The History of N. V. Philips' Gloeilampenfabrieken

This is the first of a projected three-volume history of a multi-national company of major importance. This volume, originally published in Dutch in 1980, analyses the early economic and technological development of the Dutch electrical industry, prior to the establishment of the Philips company itself in 1891. The origins of Philips are placed firmly in their international scientific and industrial context, and Mr Heerding explains how the rapid rise of the company to a position of European and, ultimately, global importance was dependent upon a remarkable combination of technical, commercial and financial expertise. The significant early activities of the Philips family in, for example, commodity funding, banking and gas lighting are fully described, and clearly related to the company's later technological and marketing success within the manufacturing sector. Throughout the volume a formidable array of statistical and illustrative material supports Mr Heerding's argument, and the complete project will make a major contribution to the recent economic and business history of the western world.