Koninklijke Philips N.V. was founded in 1891 in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, by brothers Gerard and Anton Philips; the company was originally engaged in the manufacture of electric lamps.
In 1961, a development team in Hasselt, Belgium, was tasked with creating a small, battery-operated tape recorder and a suitable compact storage medium. Lou Ottens led the development project.
Two parallel approaches were pursued:
in Hasselt, a twin-reel system was being developed - which would eventually become the Compact Cassette;
in Vienna, Philips was collaborating with Grundig on the *Einloch-Kassette* (single-reel cassette) system.
In 1963, at a radio electronics exhibition in Berlin, Philips unveiled the new Compact Cassette format - the Philips EL 1903 cassette - which utilized BASF FES/PES-18 ferromagnetic tape.
The Philips Museum notes that manufacturers were granted a royalty-free license provided they adhered to technical compatibility requirements. However, Philips had initially discussed a paid licensing arrangement with Japanese manufacturers, including a proposal of approximately ¥25 per unit. Following negotiations with Sony, Philips shifted to a royalty-free licensing model; by 1965, the fundamental patent was available to manufacturers worldwide, subject to compliance with the standard and compatibility requirements.
Philips established its own magnetic tape production facility in 1968 in Oosterhout, Netherlands, through its subsidiary, Magneetbandfabriek Oosterhout. The plant produced audio tape, reel-to-reel tape, and "pancakes" (large rolls of magnetic tape used for loading Compact Cassettes).
By the mid-1970s, Philips offered a full lineup of blank tapes: Philips Standard Low Noise, Philips Super High-Quality (higher performance), and Philips HiFi Chromium Dioxide (CrO₂).
In January 1981, Philips and DuPont formed a joint venture, PD Magnetics B.V., based in Oosterhout.
The company engaged in magnetic tape development as well as the production and sale of audio and video tapes, supplying other manufacturers of cassettes and tapes in the process.
Philips utilized multiple manufacturing sites and supply chains, with the country of manufacture varying depending on the time period and the specific model.
By the early 1990s, Philips was sourcing finished cassettes from third-party manufacturers; for instance, later Philips products show links to Asian manufacturers - specifically, sources point to General Magnetics Singapore.
In 1992, Philips in partnership with Matsushita introduced the DCC (Digital Compact Cassette), a digital magnetic cassette designed to succeed the standard Compact Cassette. Essentially, Philips sought to preserve the cassette concept itself within the digital era.
Philips continued to produce blank cassettes throughout the 1990s, introducing its final generation of cassettes in 2003.
After 1985, the enterprise faced serious economic difficulties; the cassette production line was shut down in 1988, resulting in approximately 250 layoffs. Philips closed the facility permanently in 1993.
That same year, the plant changed ownership and was renamed Magnetic Products Oosterhout B.V. In 2004, the company became Recordable Media Group International (RMGI), and magnetic tape production continued.