In 1906, the Osram incandescent lamp was developed; its name was formed from the German words OSmium, from the element osmium, and WolfRAM, from the element tungsten (called wolfram in many languages and an alternative name in English). The British General Electric Company imported Osram filaments for their own production of light bulbs. In 1919, Auergesellschaft, Siemens & Halske, and Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG) combined their electric lamp production with the formation of the company Osram.

In 1998 Osram acquired the lamp business of ECE Industries India Ltd at a cost of $9.55 million. In 2009 Osram acquired TRAXON Technologies. In 2011 Osram acquired Siteco.

Operations
OSRAM AG is a multinational corporation with headquarters in Munich (Germany) and plants in Germany, France, India, Latvia, Slovakia, People's Republic of China, Indonesia and Argentina, and it employs more than 40,000 people throughout the world. Osram supplies customers in about 150 countries and manufactures at 42 sites in 16 countries. In the 2010 financial year, a turnover of €4.7 billion was achieved. The company's North American operation is Osram Sylvania, headquartered in Danvers, Massachusetts; products sold in the United States, United States Territories, Canada and Mexico are sold under the Sylvania brand name.

Subsidiaries:

Osram Opto Semiconductors
Osram Opto Semiconductors is a wholly owned subsidiary of Osram which designs and manufactures opto-semiconductor products. One of the main products of this subsidiary is light emitting diodes (LEDs). As the world’s second largest manufacturer of optoelectronic semiconductor for the illumination, sensing and visualization sectors, Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH combines extensive know-how in semiconductors, converter materials and packages under one roof. At its headquarters in Regensburg, Germany, a further production site in Penang, Malaysia and a global network of sales and marketing centers, the company employs more than 3500 people. In the 2006 fiscal year, it achieved sales of around 500 million euros. This means that the optoelectronic semiconductor accounts for twelve percent of overall Osram GmbH sales.

Osram Sylvania
Osram Sylvania Inc. manufactures and markets a wide range of lighting products for homes, business, and vehicles and holds a leading share of the North American lighting market. In fiscal year 2006, the company achieved sales of about 2 billion euros, which comprises 43% of total Osram sales. It employs about 11,200 people in North America and is headquartered in Danvers, MA, north of Boston. Most of the company's products are marketed in North and South America under the SYLVANIA or OSRAM brand name.

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