BLAUPUNKT MS 63-76 B 7 666 470 YEAR 1987.

BLAUPUNKT (Germany) 25 Inches (59Cm)
Color television with stereo sound and teletext.
Features even a AV SCART SOCKET.

Blaupunkt GmbH is a German manufacturer of electronics equipment, noted for its home and car audio equipment. It was a 100% subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH until March 1st, 2009 (Date of closing) when its Aftermarket and Accessories branch including the brand name were sold to Aurelius AG of Germany for an undisclosed amount. Founded in 1923 in Berlin as "Ideal", the company changed its name to "Blaupunkt" in 1938, German for "blue point" or "blue dot" after the blue dot painted onto its headphones that had passed quality control. After the Second World War, Blaupunkt moved its headquarters and production to the city of Hildesheim.

Today the majority of Blaupunkt products are manufactured overseas, with large manufacturing centers in Tunisia (speakers) [WTF !!! !!!] and Malaysia (speakers and electronics) [arrrrgggghhh!]. During the 1960 and 1970s, Blaupunkt had become the leading German manufacturer for car radios and car audio equipment. Blaupunkt was involved in the development of the Autofahrer-Rundfunk-Informationssystem traffic-information system for car radios, and provided this feature on their German-market car radios from the late 1970s. The company attempted to have ARI used in the USA but had only a few radio stations per major city involved.Founded in 1923 in Berlin as "Ideal", the company changed its name to "Blaupunkt" in 1938, German for "blue point" or "blue dot" after the blue dot painted onto its headphones that had passed quality control.

During World War II the company used slave labour at Groß-Rosen concentration camp.

After the Second World War, Blaupunkt moved its headquarters and production to the city of Hildesheim. Today the majority of Blaupunkt products are manufactured overseas, with large manufacturing centres in Tunisia (speakers) and Malaysia (speakers and electronics).

During the 1960 and 1970s, Blaupunkt had become the leading German manufacturer for car radios and car audio equipment.


Blaupunkt was involved in the development of the Autofahrer-Rundfunk-Informationssystem traffic-information system for car radios, and provided this feature on their German-market car radios from the late 1970s. The company attempted to have ARI used in the USA but had only a few radio stations per major city involved.

For many years, Blaupunkt car audio equipment models often carried the name of a city somewhere in the world, e.g. "London RDM126". In Blaupunkt model nomenclature, this can be translated as "An RDS CD player capable of controlling a Multichanger, rated at 4x30W RMS (4x30 = 120) from model year 1996". High-end models typically had German place names.

Blaupunkt also used the brand "Velocity" to sell products aimed at the top, audiophile end of the market. Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche, Mercedes, Vauxhall, Pontiac and BMW all fit Blaupunkt products into their cars, often branded with the car manufacturer's own mark (e.g. The VW Gamma or Audi Symphony lines), with Fiat using them, occasionally unbranded but generally unmodified. Some later Holden Astra models are fitted with Blaupunkt systems (with others being produced by Delphi). Blaupunkt also specialised in coach installations, selling TVs, multiple-speaker setups and PA equipment to that industry. However, that part of the business remained with Robert Bosch Car Multimedia GmbH, a 100% subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH.

Blaupunkt was part of the mobile communications division of the Robert Bosch group, a world leading manufacturer of industrial and automotive systems.

Blaupunkt's research, design and development headquarters are based in Hildesheim, Germany, where approx 3,000 staff are based.

Manufacture takes place either in Germany, or other plants in Portugal or Malaya where another 5,100 staff are employed
blaupunkt production

Current production is in excess of 4 million car radios every year.

Blaupunkt started life in 1920's Germany as the "Ideal" radio company of Berlin. Initially it produced only headphones. Quality control was paramount even in those days and each set of headphones that passed its final test was indicated by a blue circular sticker.

Before long customers simply began to ask for "Blue Dot" headphones - the symbol became the companies' trade mark, and in 1938 the company name.

This is where we get the name "Blaupunkt" - "Blue Spot" in German.
blaupunkt production

Bosch acquired the company over 60 years ago, and following the Second World War, the company made the move to Hildesheim It was at this time, 1932, that Blaupunkt introduced the world's first car radio: the AS5. This long, medium and short wave monster was about the size of a modern day microwave oven. Because of its bulk it could not be mounted within reach of the driver and had to be operated by a remote control on the steering wheel. Because car radio aerials were not yet developed, wires had to be run over the roof and along the running boards to get a signal. The cost in those days was 465 Reich marks; about one third the price of a small car.

In 1959, the one millionth car radio rolled off the production line. Each valve-based radio consisted of 1,693 separate parts. In 1969 Blaupunkt took advantage of the emerging FM radio system to introduce the world's first stereo car radio. A few years later the Phillips Compact Cassette was incorporated into sets.

In the late 1970's it was realised that the car radio could contribute toward road safety, and Blaupunkt developed the ARI traffic news detector which has evolved into the current Radio Data System (RDS) of traffic and related information.

The 1980's saw the first microprocessor digitally tuned radio cassette and in 1983 the first car radio equipped with EON station identification was released.

The first CD player incorporated into a dashboard mounted radio was introduced in 1988..
blaupunkt production

With increasingly attractive car radio systems, theft became a major problem. In 1990 the KeyCard smart card owner authorisation system was a big step forward in crime deterrence. This feature was the first recorded use of smart card technology in the automotive field.

