International Harman
Harman International is an dedicated group in the audio equipment, created in 1980, which gathers several marks like Harman Kardon, JBL, AKG, etc
History
The history of the group starts in 1953 when Dr. Sidney Harman and Bernard Kardon creates their first company with their name, Harman Kardon. Their first product is then a radio operator FM. One year later, they launch particularly the first receiver of radio Hi-Fi conceived for the general public, the D1000 Festival: a single case containing a Tuner, an Amplifying , a Loudspeaker and Potentiometer S. In 1958, Harman Kardon presents the first radio Stéréo, Festival TA230.When Bernard Kardon takes his retirement in 1956, Harman repurchases its shares to him before yielding part of the activity in 1962 for better financing its new orientation. Harman has indeed the idea to separately sell the elements which constitute the hi-fi systems. It repurchases in 1969 the manufacturer of loudspeakers JBL. Harman Kardon carries out spectacular benefit.
In 1977, Sidney Harman acccepte the post of under-secretary to the Trade which the president Jimmy Carter proposes to him. It then resells its actions with a company of Chicago, Beatrice Foods, who lightens itself of part of the activities of Harman Kardon and neglects the others. The mark Harman Kardon itself is yielded at a Japanese company which will be absorbed by Hitachi. Only remain mark JBL and of the subsidiary companies of distribution.
At the conclusion of the mandate of Jimmy Carter in 1980, Harman, 61 years old, decides to take again the control of its company. It joins the financial ones and manages to recover 60% of the activities which it had sold three years earlier. The new group, based with Washington, D.C, takes the name of Harman International.
The group develops following the repurchases of several companies: Infinity in 1982, Crown in 1985, the Audax French in 1987, etc while continuing its activity in the sector of the audio equipment, it is directed, after the acquisition of a specialized company in 1982, towards the production of Autoradio S, providing in particular BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The company Harman Kardon, always with the hands of Japanese industrialists, is repurchased in 1985. As from the years 2000, its activity extends to manufacture from enclosures for audio computers and walkmans (iSub, Soundsticks, etc), from navigators GPS and accessories for the car.
In 1992, at age the 70 years, Harman personally takes in hand the management of its group. It separates from its managing director, whom it replaces, and settles near the production sites in California. It gathers the 21 marks which account the company in five divisions, then reorganizes the group in three units: professional, car and general public. Acquisitions continue: AKG and Lexicon in 1993, the Swiss specialist in the Tape recorder S top-of-the-range Studer in 1994, the Becker German in 1995, or the operating system QNX in 2004.
In 2007, Harman International resold Audax with French company AAC (Composite Acoustic Applications). In April 2007, the group accepts the proposal for a repurchase of the consortium formed by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Goldman Sachs for 8 billion dollars. The operation should be finished at the end of 2007.
Marks and activities
- General public
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Professional
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Automobile