There are probably few people who know that the Dutch electronics giant Philips was once the world’s largest in banking computers. Behind the success was a group of engineers and developers at the company’s Swedish operations in Järfälla.
– Just like for the parent company, Dutch Philips, the Swedish operation started with the sale of light bulbs and then grew rapidly. Swedish Philips was founded in 1919 and eventually started its own light bulb factory in Stockholm, together with Osram, says Mats Danielson, professor of computer and systems science at Stockholm University.
Mats Danielson is the author of the book The Rise and Fall of Philips Data Systems –
A major European computer industry. It is based on a wealth of company facts in combination with around fifty interviews with people who worked at, or had access to, Swedish Philips.
