OSRAM SYLVANIA INC. was created through the acquisition of United States-based Sylvania by German-based OSRAM GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens. The combination of the two companies was a good fit because they had similar objectives concerning customer satisfaction, new-product development, energy savings, and the environment. The acquisition also created a very strong global lighting company through the combination of OSRAM GmbH and Sylvania resources, technology and market presence.
As a result of this merger, Sylvania's facility in Central Falls, R.I. became part of OSRAM SYLVANIA. The plant was originally built in 1911 by General Electric and was purchased by Corning Glass in the 1920s and then by GTE Sylvania in 1983.
The 600,000 square-foot plant, which employs more than 500 workers, houses both a lime (flint) glass furnace and a hard (borosilicate) glass furnace. This gives the plant the capacity to produce lime glass for incandescent light bulbs and fluorescent glass tubing, as well as glass for high intensity discharge lamps. It is known as a jewel among lighting glass plants because it has the unique capacity to manufacture different glasses as well as blown bulbs and glass tubing.
OSRAM SYLVANIA's Central Falls plant is also one of the few remaining manufacturers in the United States that still designs and installs its own proprietary manufacturing and glass-forming equipment. It also produces such nonlighting accessories as glass domes for anniversary clocks, chimneys for oil lamps and gifts, glass shades for lamps and candles, floral vases, and brass and ceramic candle lamps.
Products from the Rhode Island factory are shipped to broad ranging markets, including North and South America, eastern and western Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world. OSRAM SYLVANIA's customers are primarily in the lighting, floral, and giftware industries.
OSRAM SYLVANIA, with headquarters in Danvers, Massachusetts, has more than 13,000 employees. Siemens, the German-based parent company, employs more than 350,000 people worldwide and is a $60 billion company that dominates the electrical and electronic industries.
In addition, OSRAM SYLVANIA maintains a network of research and development facilities that are responsible for the company's position as a leader in new products for the lighting industry. In automotive lighting, the company has achieved a leadership position on headlamps and other automotive lighting systems because of its product innovation.
In General Lighting, many of the products brought to the marketplace have energy-saving features. The company's line of compact fluorescent lamps and halogen light bulbs is the broadest in the industry. It's specialty lighting products are used in hospitals, doctors' and dentists' offices, and by X-ray technicians. The company is also a leader in precision- engineered materials, high-tech electronic connectors, and hair-thin wire made of tungsten and other materials.
The Central Falls facility continues to function as a vital component of OSRAM Sylvania's operations. Ideas are constantly taking shape as engineers and scientists work together to create the next generation of lighting products.