and automotive electronics.
The company designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and supplies digital vision, connected car, dimmable glass, and fire protection technologies, including automatic-dimming and non-automatic-dimming rearview mirrors and electronics for the automotive industry; dimmable aircraft windows for the aviation industry; and commercial smoke alarms and signaling devices for the fire protection industry.
Automotive Products
Automotive Rearview Mirrors and Electronics. Automotive applications are the largest business segment for the company, consisting primarily of interior and exterior electrochromic automatic-dimming rearview mirrors and automotive electronics. The company manufactures interior electrochromic automatic-dimming rearview mirrors that darken to reduce glare and improve visibility for the driver. These electronic interior mirrors can also include additional electronic features, such as compass, HomeLink, interior driver and cabin monitoring systems, lighting assist and driver assist forward safety camera systems, various lighting systems, various telematics systems, ITM systems, and a wide variety of displays, including the FDM product. The company also ships interior non-automatic-dimming rearview mirrors with and without features.
The company’s interior electrochromic automatic-dimming rearview mirrors also power the application of the company’s exterior electrochromic automatic-dimming rearview mirrors that darken to reduce glare and improve visibility for the driver. These electronic exterior mirrors typically range in size and shape per automaker specification but can also include additional features such as turn signal indicators, side blind zone indicators, and courtesy lighting. The company also ships exterior non-automatic-dimming rearview mirrors with similar electronic features available in its automatic-dimming applications.
The company manufactures other automotive electronics products as a part of HomeLink applications in the vehicle, including the rearview mirror, interior visor, overhead console, or center console. Certain of the company's features can be located either in the rearview mirror or other locations in the vehicle. Additionally, as the company expands its FDM product and the ITM system, rearward facing video cameras, digital video recording, and integrated toll transponders are being produced and sold.
The company produces rearview mirrors and electronics globally for automotive passenger cars, light trucks, pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles, and vans for original equipment manufacturers (‘OEMs’), automotive suppliers, and various aftermarket and accessory customers. Automotive rearview mirrors and electronics accounted for 98% of the company’s consolidated net sales in 2024.
Competition
The company is the leading manufacturer of electrochromic automatic-dimming rearview mirrors in the world and is the largest supplier to the automotive industry. Competitors for automotive rearview mirrors include Magna International (‘Magna’), Fudi Technology, Findream Technology, Kingband, Acson, Nigbo Huichang, Panasonic, Aolian, Ultronix, Tokai Rika Company, SMR Automotive, Intertech, Adayo, Sincode, Licon, Amblight, Mirrortech, Mike Shanghai, Guangdong Yangfeng Electronic Technology Co. Ltd., Guangdong E-Think Technology Company, Hubei SL, Shanxi Coal, and Chongqing Yimei. The company also supplies electrochromic automatic-dimming rearview mirrors to certain of these rearview mirror competitors.
Automotive Rearview Mirrors and Electronics Product Development. The company continually seeks to develop new products and is working to introduce additional advanced-feature automatic-dimming mirrors. Advanced-feature automatic-dimming mirrors being offered by the company include one or more of the following features: SmartBeam, HomeLink, HomeLink Connect, frameless mirror designs, compass displays, telematics, ITM systems, hands free communication, Rear Camera Display (‘RCD’) interior mirrors, FDM interior mirrors, digital video recording solutions, exterior turn signals, side blind zone indicators and various other exterior mirror features that improve safety and field of view. The company also develops small-scale dimmable devices that darken to improve contrast and legibility for transparent displays, concealment of sensors, and to dynamically adjust camera exposure.
Automotive Rearview Mirrors and Electronics Markets and Marketing. In North America, Europe and Asia, the company markets its products primarily through a direct sales force utilizing its sales and engineering offices located in Germany, UK, Sweden, France, Japan, South Korea and China, as well as its headquarters in Michigan. The company generally supplies automatic-dimming mirrors and mirrors with advanced electronic features to its customers worldwide under annual blanket purchase orders with customers, as well as under long-term agreements with certain customers, entered into in the ordinary course of the company's business.
The company is supplying mirrors and electronic modules for Aston Martin, BMW Group, Daimler Group, Faraday Future, Ferrari, Ford Motor Co., Geely/Volvo, General Motors, Harley Davidson, Honda Motor Co., Hyundai/Kia, Isuzu Motors, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, KG Ssangyong Mobility, Lucid Motors, Mazda, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, McLaren, Polaris, Renault/Nissan/Mitsubishi Group, Rivian Automotive, Stellantis, Subaru, Tata Motors, Tesla, TOGG Inc., Toyota Motor Company, Volkswagen Group, VOXX, and Yamaha, as well as shipments to domestic China manufacturers (Chery, Dongfeng, FAW, Great Wall Motors, Human Horizon, King Long, Lixiang Auto, NIO, SAIC, and Xpeng EV).
The company is contributed to this differentiation strategy, allowing original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to maximize profitability and optionality by providing mirror-based and in-vehicle technologies that consumers demand
Automotive Rearview Mirrors and Electronics.
