Hewlett-Packard – HP
Company: Hewlett-Packard Company
Founders:
Industry:
Hewlett-Packard Company, popularly known as HP, is a US-based I.T. corporation that manufactures and markets servers, printers, personal computers, digital cameras, calculators, notebook computers, network management software, and other technology related products.
History:
The company was founded by David Packard and William Hewlett and originated in a garage in Palo Alto during a gathering they had with a professor at Stanford during the Great Depression.
In January 1, 1939, they formalized the partnership with a starting fund of $538 and on August 8, 1947, Hewlett-Packard was formed legally as a corporation.
The company’s first successful venture was a precision audio oscillator, which had a very innovative design that allowed the duo to market it for only $54.40 when it was still selling for $200 at the time. It sold successfully for 33 years, making it the longest-selling electronic design in history.
Though it did not involve itself in semiconductor until 1960, the company is acknowledged as the “symbolic founder of the Silicon Valley. On that year, the HP Associates division was established and this unit designed semiconductor devices that were geared towards internal applications for calculators and other electronic instruments.
Soon after, the HP Board experimented with minicomputers that were manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation but after realizing that it would be more feasible to acquire another small design team than coordinate with DEC, HP forayed into the computer industry with its HP 2100/HP 1000 minicomputers in 1966. These first-generation HP machines would soon give rise to the HP 9800 and the HP 250 series, business and desktop computers that were manufactured and marketed long before the PC ever came out.
In 1984, the company introduced to the market inkjet and laser printers for the desktop.
In 1990, the HP Board expanded its market base to encompass that of the consumers’.
Hewlett-Packard expanded by acquiring Apollo Computer and Convex Computer in 1989 and 1995 respectively. IN 2002, it merged with Compaq, which gave Hewlett-Packard a considerable presence in the laptop, server, and desktop markets.
As of 2006, the HP Board announced a $91.7 billion in revenue, making its dominance as a technology vendor clear on a global basis. Its nearest competitor, IBM, made only $91.4 billion. The year after that, HP’s sales catapulted to the $104 billion mark, making it the first ever Information Technology company to have revenues exceeding $100 billion. In 2008, the HP Board announced the acquisition of EDS.
HP is now the world’s largest seller of personal computers on a global basis.
Leadership:
Trivia:
The co-founder of Apple, Steve Wozniak, used to work at Hewlett-Packard. While there he designed the Apple I computer. His idea got rejected.
In 1987, the garage where Packard and Hewlett started their enterprise was made into the state of California’s historical landmark.
Initiatives passed by the HP Chairman the HP Board has made HP the top “Green Company” for environmental sustainability in the electronics industry.
