Eindhoven had an idea and it was beer.

Ask anyone to describe a Dutch city and you will hear about gabled houses, canals and histories that go back deep into the Middle Ages or even before. This is mostly correct, with two notable exceptions. Rotterdam, though old, is now a modern vibrant harbortown unlike any other Dutch city. The other exception is the southern city of Eindhoven. Around the year 1900 it was  a tiny town of barely 5000 people, now it is the fifth city in the country.

Historians like to look for all kinds of factors that make a city grow, but in Eindhoven’s case it is a simple one. It was here that the brothers Philips started a small factory to produce light bulbs. Their bulbs were world class and people came from all over the country to work for them. The company grew rapidly and with it so did the city. Philips went from bulbs to transistor radios, televisions and household appliances and ventured further into all kinds of electronics. It made Philips a multinational company and Eindhoven a city.

Philips

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