Grundig

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Grundig logo

Grundig AG is a German manufacturer of consumer electronics for home entertainment. Max Grundig established the company in Nuremberg in 1945, shortly after World War II.

The history of the company began in 1930 with the establishment of a store named Fuerth, Grundig & Wurzer (RVF), which sold radios. After World War II Max Grundig recognized the need in Germany for radios and in 1947 produced a kit, while a factory and administration centre were under construction at Fürth. In 1951 the first televisions were manufactured at the new facility with the company and the surrounding area growing rapidly. At the time Grundig was the largest radio manufacturer in Europe. Divisions in Nuremberg, Frankfurt and Karlsruhe were set up. In 1960 tape recorders were manufactured in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the first production by Grundig outside Germany.

Grundig Satellit 2100 radio receiver (early '70s)

In 1972, Grundig GmbH became Grundig AG. After this Philips began to gradually accumulate shares in the company over the course of many years until assuming complete control in 1993. Philips resold it to a Bavarian consortium in 1998 due to unsatisfactory performance. At the end of June 2000 the company relocated its headquarters in Fürth and Nuremberg, and Grundig took a loss of €1.281 million the following year. In the autumn of 2002, Grundig's banks did not extend the company's lines of credit, leaving the company with an April 2003 deadline to announce insolvency. Grundig AG declared bankruptcy in 2003, selling its satellite equipment division to Thomson. In 2004, England's Alba plc and Turkey's Beko Elektronik jointly took over Grundig Home InterMedia System (HIS), Grundig's consumer electronics division.

Grundig S-350 Multi-band Receiver

Currently, the British Alba/Beko consortium retain control of Grundig, although in the United States, products marketed under the Grundig brand are manufactured by the Eton Corporation (formerly Lextronix), based in Palo Alto, California. Vitelcom of Spain are also licensed to manufacture mobile telephones using the Grundig Mobile brand. Also, the auto parts company Delphi now manufactures car radios under the Grundig name.

In 2007 Grundig Mobile announced a Linux powered cell phone called U900.[1]