18th century: It all started with the light bulb
Like a centenarian, Philips has spanned three centuries. The history of this world-famous company dates back to 1891, when a Dutch mechanical engineer started producing carbon filament light sources in a former buckskin factory in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Among his earliest major customers were some of the early power companies who included the provision of light sources in their energy supply contracts. These companies set high standards for the quality of their products, allowing the young Philips to start out with strict quality controls.
1908 was Philips' first year on the world market, with the production of tungsten metal filament bulbs, followed by the tungsten-filament gas-filled "half-watt" lamp in 1913, and the smaller "Arga" light source in 1915. Philips' slogan at the time was "We have a light source for every application". In 1914, the company established a research laboratory to study physical and chemical phenomena in order to promote product innovation. This can be called a sign of its product innovation, because immediately after the next year, Philips grew its own strength, the business expanded to a variety of products such as automotive lamps, searchlights, theater lighting and so on. To the First World War before, Philips has entered the United States, the French market, and in 1919 entered the Belgian market, to the twenties has become one of Europe's most influential producers of carbon filament lamps.
From the beginning of this era, Philips began to protect its inventions with patents, and absorbed X-ray radiation and radio as the company's new field of struggle, which marked the beginning of the diversification of Philips products. 1918, Philips produced its first medical X-ray tube. 1925, Philips stepped into the initial attempts to develop television. 1927, Philips began to produce radio, just one year later. In 1927, Philips began production of radios, and just one year later, Philips not only reached 100 million radios, but also entered the field of medical equipment with the production of medical X-ray equipment in the United States.
The twentieth century: post-war "flying" speed
From the end of the nineteenth century and throughout the twentieth century, the technology of household appliances underwent a radical change. By the 1940s and 1950s, household appliances had become an indispensable necessity. It was not until the outbreak of World War II in 1941 that the pace of product development and technological innovation slowed. Fortunately, after the end of the war, people throughout Europe pay more attention to science, more cherish the hard-won peace of life, Philips in the post-World War II will also be the main energy is also invested in the development of household appliances closer to people's lives.
The 1960s was the era when television became popular around the world, and Philips was involved in major inventions such as CCDs. It also specialized in the development of technology for memorizing, transmitting and regenerating TV pictures. By 1963, Philips invented the pocket-sized tape player, which made it easier for people to listen to radio programs and opened up ideas for the development of later WALKMAN pocket-sized appliances.
Time entered the 1970s, and Philips exciting new products and ideas came out of the woodwork. Research in lighting technology contributed to the new PL and SL energy-saving light bulbs; key technological breakthroughs in the generation, storage, and transmission of images, sound, and data led to the invention of the Radium Optical Disk and the Optical Communication System, and to the Compact Disc subsidiary's was founded.
By the 1980s and 1990s, Philips' product development was moving towards entertainment, lifestyle and utility. Philips began manufacturing CD-ROMs in the 1980s, which changed the way people listened to music and provided ideas for the development of VCDs and DVDs in the future.
Toward the end of the century, Philips put more energy into high-tech, highly sophisticated products. In particular, the successful development of computer chips broke the monopoly of other companies in the computer field.
21st century: 76,000 patents
Today, Philips' research laboratories have become one of the most important research and development organizations in the world. It has laboratories in six countries (the Netherlands, England, France, Germany, China and the United States) and about 3,000 employees spread around the world. The level of invention at Philips Research Labs is reflected in the widespread use of pocket CD-ROMs, CD-ROMs and the rapid introduction of DVD products.
Scientists from a wide range of backgrounds, from electrical engineering, physics, chemistry, mathematics, information technology and software, work closely together in Philips Research Laboratories, influencing each other and broadening their thinking to complement each other's strengths. It also energizes the team towards a more international orientation. Today the PHILIPS logo can be easily seen on the streets of most cities around the world.
The Philips Research Laboratory works closely with its product divisions to develop new products, improve existing ones and obtain important patents in many areas. To date Philips*** has 76,000 patents, which protect the technical achievements of the company's technology and enable Philips to exchange technological achievements with other companies. At the same time, the Philips Research Laboratory serves as a window to external technology.
Of course, with the market in mind, about two-thirds of the company's research work is carried out in conjunction with the activities of Philips' various product divisions. The remaining one-third is exploratory research work providing a wide scope for future work. The importance Philips attaches to research can be seen from the fact that the results of its R&D department amount to about 7.3% of the company's total sales.
Back in the day, when the Dutch Philips father and son created the company, Philips was just a small family business that couldn't be any smaller. But opportunities are always found for creative people, Philips father and son keenly aware of the rapid growth in global demand for light bulbs and keen to capture this business opportunity. From light bulbs to lighting specialists, then radios and medical devices, then high-tech products with a contemporary feel. Looking at the history of Philips is like looking at a history of the world's technological development, and good brands always keep up with the times. In this way, in the continuous innovation, a world brand was quietly born
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