Philips

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Template:Alternateuses Template:Infobox Company | 

 foundation = 1891 |
 company_slogan = Sense and Simplicity |
 location       = Amsterdam, the Netherlands |
 key_people     = Gerard Kleisterlee, CEO |
 products       = Consumer electronics 
 Semiconductors 
 Lighting 
 Medical systems  |
 homepage       = www.philips.com |
 industry       = Electronics |
 num_employees = 159,709 (2004)|
 revenue        = 35.3 billion (USD)(2005)

}} Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Royal Philips Electronics N.V.), usually known as Philips, (Template:Euronext, Template:NYSE) is one of the largest electronics companies in the world. In 2004, its sales were € 30.3 billion and it employed 159,709 people in more than 60 countries. Philips is organized in a number of divisions: Philips Consumer Electronics, Philips Semiconductors, Philips Lighting, Philips Medical Systems and Philips Domestic Appliances and Personal Care.

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History

The company was founded in 1891 by Gerard Philips in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Its first products were light bulbs 'and other electrotechnical equipment'. Its first factory remains as a museum. In the 1920s, the company started to manufacture other products, and in 1939 its first electric razor, the Philishave, was introduced. Philips markets its shavers in the USA using the Norelco name. Philips introduced the compact audio cassette tape, which was wildly successful, though its attempt to set a standard for video cassette recorders, the V2000, was unsuccessful in the face of competition from the Betamax and especially VHS standards.

Image:Philips old logo.png On May 9, 1940, the Philips directors were informed about the German invasion of the Netherlands to take place on May 10. They decided to leave the country and flee to the United States, taking a large amount of the company capital with them. Operating from the US, they managed to run the company throughout the war. At the same time, the company itself was moved to the Netherlands Antilles (on paper) to keep it out of German hands. After the war it was moved back to the Netherlands, with their headquarters in Eindhoven. Many secret research facilities were locked and successfully hidden from the invaders, which allowed the company to get up to speed again quickly after the war.

It is also believed that Philips - both before and during the war - supplied enormous amounts of electric equipment to the German occupation forces, which has led some people to think that the company collaborated with the NazisTemplate:Fact , like many other firms in their day. However, there is no evidence to suggest that Philips itself or its management ever sympathized with the Nazis or their ideologies. The only Philips family member who did not leave the country, Frits Philips, saved the lives of 382 Jews by indicating to the Nazis that they were indispensable for the production process at Philips. In 1996, he was awarded the Yad Vashem reward by the Israeli ambassador for his actions. Clearly, there is little Philips could have done to prevent the Germans from abusing their production facilities and forcing their employees to perform slave labor during the occupation. The production facility in Eindhoven was the only Dutch target that was deliberately bombed by the allied forces during the war.

In 1997 the decision was made to move to Amsterdam. The move was completed in 2001. Initially, the company was housed in the Rembrandt tower, but in 2002 they moved again, this time to the Breitner tower. In a sense, the move to Amsterdam can be considered a return to the company's roots, because Gerard Philips lived in Amsterdam when he came up with the idea of building a light bulb factory.

In December 2005 it was reported that Philips was considering a spin-off of its Semiconductor division, potentially to take place in the second half of 2006.

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Major Consumer Electronics Products

Image:Philips Videopac G7000.jpg

In 1891, Gerard Philips founds Philips in Eindhoven.

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 1978, Philips introduced the Philips G7000, a videogame console that was released in the US as the Magnavox Odyssey 2.

In 1972, Philips introduced the Video 2000-system: a technicaly superior design, but a commercial failure.

In 1982, Philips launched the compact disc in partnership with Sony.

In 1991, Philips introduced the disastrous CD-i, the Compact Disc Interactive system which had many video-game console-type features.

In 1992, Philips launched the ill-fated Digital Compact Cassette format.

In 2001, Philips successfully launched the Senseo coffeemaker, first in the Netherlands and from 2002 onwards, in other countries across Europe. It produces coffee by brewing from custom-made pads containing coffee grounds. The original Senseo pads are produced by Douwe Egberts. The Senseo has been available in the US since 2004.

In 2004, Philips abandoned the slogan "Let's make things better" in favour of a new one: "Sense and Simplicity".

ASM Lithography is a spin-off from a division of Philips.

The company receives a royalty on every DVD manufactured [1].

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CEO's

Past and present CEO:

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Other

Companies acquired by Philips through the years include Magnavox, Signetics, Mullard, VLSI, portions of Westinghouse and the consumer electronics operations of Philco and Sylvania. Philips abandoned the Sylvania trademark which is now owned by Siemens. Philips also owns a 96.5% share in the light emitting diode manufacturer Lumileds.

Philips also owns the naming rights to Philips Arena in Atlanta and to the Philips Championship the premier basketball league in Australia, which is traditionally known as the National Basketball League.

In 1913, to celebrate the Dutch 100 years of independence from France, Philips founded a sports club for its employees. The club was called Philips Sport Vereniging, or PSV Eindhoven, as it is now known.

From Football World Cup 1978 in Argentina Philips is official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup[2]

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External links

Template:AEX companies Template:Commonsca:Philips da:Philips de:Philips es:Philips fr:Philips id:Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. it:Philips he:פיליפס nl:Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. ja:フィリップス no:Philips pl:Royal Philips Electronics pt:Philips fi:Philips sv:Philips zh:飛利浦

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