“From sand to customer” was originally the business philosophy of Philips.The Dutch electronics firm was a pioneer in lightbulbs and later leveraged its expertise into X-ray tubes, radios, shavers, and cassettes.Initially, Philips outsourced many components or produced them overseas.
For example, glass for its lamps was blown in Prague while the bulbs were manufactured in Eindhoven.Philips began producing lightbulbs in Eindhoven in 1891, but it was only in 1916 that the company started blowing glass there.The interruption of pre-made glass supplies during World War I necessitated bringing this process in-house.
Later, production in Prague and other locations resumed alongside Eindhoven before being cut off again by the Iron Curtain.For many decades, Philips manufactured glass, lightbulbs, and tubes in Eindhoven.The company took in sand and transformed it into radios.
A village built for Philips employees.Philips was vertically integrated to an almost extreme degree.It not only produced and transported sand and other raw materials but also manufactured polymers, built injection molding machines, developed chips, and even created the machines used to produce those chips.
The company made record players and operated its own recording studios.Supply chain interruptions reinforced its commitment to integration, but as its global presence expanded, so did its manufacturing footprint.Local manufacturing was not driven by lower labor costs but by practical necessities such as tariffs and shipping challenges.
Establishing production facilities worldwide ensured market access, allowing Philips to dominate emerging markets.By conducting R&D locally, it could attract the best minds globally.Operating within different regions also provided strategic advantages, enabling the company to better understand local markets, cultures, and needs.
For instance, Philips developed spice grinders specifically for India and hand-cranked radios for Indian servicemen stationed in remote bases with limited access to power.However, in later years, the company shifted its focus to outsourcing primarily to cut costs.Once a co-inventor of groundbreaking technologies like the CD, cassette, and LED—and a founding force behind industry giants such as TSMC and ASML—Philips lost its way.
Without a clear vision, decisive leadership, or the willingness to make bold choices, it ran out of momentum.Once legendary for its design and marketing, it became uninspired and ordinary.Its strong social instincts made it bloated and complacent, lacking the drive and daring that had once defined it.
In its early years, Philips was fearless—so much so that, after the Dutch Queen was involved in a minor car accident, the company sent a letter to her secretary suggesting that the accident could have been avoided had Philips street lamps been installed.At one point, after nearly being pushed out of the lightbulb business, Philips resorted to industrial espionage to imitate U.S.firms.
It once had guts, ambition, and even questionable ethics.But over time, it became slow, timid, and visionless.Metallix mobile X ray.
Philips invested in commercializing a wide range of innovations, from MRI machines and street lighting to body shavers.However, it failed to grant its divisions the autonomy, resources, and capital needed to compete effectively in these diverse markets.The company was unprepared for the commoditization of technology, the rise of low-cost brands, the shift to e-commerce, and the resurgence of premium brands.
A series of ineffective CEOs further weakened the company, and poor leadership ultimately transformed it into a medical innovation firm—yet one that lost its commitment to quality and innovation.Instead of a cohesive organization, Philips became a fragmented collection of loosely connected units.Deep job cuts did little to address the real problem: leadership that failed to recognize the significance of Apple, the internet, mobile phones, and the decline of big-box retail.
Worse still, they failed to adjust course to navigate this new reality.With a brand that, while trusted, lacked strength, and an outdated understanding of the world, Philips gradually faded into a shadow of its former self.By delaying difficult decisions for too long, the company left itself with few good options.
NXP now has a market cap twice that of Philips, while ASML is ten times larger, and TSMC is approaching a trillion-dollar valuation.Many companies today resemble Philips in its later years—hesitant to make tough decisions, out of touch with customers, and failing to deliver products the world truly needs.Countless firms have been commodified, yet they are the only ones who fail to recognize it.
Volkswagen’s strategy of producing a car for every niche mirrors Nokia’s once-dependable but ultimately misguided approach.Stellantis is teetering on the edge, while many Mittelstand companies are running on fumes, struggling to compete with rising Chinese manufacturers.If we view Philips’ rise and fall as a series of distinct phases, we might categorize them as follows: Invention, Production, Manufacturing at Scale, Vertical Integration, Diversification, Overseas Production, Lethargy, Blind Cost Cutting, and Sclerosis.
An Optomec LENS system repairing a turbine blade for a joint project with GE.The first five stages—Invention, Production, Manufacturing at Scale, Vertical Integration, and Diversification—were key to Philips’ global success.These, combined with a strong identity, clear values, adaptability, and an openness to opportunity, formed the foundation of its dominance.
The question is: can we replicate this success in a self-contained, modular form using 3D printing? Can we develop a modular production environment capable of generating most of a product’s value within a monolithic system? Given today’s global supply chains, where components come from all over the world, this is only feasible for select products.However, there are still many cases where value can be created through the integration of a few automated technologies working in unison within a cell-like production system.Imagine a system that integrates directed energy deposition (DED), water jetting, CNC milling, and laser powder bed fusion—a tightly coordinated unit capable of handling complex manufacturing tasks in a way that is more versatile, cost-effective, and adaptive than traditional methods.
The key is to move beyond the OEM mindset.Just because you sell oranges doesn’t mean you should be limited to making orange juice or only products containing orange juice.I don´t care about your bonus, I care about my future.
Think of a production cell, like those used for turbine blisk repair, but with a broader range of integrated technologies—one that doesn’t just scan, mill, and apply DED but incorporates additional complementary processes.The concept of an automated production cell capable of manufacturing a wide range of products—from car seats and office chairs to armor and boat hulls—is a compelling evolution of manufacturing.These modular, flexible cells would require significant upfront investment but minimal manual labor, offering adaptability across products, geographies, and economic conditions.
Their plug-and-play nature, enabled by commodity materials and quick calibration, would allow rapid deployment in response to shifting political and tariff landscapes.This approach transforms manufacturing into a dynamic system rather than a static factory.A single cell could pivot between different products, adjust to new iterations, and evolve with market demands.
By integrating multiple 3D printing technologies with automated conveyancing, scanning, CNC milling, and other processes, these production cells could create value in ways that standalone 3D printers never could.The opportunity here is enormous—on the scale of Philips at its peak.Identifying the right applications and optimizing the integration of these technologies could redefine how products are designed, manufactured, and distributed.
The ability to scale, shrink, retool, and relocate production at will makes this model resilient and future-proof.While 3D printing alone was never the magic bullet for fully automated, end-to-end manufacturing, combining it with other technologies in a self-contained, mobile production system could make it work.Let’s structure these cells to follow Philips’ successful trajectory—first achieving manufacturing at scale, then enabling vertical integration, leading to product diversification, and finally supporting overseas production.
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