PHILIPS
The Royal Philips Electronics company started in 1891. The technical development of its sole product, the incandescent lamp, was done ‘alongside’ the factory.
From 1914 to 1945 was the period of growth and diversification. Apart from improvements to the incandescent lamp, research was carried out into gas discharge lamps. At the same time, the ‘bulb technology’ opened up the way to new products such as the X-ray tube and the radio valve. The invention of the pentode gave a Philips a basic patent in the radio field.
The second period , which started after World War II, was the period of expansion. In this period television became a mass-produced consumer good and the research work initiated in the 1930s became a major programme.
This was also the era of ‘solid state’. The invention of the transistor by Bell Labs changed the world of electronics forever.
