Place Name
In 1924 NV Philips in the Netherlands purchased a 50 per cent share in the Mullard Radio Valve Company, which had begun mass manufacturing radio valves for the military and emerging domestic market. Mullards had been set up by Stanley Robert Mullard, in 1920 and demand for his cheaply produced wireless technology had boomed to such an extent that he needed to move into larger premises from its original base in Hammersmith. Further increases in production and the establishment of the Mullard Wireless Co., to handle marketing and distribution, were followed by the need to move to a larger factory at Mitcham in Surrey. Eventually the call for research facilities beyond the scope of such a young company led to the establishment in 1924 of close links with NV Philips in Holland and over the next few years Philips acquired all the shares in the company. Mullard was appointed managing director by the Philips board but resigned a few years later. At one time the site employed around 5,000 people but in 1993 the Hackbridge factory closed and has since been demolished. The new residential roads of Mullards Close, Philips Close and Eindhoven Close now occupy the site of the former A Building.
