PHILPS Century (I): the first twenty years

Royal Dutch Philips Electronics Ltd (Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.), founded more than 120 years, is one of the world's largest electronics companies. In the past, the United States and General Electric (GE), SIEMENS (Siemens), Japan's Toshiba (Toshiba) and said the world's four largest electronics group.

The four group, common characteristics are from the electric light bulb the change of human history of science and technology products began, and then expand the vacuum tube technology, developed by X medical vacuum tube, radio and television, and finally into the semiconductor industry, become the kingdom of the full range of power is different, PHILPS; the competitors have home, richly endowed by nature a huge domestic market, while PHILPS's home country of Holland, still have only a mere 16 million people (less than Taiwan) of the low countries.

Start at the beginning, PHILPS in the United States and Germany patent litigation caught under the survival, from a Hefen in ANN (Eindhoven) little red brick studio, in just 20 years to grow into third major European lighting company; then, with the outbreak of the first World War, to seize the opportunity to meet thousands of years. By countries to boycott German products and the monopoly of Europe; but one lay radio market, the development of its own patented technology, competitors will be left behind.

Small countries such as Holland, how can the birth of an electronic Empire?

Time to pull back in January 1895, just after the new year, locked brow, Anton PHILPS (Anton Philips) carrying luggage, from downtown Amsterdam to the south of the country of the small village of Hefen. He is twenty, just graduated from the Amsterdam Stock Exchange School, going to long before a show, but received the father and brother's letter to him to come home to the factory.

Although there are hundreds of thousands of Anton heart unwilling, but think of the father just spent lighting factory in a financial crisis, now the shortage of manpower, those nagging words to the mouth, only abruptly swallowed. Up to six months, Anton thought: to help my father and brother through this difficult, I will go back to Amsterdam. He went to the little light bulb factory, took a deep breath and opened the door. 40 years later, he pushed the small factory to the top of the world.

PHILPS three

In 1891, a tobacco trader and banker Fredrik PHILPS (Frederik Philips), and the eldest son of Gerard (Gerard Philips), together with an Hefen founded PHILPS lamp factory (Philips Light bulb factory NV). The new light bulb, just invented by the United States invented the king Edison 12 years, expensive, not universal. But Gerard, who is keen on Electronic Engineering, thinks that the light bulb will eventually change the lives of all mankind, and he has invested in the new business with his father.

Even though he has an engineering degree, the new product is quite strange. Business less than two years, because the yield is too low, the cost is too high and a series of losses; more because the bulb is not popular in the market, lack of consumer purchase intention, resulting in the Benelux generation lighting industry and many saw factories idle, the collapse of investment. Europeans are only willing to buy German manufacturers SIEMENS and AEG production of light bulbs: although expensive, but good quality.

PHILPS's father and son are soon to the capital to burn out, but they think it is the right way, is only a matter of time before, so they decided to take a gamble: father Fredrik put the house into the lighting business, and his little son Anton, looking back from Amsterdam, as the company clerk.

PHILPS three. Photo Credit: PHILPS official website

Younger brother Anton Gerard 16 years old, energetic, good at rhetoric. Training in the stock exchange in Amsterdam, so that he became a capable negotiator. Shen Helld steady pragmatic, focused on the yield rate and the increase of service life of the bulb; Anton tactful love, sharing my brother not good at work. And he joined, reversing the fate of the PHILPS bulb factory on the verge of collapse.

PHILPS museum to reproduce the year PHILPS bulb factory inside (source: Holland tourism network)

First, he and his brother work together to improve the quality of production. At that time, the light bulb factory must have a lot of glass master, in order to blow the way to make the shell of the light bulb, so the master of glass technology determines the yield of the factory. Gerard and Anton design, the introduction of the first mechanized glass lampshade production equipment, a substantial increase in the yield of the product, while shortening the production time, so that production capacity upgrades, lower unit costs.

Young Anton, aware of the prevalence of bulb is too low, and the size of the domestic market in Holland is too small, simply can not afford to support the light bulb industry; to expand sales, the only way is to expand to foreign markets. At that time, trade barriers between European countries did not exist. Nevertheless, as the only company clerk, but only to the Dutch Anton, unable to do international business.

Language barrier did not hinder the development of Anton's determination to expand the market, he was carrying a suitcase, loaded with large and small bulbs, bought a ticket, jumped on the train bound for russia. Relying on their hands, and improve the quality of the cheap bulb, he should pick