Philips
Companylogo (Royal Philips Electronics), usually known as
Philips, is one of the largest consumer electronics producers in the world. In 2003, their sales were €29.0 billion and they employed 164,000 people in more than 60 countries. Philips is organized in a number of business units: Philips Consumer Electronics, Philips Semiconductors, Philips Lighting, Philips Medical Systems and Philips Domestic Appliances and Personal Care.
The company was founded in
1891 by Gerard Philips in
Eindhoven, the
Netherlands. Their first products were light bulbs. Their first factory remains as a museum. In the
1920s, the company started to manufacture other products, and in
1939 their first electric shaver, the Philishave was introduced. Philips introduced the compact audio cassette tape, which was wildly successful, though their attempt at a standard for
video cassette recorders, the
V2000, was unsuccessful in the face of competition from the
Betamax and
VHS standards.
At the start of
World War II, the philips directors are tipped on the 9th of May 1940 about the German invasion of the
Netherlands and they decide to leave the country and flee to the United States. They take a large amount of the company capital with them and operating from the US they manage to maintain the company through the war. In the end it is believed that this flight to the US has in fact helped making Philips the large multinational that it is today.
It's also believed at the same time that Philips has both before and during the war supplied enormous amounts of electric equipment to the German occupier, which has led some people to think that they have basically
collaborated with the Nazis, like many German firms in their day.
In
1963, Philips introduced the
Musicassette, or "compact audio cassette".
In
1972, Philips introduced the
laserdisc player, using technology invented already in the
1960s.
In
1983, Philips launched the
compact disc in partnership with
Sony.
In
1992, Philips launched the ill-fated
Digital Compact Cassette format.
ASM Lithography is a spin-off from a division of Philips.
Past and present
CEO:\n* 1891–1922: Gerard Philips\n* 1922–1939: Anton Philips\n* 1939–1961: Frans Otten\n* 1961–1971: Frits Philips\n* 1971–1977: Henk van Riemsdijk\n* 1977–1981: Nico Rodenburg\n* 1982–1986:
Wisse Dekker\n* 1986–1990: Cornelis Van der Klugt\n* 1990–1996: Jan Timmer\n* 1996–2001: Cor Boonstra\n* 2001 to date: Gerard Kleisterlee
Companies acquired by Philips through the years include
Magnavox, Signetics,
Mullard, GTE Sylvania and
Westinghouse.
Philips also owns the
naming rights to
Philips Arena in
Atlanta.
External link
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