Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V., simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology and former consumer electronics company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters is still in Eindhoven. The company gained its royal honorary title in 1998.
Philips was founded by Gerard Philips and his father Frederik, with their first products being light bulbs. Through the 20th century, it grew into one of the world's largest electronics conglomerates, with global market dominance in products ranging from kitchen appliances and electric shavers to light bulbs, televisions, cassettes, and compact discs. At one point, it played a dominant role in the entertainment industry. However in the 2010s the company began downsizing, selling its TV manufacturing, lighting, and home appliance units, eventually becoming a healthcare-focused company.
As of 2024, Philips is organized into three main divisions: Diagnosis and Treatment, Connected Care, and Personal Health.
Philips has a primary listing on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange and is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index. It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Acquisitions included Signetics and Magnavox. It also founded a multidisciplinary sports club called PSV Eindhoven in 1913.
History
The Philips Company was founded in 1891, by Dutch entrepreneur Gerard Philips and his father Frederik Philips. Frederik, a banker based in Zaltbommel, financed the purchase and setup of an empty factory building in Eindhoven, where the company started the production of carbon-filament lamps and other electro-technical products in 1892. This first factory has since been adapted and is used as a museum.In 1895, after a difficult first few years and near-bankruptcy, the Philipses brought in Anton, Gerard's younger brother by sixteen years. Though he had earned a degree in engineering, Anton started work as a sales representative; soon, however, he began to contribute many important business ideas. With Anton's arrival, the family business began to expand rapidly, resulting in the founding of Philips Metaalgloeilampfabriek N.V. in Eindhoven in 1908, followed in 1912 by the foundation of Philips Gloeilampenfabrieken N.V.. After Gerard and Anton Philips changed their family business by founding the Philips corporation, they laid the foundations for the later multinational company.
In the 1920s, the company started to manufacture other products, such as vacuum tubes. For this purpose the Van Arkel–de Boer process was invented.
In 1924, Philips joined with German lamp trust Osram to form the Phoebus cartel.
Radio
On 11 March 1927, Philips went on the air, inaugurating the shortwave radio station PCJJ which was joined in 1929 by a sister station. PHOHI broadcast in Dutch to the Dutch East Indies. Later PHI broadcast in English and other languages to the Eastern hemisphere, while PCJJ broadcast in English, Spanish and German to the rest of the world.The international program Sundays commenced in 1928, with host Eddie Startz hosting the Happy Station show, which became the world's longest-running shortwave program.
In the early 1930s, Philips introduced the "Chapel", a radio with a built-in loudspeaker.
Broadcasts from the Netherlands were interrupted by the German invasion in May 1940. The Germans commandeered the transmitters in Huizen to use for pro-Nazi broadcasts, some originating from Germany, others concerts from Dutch broadcasters under German control.
Philips Radio was absorbed shortly after liberation when its two shortwave stations were nationalized in 1947 and renamed Radio Netherlands Worldwide, the Dutch International Service. Some PCJ programs, such as Happy Station, continued on the new station.
Stirling engine
Philips was instrumental in the revival of the Stirling engine when, in the early 1930s, company management decided that offering a low-power portable generator would assist in expanding sales of its radios into parts of the world where electricity was unavailable or where there was an unreliable supply of batteries. Engineers at the company's research lab carried out a systematic comparison of various power sources and determined that the almost forgotten Stirling engine would be most suitable, citing its quiet operation and ability to run on a variety of heat sources. They were also aware that, unlike steam and internal combustion engines, virtually no serious development work had been carried out on the Stirling engine for many years. Philips asserted that modern materials and know-how would enable great improvements.Encouraged by their first experimental engine, which produced 16 W of shaft power from a bore and stroke of, various development models were produced in a program which continued throughout World War II. By the late 1940s, the "Type 10" was ready to be handed over to Philips' subsidiary Johan de Witt in Dordrecht to be produced and incorporated into a generator set as originally planned. The result, rated at 180/200 W electrical output from a bore and stroke of, was designated MP1002CA. Production of an initial batch of 250 began in 1951, but it became clear that they could not be made at a competitive price, besides the advent of transistor radios with their much lower power requirements meant that the original rationale for the set was disappearing. Approximately 150 of these sets were eventually produced.
