Philips Electronics Singapore Philips started out in Singapore as a four- man company in 1951 dealing mainly in lighting products. In the early 1960s, it took over the distributorship of other electrical and electronic products such as radios and gramophones. In 1968, Philips set up its own black- and- white television assembly line in a rented flatted factory. It later expanded its assembly lines to make transistor radios and telephone equipment. In 1969, it helped to set up and manage Singapore Electronics and Engineering Pte Ltd (SEEL), which was involved in the maintenance and repairs of electronics and weapons for the navy.
Philips moved to its own Toa Payoh factory site in 1972, which assembles radios, televisions and cassette recorders for the Asian and global markets. One of the early products designed by the local team was a mono radio recorder. The Singapore unit eventually shipped more than 10 million units of this radio worldwide. By 1984, the division in Singapore became the Dutch multinational’s largest colour TV manufacturing centre outside of Europe. Philips was also involved in the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system used for managing traffic flow in the city- state, as well as the lighting system for the Night Safari.
In 1996, Singapore became the Asia– Pacific headquarters for Philips. As of 2005, it employed more than 5,200 people and had a sales turnover of more than $1.1 billion. Its staff include more than 1,300 development engineers and industrial designers housed under one roof at the Philips Innovation Campus (PIC) who have been responsible for generating more than US$5 billion in sales for Philips globally. Approximately 1,000 new products are developed by the PIC each year. The centre was responsible for 176 inventions, which resulted in 1,418 patents filed by Philips worldwide in the last five years. Several of Philips’ regional competence and test bedding facilities are also located in Singapore, including its lighting, semiconductor and medical systems divisions.