HP timeline — 1950s By Decade

HP timeline — 1950s By Decade

The 50s

		Production work in Palo Alto, California in 1957

Hewlett-Packard goes through a growing and maturing process in the 1950s, learning much about the "new" technology of electronics and about the internal effects of growth. "How" the company should grow is as hotly debated as "how much" the company should grow. HP hammers out its corporate objectives — the basis of its special management philosophy and the core of the HP Way.

The company goes public in 1957. In keeping with Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard's respect for workers, HP takes the then-unusual step of giving stock grants to employees.

The growing company begins building on the site that will become its corporate headquarters in Palo Alto, California. HP also embarks on a path toward globalization, establishing manufacturing and marketing operations in Europe.

1951

		HP 524A

HP invents the high-speed frequency counter (HP 524A) and greatly reduces the time required (from about 10 minutes to one or two seconds) to measure high frequencies. Radio stations use the HP 524A to accurately set frequencies to comply with FCC regulations for frequency stability. Over the years, frequency counters and related products will account for billions of dollars in revenues.

Revenue: $5.5 million. Employees: 215.

1956

HP produces its first oscilloscopes: models 130A/150A. Oscilloscopes, which show the variations in a fluctuating electrical quantity as wave forms that are visible on a screen, will form a significant part of HP's test and measurement products.

Revenue: $20.3 million. Employees: 901.

1957

HP becomes a publicly traded company. Its initial public offering is held November 6, 1957 for $16 per share. All employees at all levels with six months of service receive an automatic stock grant and become eligible for a stock option program.

In the company's first off-site meeting of senior managers, the HP corporate objectives are written. In keeping with the company's practice of management by objective, the purpose of these objectives is to serve as a day-to-day guide for management decision-making in a rapidly growing company. "We thought that if we could get everybody to agree on what our objectives were and to understand what we were trying to do, then we could turn them loose and they would move in a common direction," Dave later says about the meeting. The objectives cover seven points: profit, customers, fields of interest, growth, our people, management and citizenship. These management philosophies, radically different from the top-down management style of many companies, serve as the basis of HP's management style, which comes to be known as the "HP Way."

	HP's new headquarters

HP begins manufacturing in its first building in the Stanford Industrial Park, Palo Alto. The move to the site at 1501 Page Mill Rd. is completed in 1960, when it becomes HP's corporate headquarters. Situated on a 50 acre hilltop, the new site supports the company philosophy that people require attractive and pleasant surroundings to attain maximum job satisfaction and to perform to the best of their abilities. The air-conditioned buildings are situated to provide views of lower San Francisco Bay and to receive maximum natural light. The site includes a landscaped patio, horseshoe pits, volleyball and badminton courts, and a large cafeteria, all for the use of employees.

Revenue: $28 million. Employees 1,778.

1958

HP makes its first acquisition: F.L. Moseley Company of Pasadena, California, producer of high-quality graphic recorders. This marks HP's entry into the business of plotters, a precursor to HP's printer business.

The company establishes a division structure so that its growing size does not result in a loss of nimbleness. Each product group becomes a self-sustaining organization responsible for developing, manufacturing and marketing its own products. Any group that grows to 1,500 people is divided with the resulting groups having their own profit-and-loss accountability. This decentralization allows the company to react to changing conditions, move quickly and get away from a overly bureaucratic structure.

Bill sees new possibilities for U.S. companies in Europe based on two developments: the 1957 Treaty of Rome and the European Common Market. He travels to Europe to investigate setting up HP operations there.

Revenue: $30.5 million. Employees: 1,778.

1959

		Boeblingen

HP becomes a global company. As a result of Bill's scouting trip, the company establishes a European marketing organization in Geneva, Switzerland, and a manufacturing plant in Boeblingen, Germany. From this base, HP steadily expands its European operations.

HP implements an employee stock purchase plan.

HP acquires the Boonton Radio Corporation. The New Jersey-based company developed, manufactured and sold electronic test instruments. The newest member of the HP family broadens the product line and includes impedance measuring devices and aircraft navigation test equipment.

Revenue: $48 million. Employees: 2,378.