Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH
TypeGmbH
IndustryAutomotive supplier
Founded1949
Headquarters
Karlsbad, Germany
Key people
Michael Mauser, Udo Hüls (managing directors)
Frank Groth (chairman of the supervisory board)
ProductsAutomotive
Revenue1,383 B Euro (2013/2014)[1]
OwnerSamsung Electronics
Number of employees
2,000 (2013/2014)[1]
ParentHarman International Industries
Websitewww.harman.com
Becker Nürburg with Vacuum tubes and station keys, about 1950
Becker Europa car radio
A Becker Mexico car radio with electrical search, produced since 1977.
Becker Indianapolis with integrated navigation

Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH, commonly known as Becker, is a manufacturer of automotive electronic equipment. It is part of the car division of the American manufacturing company, Harman International Industries, a subsidiary of South Korean company Samsung Electronics.

History

The present company goes back to the German car radio and navigation systems manufacturer, Becker. This firm was founded in 1949 from a repair workshop in the Baden town of Pforzheim. Its founder was Max Egon Becker (died 1983).[2] Even the receiver Nürburg with Vacuum tubes had mechanical station memories in the 1950s. In 1953 the first car radio with automatic search for stations was launched.[3] In 1955 Becker started manufacturing aircraft radios.[2] In 1987 Becker launched a CD car receiver.[4] In 1995, the US concern, Harman International, took over the firm (apart from the aircraft avionics division, Becker Flugfunkwerke GmbH (later Becker Avionics, which as of 2016 remained under the control of Roland Becker, the son of the founder)).[2] At the time Becker had 1,300 employees and two plants.[5]

The company, with its head office in Karlsbad near Karlsruhe and other bases in the USA and Hungary, developed and integrated complete infotainment systems worldwide. Its product range runs from navigation systems, voice control and human-machine interfaces to audio and entertainment technologies. From its earliest days, Harman Becker Automotive Systems was a supplier to Mercedes-Benz,[6] but also supplies other marques such as Audi, Peugeot, Hyundai and also Luxury Marques Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, BMW and MINI. Worldwide, Harman Becker has 28 bases in Germany, USA, Great Britain, France, Sweden, Hungary, Canada, Mexico, South Africa (to 2008), Japan, South Korea and China. Since 11 January 2010 Harman Becker Automotive Systems has pulled out of the market for mobile navigation. The trademarks Becker Traffic Assist, Becker Traffic Assist Pro etc. were transferred to United Navigation. Under the latter's roof, the brands Falk and Becker continue to run.

Since 2008, as part of the strategy of its parent concern, Harman International, the company's divisions have been increasingly based in low-wage economies, so that the number of employees in its German facilities dropped from 3,800[7] in 2008 to 2,250 in 2013. The company sites in Hechingen, Villingen-Schwenningen,[8] Schaidt[9] and Hamburg (leading development of navigation software Innovative Systems, sold in 2008 to Neusoft China as Neusoft Technology Solutions)[6] were closed down or sold off.

In November 2016, it is understood that Samsung Electronics acquired Harman for eight billion US dollars.[10] The acquisition was completed on 10 March 2017.

References

  1. 1 2 Bundesanzeiger.de: Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH: Jahresabschluss zum Geschäftsjahr vom 1. Juli 2013 bis zum 30. Juni 2014
  2. 1 2 3 aerokurier.de 11 August 2016, 60 Jahre Becker Avionics (German), retrieved 2020-10-04.
  3. ↑ faz.net 5 Oktober 2007, 75 Jahre Autoradio: Von Musiktruhen zu Multimedia-Zentralen (German), retrieved 2020-10-04.
  4. ↑ historic-radios.info, Becker, retrieved 2020-10-04 (German).
  5. ↑ focus.de, No. 5 (1995) Autoradio Becker Zwischen Mühlsteinen (German, archived-link), retrieved 2020-10-04.
  6. 1 2 "Harman Becker Hersteller von Consumer Electronics aus Karlsbad in der Firmendatenbank wer-zu-wem.de". www.wer-zu-wem.de (in German). Retrieved 2016-11-10.
  7. ↑ Augsburger Allgemeine, "Massiver Stellenabbau bei Harman/Becker", Augsburger Allgemeine (in German), retrieved 2016-11-10
  8. ↑ Südkurier Medienhaus (21 January 2010), "Villingen-Schwenningen: Harman Becker schließt Labor | SÜDKURIER Online", SÜDKURIER Online (in German), retrieved 2016-11-10
  9. ↑ "Titelseite". www.rheinpfalz.de (in German). 2016-11-10. Archived from the original on 2014-01-16. Retrieved 2016-11-10.
  10. ↑ Kim Deok-hyun (2016-11-14). "(2nd LD) Samsung acquires U.S. automotive electronics firm Harman for $8 bln". Yonhap. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
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