飛利浦歷史

飛利浦是當今全球最大的電子公司之一，而它的基礎是在1891年所奠定的，當時傑拉德．飛利浦（Gerard Philips）在荷蘭埃因霍恩（Eindhoven）成立了一家公司，「專門製造白熾燈泡與其他電子產品」。

最初該公司致力生產碳絲極燈，到了19世紀末20世紀初時，它已成為全歐最大的廠商之一。

而飛利浦在照明新技術上的發展，則促成了穩定的擴張計畫，1914年時，該公司設立了研究實驗室，以研究物理化學現象以促進産品創新。

早在第一次世界大戰前，飛利浦公司已經進入美國和法國市場，1919年進入比利時市場。而到了1920年代，這類公司更如雨後春筍般出現。

從此，飛利浦開始在X光輻射和收音機接收領域爲其産品申請專利保護。而這也為它的產品多元化揭開了序幕。繼1918年推出醫療X光管後，飛利浦又於1925年率先著手電視機實驗。1927年，它開始生產收音機，並在1932年達到銷售量100萬台。一年後，就在它生產第1億隻收音機電子管radio valve時，也同時在美國開始製造醫療用X光設備。

Philips' first electric shaver was launched in 1939, at which time the Company employed 45,000 people worldwide and had sales of 152 million guilders.

Science and technology underwent tremendous development in the 1940s and 1950s, with Philips Research inventing the rotary heads which led to the development of the Philishave electric shaver, and laying down the basis for later ground-breaking work on transistors and integrated circuits. In the 1960s, this resulted in important discoveries such as CCDs (charge-coupled devices) and LOCOS (local oxidation of silicon).

Philips also made major contributions in the development of the recording, transmission and reproduction of television pictures, its research work leading to the development of the Plumbicon TV camera tube and improved phosphors for better picture quality. It introduced the Compact Audio Cassette in 1963 and produced its first integrated circuits in 1965.

The flow of exciting new products and ideas continued throughout the 1970s: research in lighting contributed to the new PL and SL energy-saving lamps; other key breakthroughs came in the processing, storage and transmission of images, sound and data where Philips Research made key breakthroughs, resulting in the inventions of the LaserVision optical disc, the Compact Disc and optical telecommunication systems.

Philips established PolyGram in 1972, and acquired Magnavox (1974) and Signetics (1975) in the United States. Acquisitions in the 1980s included the television business of GTE Sylvania (1981) and the lamps business of Westinghouse (1983). The Compact Disc was launched in 1983, while other landmarks were the production of Philips' 100-millionth TV set in 1984 and 300-millionth Philishave electric shaver in 1995.

The 1990s was a decade of significant change for Philips. The company carried out a major restructuring program to return it to a healthy footing. And more recently it has been concentrating on its core activities. Today, Philips is at the leading edge of the digital revolution, introducing world-class products that are helping to improve people's lives as we continue into the new millennium.