KEF is one of the world famous audio brands. KEF was founded on 2 October 1961 by Raymond Cooke, former head of engineering and technology at the BBC, and his partners. The headquarters were originally based in Kent Engineering Foundries, a metal processing plant along the River Medway, near Maidstone, Kent, because the headquarters at the time were Kent Engineering & Foundry, hence the brand name KEF (Kent Engineering & Foundry).