The company continues to be the leading producer of automatic-dimming rearview mirrors in the world and is the largest supplier to the automotive industry with an approximate 86% market share worldwide in 2024. While the company retains a significant position in automatic-dimming rearview mirrors for some time, another U.S. manufacturer, Magna Mirrors, a division of Magna, continues to compete for sales to domestic and foreign vehicle manufacturers and is supplying a number of domestic and foreign vehicle models with its versions of auto-dimming mirrors and appears to have considerably more resources available to it. As such, Magna has a formidable competitive threat. The company also continues to sell automatic-dimming exterior mirror sub-assemblies to Magna Mirrors. Moreover, other companies have products that are competitive to the company's FDM system, and Chinese domestic mirror suppliers have begun marketing and selling these products, within the domestic China market. Further, two Japan manufacturers (Murakami and Panasonic) have begun selling and marketing competitive FDM type products in Japan. The company acknowledges that dimming device (e.g., electrochromic) technology is the subject of research and development efforts by numerous third parties.
The company’s electrochromic automatic-dimming mirrors and mirrors with advanced electronic features offer significant performance advantages over competing products and the company makes significant research and development investments to continue to increase and improve the performance advantages of its products and to potentially add new products.
The company’s electrochromic materials and manufacturing process it uses for automotive mirrors remains the most efficient and cost-effective way to produce these products. The company is also continues to invest in new technologies to improve manufacturing processes. In 2020, the company, in the ordinary course of business, completed the acquisition of Argil, Inc., an electrochromic technology and research and development company, which the company anticipates using to complement and expand its product offerings and leverage for manufacturing efficiencies.
As the company continues to expand its automatic-dimming mirror products with additional advanced electronic features and expands the capabilities of its: CMOS imager technology for additional features (i.e. SmartBeam, FDM, rear video camera, digital video recorder, etc.), hybrid and fully digital CMS technology, and driver and cabin monitoring systems, the company recognizes that it is competing with considerably larger and more geographically diverse electronics companies that presents a formidable competitive threat in the future as new products/features and technologies are brought to market.
Dimmable Aircraft Windows
The company continues to manufacture and sell variable dimmable windows for the passenger compartment on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner series of aircraft. In 2019, the company announced that it would be offering, as optional content, its latest generation of variable dimmable windows on the Boeing 777X aircraft. Later in 2019, the first production shipments of variably dimmable windows were made to Boeing for the 777X program. As previously announced, Airbus is offering, as optional content, the company's dimmable aircraft windows on its aircraft, with production having begun in 2021.
Markets and Marketing.
The company markets its variable dimmable windows to aircraft manufacturers and airline operators globally.
Fire Protection Technologies
The company manufactures photoelectric smoke detectors and alarms, visual signaling alarms, photoelectric smoke alarms and electrochemical carbon monoxide alarms, electrochemical carbon monoxide alarms and detectors, audible and visual signaling appliances, and bells and speakers for use in fire detection systems in office buildings, hotels, and other commercial and residential establishments. In January 2024, the company announced the introduction of a suite of smart home safety products with room-specific functionality called PLACE.
Markets and Marketing
The company’s fire protection technologies are sold directly to fire protection and security product distributors under the company’s brand name, to electrical wholesale houses, and to OEMs of fire protection systems under both the company’s brand name and private labels. The company markets its fire protection products primarily in North America, but also globally through regional sales managers and manufacturer representative organizations. The company's PLACE products are being sold to retailers.
Nanofiber Products and Development
The company completed the acquisition of Vaporsens in 2020. Vaporsens specializes in nanofiber chemical sensing research and development.
Medical Products and Development
In 2020, the company unveiled an innovative lighting technology for medical applications that was co-developed with Mayo Clinic. This new lighting concept represents the collaboration of a global, high-technology electronics company with a world leader in health care. The company's new intelligent lighting system combines ambient room lighting with camera-controlled, adaptive task lighting to optimize illumination for surgical and patient-care environments. The company continues to further develop and work on the intelligent medical lighting system in order to assess system performance and work toward obtaining any necessary approvals.
In November 2023, the company acquired certain technology assets from eSight. The technology acquired from eSight provides advanced and versatile low-vision smart glasses for those with visual impairments and is compatible with more than 20 eye conditions including Macular Degeneration, Diabetic Retinopathy, and Stargardt disease. eSight wearables are inspected and registered by public health officials.
Markets and Marketing.
The company markets and sells the eSight smart glasses directly to consumers that have visual impairments or eye conditions, it also sells the eSight product through authorized distributors.
Biometrics Products and Development
In November 2024, the company acquired GalvanEyes, LLC, which is the managing partner and 50% owner of the BioCenturion joint venture with Eyelock, a subsidiary of VOXX.
Markets and Marketing.
The company markets and sells identity authentication and access control products utilizing the biometrics technology. The company sells these products through its normal sales process and through authorized distributors.
Trademarks and Patents
The company owned 49 U.S. Registered Trademarks, 815 U.S. Patents, 380 foreign Registered Trademarks, and 1,498 foreign patents. Most of these Registered Trademarks and Patents relate to the company's core industries of automotive, aerospace, fire protection, as well as medical devices. Many of these patents and registered trademarks relate to electrochromic technology, automotive rearview mirrors, displays, cameras, sensor technology, smart lighting technology, HomeLink, variably dimmable windows, automotive visors, driver and cabin monitoring systems, fire protection technologies, and medical devices. These patents expire at various times between 2025 and 2046.
The company also processes 186 U.S. Patent applications, 295 foreign patent applications, 18 U.S. Registered Trademark applications, and 50 foreign registered trademark applications.
History
Gentex Corporation was founded in 1974. The company was incorporated as a Michigan corporation in 1974.
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