Grundig began in 1945 with the establishment of a store named Fürth, Grundig & Wurzer (), which sold
radios and was headquartered in
Fürth, northern
Bavaria. After the Second World War, Max Grundig recognized the need for radios in Germany, and in 1947 produced a
kit, while a factory and administration centre were built at Fürth. In 1951, the first
television sets were manufactured at the new facility. At the time Grundig was the largest radio manufacturer in
Europe. Divisions were established in
Nuremberg,
Frankfurt and
Karlsruhe. In 2013, Grundig launched its home appliances (white goods) product range, becoming one of the mainstream manufacturers in Europe. Parent Arcelik A.Ş., has more than 27,000 employees worldwide. Grundig has manufacturing plants in several European cities that deliver their products to more than 65 countries around the world. The marketing of "Majestic-Grundig" radios continued until Wilcox-Gay went out of business at the end of 1961. In 1957, Grundig purchased a majority stake in
Triumph-Adler as well as in
Adlerwerke. In 1958, Grundig acquired both companies outright and merged them and Grundig's
dictation machine division to form
Triumph-Adler-Büromaschinen-Vertriebs-GmbH.
1960s A plant was opened in 1960 to manufacture
tape recorders in
Belfast, Northern Ireland, the first production by Grundig outside Germany. The managing director of the plant,
Thomas Niedermayer, was kidnapped and later killed by the
Provisional IRA in December 1973. The factory was closed with the loss of around 1000 jobs in 1980.
1990s In 1991, Grundig entered the telephony equipment market starting with its cordless telephone. In 1993, the Grundig TV was based on a 16:9 picture format for signal transmission. In 1995 and 1996, the company included 3-D sound systems, TVs, satellite receivers and other initiatives that included interactive user guidance. However, Philips divested of its investment in the company by 1997–8. although it retained the license to use the Grundig brand in the UK until 2010, and in Australasia until 2012. In 2007
Grundig Mobile announced the U900
Linux-based mobile phone. At the end of 2007 Turkey's
Koç Holding took full ownership of Grundig Multimedia, the parent company of Grundig Intermedia GmbH in
Nuremberg.
2010s The company continued on to produce entertainment electronics, electrical, and home appliances. The company entered the
white goods sector in 2013, thus becoming the EU's only consumer electronics company covering the full range.
Present Grundig Intermedia was merged with Beko into Beko Grundig Deutschland GmbH, moved again to Eschborn, still in the
Frankfurt metropolitan area, and renamed Beko Germany GmbH in late 2023. Worldwide, the Grundig brand employs 1,600 people in production,
research and development and sales. The brand is organized into three product groups: consumer electronics, small domestic appliances and large household appliances. == Sponsorship ==