Technology has gone a long way, and every company strives to gain leadership in the race for the best product. In the world, a huge number of manufacturers who now produce flagships and are working to ensure that their products are competitive. Hewlett-Packard Company is an American company that is best known for its printers and scanners. Over the past few years, the company has become a laptop manufacturer. In addition to computer technology, it produces accessories and components.
The brand
This large American IT company creates not only flagships in a certain segment, but also works on the provision of IT services. A representative office can be found in any country. But production is currently open only in the Czech Republic, China, Russia and Vietnam.
HP is known as a manufacturer of very high-quality, productive and durable products. Nevertheless, the company's reputation has dark spots that brought unsuccessful projects. But still there is more honey in this barrel than tar. This is probably why the company has been serving its homeland and the whole world for so long.
History reference
HP has a very long history. It was founded back in 1939, just before the Second World War. This happened in the small settlement of Palo Alto, which is located in California. The foundation for these events was the friendship of two guys. At that time, Bill Hewlett and David Packard had graduated from Stanford University as five years ago.
By the way, there is an interesting fact: during the organization of the company, the guys argued for a long time over whose name will be first in the name. After long conversations, they decided to toss a coin. Despite the fact that Packard won the argument, he decided that Bill's name should be the first. Thus began the history of the famous brand.
Innovative breakthrough
After the founding of the company, it was necessary to develop a business plan. For everything about everything, the guys had only 538 dollars. Of course, at that time it was good money. But still the garage became the first office for them. Just there, for the first time, Hewlett and Packard created equipment for testing audio devices. At that time, this was not an innovation. Nevertheless, the product was stable and low cost. The novelty was an unusual solution that allowed the company to stand one step higher than its competitors.
First customers
Interestingly, after creating the oscillator, customers quickly pushed into HP. The manufacturer really engaged in the manufacture of a quality product. Therefore, it is not surprising that the famous Walt Disney Company became its first client. At that time, she needed eight instruments for testing audio equipment.
Of course, the recommendations of the famous animation studio helped bring new customers to the company. In the first year, Bill and David earned more than $ 5,000 on oscillators alone. Improving the financial situation helped the guys to rent an office.
War and post-war time
In 1924, Hewlett-Packard set about building its own building for the company. In addition, managers set up health insurance for their employees. At that time, it was not just a pleasant addition to a prestigious job, but also a new method of caring for staff.
In 1941, Bill Hewlett left his colleague and joined the army. The Second World War suspended the active production of equipment, and Packard was forced to stay behind the main thing in the whole company. Until 1947, Dave independently managed the company.
As soon as Bill returned home, the company became a corporation. Nevertheless, it remained closed to those who wanted to buy shares. This became possible only in 1957. Shares of the company successfully hit the market. Already in the 1961st they were successful in New York on the stock exchange. It was decided to elect a president - he became Packard, but Hewlett took the post of vice president. The corporation developed at lightning speed. If in the late 40s more than 100 people worked here, and the turnover reached 850 thousand dollars, then by 1951 this figure had increased by 6 times and amounted to 5.5 million dollars.
Expansion
By the end of the 50s, friends were thinking about how to expand their influence on the technology market. At this time, a factory in Germany opens and a point of sale appears in Switzerland. In fact, the spread was only to begin.
After successful agreements with other countries, a representative office was opened in Japan. After that, a company was bought, which was engaged in the manufacture of equipment for health workers. Then the organization Sanborn was in good hands. Already at the beginning of the 21st century, the corporation created a separate company working in this direction.
Confession
In 1962, many already knew about Hewlett-Packard (HP). The manufacturing country presented a list of the 500 largest US companies. The corporation fell into this rating and took 460 line. The turnover has already reached cosmic figures - more than $ 100 million. The staff totaled about 6 thousand workers. The company was preparing to open its research center. It happened in 1968. Bernie Oliver became its head.
First news
Prior to this, the corporation was engaged in the manufacture of equipment that had already been invented before. Each time, goods from the assembly line of the company came out of high quality and in demand. The same thing happened with the first Hewlett-Packard PC. Then the corporation, one might say, declared itself as a manufacturer of computers. HP launched its first PC in 1966, and a couple of years later the first scientific calculator appeared.
By the way, the latest device has become very popular. The advertisers did a good job with him. The calculator was positioned as the first personal computer, which was a novelty in those years. The price of this device was almost 5 thousand dollars.
