Gerard PhilipsPhilips1892Gerard Philips and his father, Frederik Philips, opened a small light bulb factory in HollandGerard’s brother, Anton, an excellent salesman and manager, joined the company1899Anton hired the company’s first export managersThe managers spent 8-10 months a year traveling in such diverse places as Japan, Australia, Canada, Brazil and Russia to establish new markets1900Philips was the third largest light bulb producer in EuropeIn Eindhoven, company houses, bolstered education and local services were provided for employeesPaid its employees so well that other local employers complained1912Set aside 10% of profits for employeesElectric lamp industry started to show signs of overcapacity, Philips started building sales organizations in the United States, Canada, and France and other cartel-free countries
Gerard PhilipsPhilips was born in 1825 but had to return to Norway to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a doctor. With a business plan that included taking his son’s place as his successor, the Philips family settled in the early 1880s in Fowlaen near Oslo. In 1909, in partnership with a German engineer, Erich Schule, Philips built the first light bulb assembly facility in Norway and made a fortune by purchasing the majority share in a large Dutch tobacco manufacturer, Philips Chemical. Following a successful development of his factory, Philips founded Philips Electric Light, founded the Philips Electric Lamp Company, and was the first company in North America to produce industrial or agricultural lighting systems.1914Operating from a warehouse on U.N. street, Philips was able to raise the production of all the nation’s bulbs, making him the world’s most-efficient light bulb installer. In 1914 Philips sent his brother-in-law, Hans, to Paris so the brothers could install in the countrythe largest, most effective, and lowest-cost bulb in the world. Philips also developed a series of innovative designs to control light intensity and to eliminate headaches and smoke. In the 1930s, Philips was the world’s first manufacturer of home lighting. He was part investor and director of Philips Electric Light & Co., a Swedish electronics company located in Paris.1932He became chairman of a large Dutch chemical company, FochgĂĄrdd-Hunds, after acquiring the rest of Philips’s holdings. FochgĂĄrdd-Hunds built the first “battery” to supply the world with high-energy lighting, the first such plant in the Netherlands.1949Philips was the first European to establish a national electrical manufacturing network, which eventually gave way to Philips Electric Power Company in 1944. The company was based in New York City and built power plants in Europe and the United States. In 1946 Philips introduced a new “battery-free” model of energy conversion.1951Pepa Philips is the inventor of the term in science and technology that gives all persons a unique perspective on reality in relation to their everyday realities. He is the co-founder of the company and one of the first of the architects of the “smart economy” movement. He was a founding member of the group (The Organization for the Advancement of Science of the Technopolis) and held many positions as the president and CEO of the American Board of Science and Technology (B.O.ST.). He is among the authors of a book, How Technology Won in the Twenty-First Century, published in 2002 by the American Economic Association (AEA). In 2002, Philips published his most popular book, Philips in the Future: The Development of Tomorrow in Europe (Etica Publishers, 2008).
1918Philips began producing electronic vacuum tubes; 8 years later its first radios appeared, capturing a 20% world market share within a decadePhilips was forced to build local production facilities to protect its foreign sales of these products1919Philips entered into the “Principal Agreement” with General Electric, giving each company the use of the other’s patents. The agreement also divided the world into “Three spheres of influence”: General Electric would control North America; Philips would control Holland; both companies agreed to compete freely in the rest of the world (General Electric also took 20% stake in Philips)
Philips began evolving from a highly centralized company whose sales were conducted through third parties to a decentralized sales organization with autonomous marketing companies in 14 European countries, China, Brazil and Australia
1930sPhilips began producing X-ray tubesGerard, an engineer, and Anton, a businessman, began a subtle competition where Gerard would try to produce more than Anton could sell and vice versaIn anticipation of the impending World War II, Philips transferred its overseas assets to two trusts, British Philips and the North America Philips Corporation in late 1930s
Moved most of Philips vital research laboratories to Redhill in Surrey,