In parallel with the generator set, Philips developed experimental Stirling engines for a wide variety of applications and continued to work in the field until the late 1970s, though the only commercial success was the "reversed Stirling engine" cryocooler. The company filed a large number of patents and amassed a wealth of information, which they later licensed to other companies.
Shavers
The first Philips shaver was introduced in 1939, and was simply called Philishave. In the US, it was called Norelco. The Philishave remains part of the Philips product line-up to the present.World War II
On 9 May 1940, the Philips directors learned that the German invasion of the Netherlands was to take place the following day. Being prepared, Anton Philips and his son-in-law Frans Otten, as well as other Philips family members, fled to the United States taking a large amount of the company capital with them. Operating from the US as the North American Philips Company, they managed to run the company throughout the war. At the same time, the company was moved to the Netherlands Antilles to keep it out of German hands.On 6 December 1942, the British No. 2 Group RAF undertook Operation Oyster, which heavily damaged the Philips Radio factory in Eindhoven with few casualties among the Dutch workers and civilians. The Philips location in Eindhoven was bombed again by the RAF on 30 March 1943.
Frits Philips, the son of Anton, was the only Philips family member to stay in the Netherlands. He saved the lives of 382 Jews by convincing the Nazis that they were indispensable for the production process at Philips. In 1943, he was held at the Vught internment camp for political prisoners for several months because a strike at his factory reduced production. For his actions in saving the hundreds of Jews, he was recognized by Yad Vashem in 1995 as a "Righteous Among the Nations".
Post-WWII growth
After the war, the company was moved back to the Netherlands, with their headquarters in Eindhoven.In 1949, the company began selling television sets. In 1950, it formed Philips Records, which eventually formed part of PolyGram in 1962. Philips introduced the compact cassette audio tape format in 1963, and it was wildly successful. Cassettes were initially used for dictation machines for office typing stenographers and by professional journalists. As their sound quality improved, cassettes would also be used to record sound, and became the second mass media alongside vinyl records used to sell recorded music.
Philips introduced the first combination portable radio and cassette recorder, which was marketed as the "radio recorder", now better known as the boombox. Later, the cassette was used in telephone answering machines, including a special form of cassette where the tape was wound on an endless loop. The C-cassette was used as the first mass storage device for early personal computers in the 1970s and 1980s. Philips reduced the cassette size for professional needs with the mini-cassette, although it was not as successful as the Olympus microcassette. The mini-cassette became the predominant dictation medium up to the advent of fully digital dictation machines. Philips continued manufacturing computer products through the early 1990s as Philips Computers.
In 1972, Philips launched the world's first home videocassette recorder, in the UK, the N1500. Its relatively bulky video cassettes could record 30 minutes or 45 minutes. Later one-hour tapes were also offered. As the competition came from Sony's Betamax and the VHS group of manufacturers, Philips introduced the N1700 system which allowed double-length recording. For the first time, a 2-hour movie could fit onto one video cassette. In 1977, the company unveiled a special promotional film for this system in the UK, featuring comedy writer and presenter Denis Norden. The concept was quickly copied by the Japanese makers, whose tapes were significantly cheaper. Philips made one last attempt at a new standard for video recorders with the Video 2000 system, with tapes that could be used on both sides and had 8 hours of total recording time. As Philips only sold its systems on the PAL standard and in Europe, and the Japanese makers sold globally, the scale advantages of the Japanese proved insurmountable and Philips withdrew the V2000 system and joined the VHS Coalition.
Philips had developed a LaserDisc early on for selling movies, but delayed its commercial launch for fear of cannibalizing its video recorder sales. Later Philips joined with MCA to launch the first commercial LaserDisc standard and players. In 1982, Philips teamed with Sony to launch the compact disc; this format evolved into the CD-R, CD-RW, DVD and later Blu-ray, which Philips launched with Sony in 1997 and 2006 respectively.
File:schouhamerimmink.jpg|thumb|left|Kees Schouhamer Immink, Philips' greatest inventor in consumer electronics in the late 20th century, invented the coding technologies for CD, DVD, Blu-ray, and DCC
In 1984, the Dutch Philips Group bought out nearly a one-third share and took over the management of the German company Grundig. Also in 1984, Philips split off its activities on the field of photolithographic integrated circuit production equipment, the so-called wafer steppers, into a joint venture with ASM International, located in Veldhoven under the name ASML. Over the years, this new company has evolved into the world's leading manufacturer of chip production machines at the expense of competitors like Nikon and Canon.