In the early 70s, the first portable calculator for scientists was released. It has become more compact at times and could already fit in your pocket. It was this invention in the beginning of the 21st century that Forbes considered revolutionary: that which changed the world. Along with this discovery, the corporation continued the serial production of gadgets necessary for large companies. A giant model 3000 computer was created by today's standards. In 1974, the corporation showed the world the first programmable calculator and the first PC with its own internal memory of as much as 4 kilobytes.
Productivity
Despite the fact that Hewlett-Packard is the first company to establish a flexible schedule, it still remained productive. The corporation employed more than 30 thousand people. By 1977, an interesting invention appeared on the market - an electronic clock. At that time it was a significant breakthrough. Inside the watch was not only a calculator, but also an organizer.
After 3 years, the first PC finally appears - the HP-85. It was in the form of a monoblock. The processor and other components were combined under a common case with a tiny display. Inside was a built-in keyboard and printer. The computer could also connect to other external devices.
Inventions for researchers continued to appear on the market. The corporation has produced a financial calculator, which can be found now. Also spread its influence to the Chinese audience.
In 1982, the world's first pocket computer appeared. He could collaborate with printers and devices that read cassettes and tapes. At this time, inside the company, employees learn about the internal network. Now they could send each other emails.
In 1984, the first inkjet printer appeared, and almost immediately the famous HP LaserJet - a laser printer. In the late 80s, the world already saw a personal inkjet device - DeskJet. Its color version appeared in 1991. Naturally, such inventions led the corporation to create MFPs.
New time
Until the beginning of the 21st century, the company had a huge number of products that conquered the technology market. In 2001, she decided to pay attention to IT services. Now there was a department that was engaged in consulting, support, system development, etc.
This year, the corporation's staff included more than 140 thousand people. The company's turnover amounted to about 57 billion dollars a year. Since 2005, the company has seriously engaged in the production and improvement of printers. Photo printers, netbooks, tablets, and even a Wi-Fi mouse were later released.
New victories
As mentioned earlier, in the early 60s, the corporation ranked 460th in the US ranking. In 2012, HP entered the national list of the best companies in America in 10th place. The country-manufacturer of PC technology has become famous all over the world. Now the corporation's turnover is so great that it has only two competitors - Samsung Electronics and Apple.
According to statistics, HP's clientele has long exceeded the mark of 1 billion people. Equipment companies sell in 170 countries. The staff includes more than 300 thousand employees, and the turnover is almost 112 billion dollars.
Celebrity
Among the inventions of the corporation, there are many world leaders that are known to all users. But perhaps the most popular is the HP LaserJet. These printers first appeared in 1984. Then the first model could print with a resolution of 300 dpi, and its speed was only 8 pages per minute, which at that time was a worthy result. But the cost was staggering - almost 3.5 thousand dollars.
By 1900, models appeared whose price was less. But this did not affect the quality and performance. The color laser printer appeared in 1994. By the way, this particular series of devices was the first, on the basis of which a multifunctional device was created, which had a copier, printer, scanner and fax. By 2011, the company had sold 50 million LaserJet.
Activities
Now HP is not the only manufacturing country. There are four main representative offices: China, Russia, Vietnam and the Czech Republic. There are a huge number of shops and offices in many countries of the world. In the CIS, the company is very popular. In addition to offices in 11 cities of the Russian Federation, there are representative offices in Baku, Kiev, Minsk, Astana and Almaty.
By the way, in the CIS countries, the HP printer is most popular. The manufacturer receives a share of 38%. The corporation's closest competitors are Canon, Samsung, Epson, and Xerox. In the Russian market, Hewlett-Packard products are very in demand. In 2010, in St. Petersburg, it was decided to open PC production together with Foxconn.
Scandals, intrigues, investigations
In 2014, Hewlett-Packard (HP) was accused of corruption. The country of manufacture of computer equipment has been closely monitored. It was said that the corporation bribed in Russia worth more than $ 2 million. As a result, the company pleaded guilty and voluntarily paid a fine.
At the end of last year, the corporation was restructured. Now there are two separate companies - HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. There have also been changes in Russia. From June 1, 2016, NGO HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise LLC have been operating in the Russian Federation. The first is engaged in the retail business in the field of personal systems and printing, and the second is aimed at corporate clients and services that are associated with servers, storage systems and network equipment.