On 09/11/2016 08:23 AM, Paul Koning wrote: > Philips was founded around the end of the 19th century as a maker of > light bulbs, got into vacuum tubes in the 1920s or so.
Philips was into everything. For simple appliances, most in North America were completely unaware of the parent company, because personal care products are marketed under the "Norelco" brand. I believe that Philips acquired Sylvania, then sold it to Funai. In 2000, Philips was the largest manufacturer of semiconductors, having acquired both Signetics and VLSI Technology. later spun off as NXP to a private investment consortium. If you own a Sonicare electric toothbrush, that's Philips too. It's pretty safe to say that almost everyone has a Philips product somewhere in their life--it may not be branded with the Philips name however. --Chuck