In 2002, the Woodstock DAB52 receiver was launched. This is the world's first combined MP3 / CD / DAB receiver housed within a standard DIN sized enclosure. This ground-breaking unit was enhanced in 2003 with the DAB53 and in 2004 the DAB54 models that added the option of recording DAB broadcasts directly onto a MMC / SD memory card.


Die Blaupunkt GmbH ist eines der großen deutschen Unternehmen mit Weltgeltung. Gegründet in den 20er Jahren, ist Blaupunkt heute eine hundertprozentiges Tochterunternehmen der Bosch-Gruppe. Die Unternehmenszentrale liegt im niedersächsischen Hildesheim.

Blaupunkt stellte früher Kopfhörer, Radio-, Fernseh- und HiFi-Geräte her. Heute ist das Unternehmen europäischer Marktführer bei Autoradios und Car-Multimedia-Systemen; darüber hinaus gehört es zu den großen Anbietern von Navigationssystemen für den automobilen Einsatz.

Geschichte

Keimzelle der Unternehmensgeschichte ist die Berliner „Radiotelefon- und Apparatefabrik“ Ideal. Diese 1923 gegründete Firma stellt zunächst Kopfhörer her, die mit einem „blauen Punkt“ als Prüfsiegel gekennzeichnet wurden. Bald fragen die Käufer nur noch nach den "Blaupunkt-Kopfhörern" – es war der erste Schritt auf dem Weg vom Qualitätssymbol zum Markenzeichen (1924)
und zum heutigen Firmennamen "Blaupunkt" (1938).
Bereits 1932 stellt das Unternehmen mit dem „Autosuper AS 5“ das erste in Europa entwickelte Autoradio vor. Dieser Apparat für den Mittel- und Langwellenempfang ist mit 10 Litern Rauminhalt üppig dimensioniert und mit einem Kaufpreis von 465 Reichsmark ein Luxusartikel (ein kompletter Kleinwagen kostet damals weniger als 1.500 Reichsmark).
Durch wegweisende Innovationen trägt Blaupunkt entscheidend zur Popularisierung des Autoradios bei: 1952 baut man das erste UKW-Autoradio der Welt, 1969 folgt das erste Stereo-Autoradio, 1974 der erste Verkehrsfunk-Empfänger. Viele digitale Pionierentwicklungen rund um den Empfang und Klang auf Rädern stammen ebenfalls aus Hildesheim. Automobilgerechte Multimedia-Techniken in jeder Form stehen weiterhin im Mittelpunkt der Forschung und Entwicklung.
Mit dem 1989 vorgestellten „TravelPilot“ leistet Blaupunkt auch wesentliche Schrittmacherdienste für eine weitere Technologie, die das Autofahren komfortabler und sicherer macht: Der TravelPilot gilt als das erste serienreife Navigationssystem für den Straßenverkehr in Europa. Eines seiner Nachfolgemodelle ist das erste serienreife Gerät mit dynamischer Zielführung, die automatisch aktuellste Verkehrsinformationen verarbeitet und so Staus umfahren hilft. Neben fest eingebauten gehören längst auch mobile Navigationssysteme zum Blaupunkt-Programm.

Aktuelle Zahlen

Heute (12/2006) hat Blaupunkt weltweit über 9.000 Mitarbeiter, 2.300 davon in Hildesheim. Weitere Fertigungs- und Entwicklungsstätten befinden sich in Ungarn, Portugal, Malaysia, China und Tunesien. Das Unternehmen produziert jährlich über 500.000 Navigationssysteme, 6 Mio. Autoradios sowie 19 Mio. Autolautsprecher. Der Umsatz liegt bei ca. 1,4 Mrd. Euro.

Some References:

"'Aurelius AG Acquires Blaupunkt". Aurelius AG Press Release. 18 December 2008. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009.


Germany, Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, Hannover, Niedersachsen,. "Autoelektronik-Spezialist – Blaupunkt stellt Insolvenzantrag". Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2017-12-21.

"Blaupunkt Hildesheim entlässt auch die letzten Mitarbeiter". DEUTSCHE WIRTSCHAFTS NACHRICHTEN (in German). Retrieved 2017-12-21.

"Several possible buyers for Blaupunkt". RetailDetail. 2015-11-20. Retrieved 2017-12-21.

"Blaupunkt winding up Penang operations". NST Online. 2015-10-22. Retrieved 2017-12-21.

Sethi, Anand Kumar (2013). The Business of Electronics: A Concise History. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 33. ISBN 9781137330420.

"Robert Bosch GmbH". Answers.com. Retrieved 31 May 2013.

White, Annie (March 2019). "AV Club: Odyssey of Sound". Car and Driver.

"Blaupunkt Hildesheim entlässt auch die letzten Mitarbeiter". DEUTSCHE WIRTSCHAFTS NACHRICHTEN (in German). Retrieved 2017-12-21.

"Rockford Announces Details on Blaupunkt Deal | ceoutlook.com". ceoutlook.com. 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2017-12-21.

"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 August 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
Blaupunkt company profile
Bosch BLAUPUNKT HISTORY
TV 1950
Radio 1963
Radio 1938