Sylvania

The origins of the Sylvania company is the outgrowth of businesses in Massachusetts and in Pennsylvania.

In 1901, Frank Poor bought Merrit Manufacturing Company, small company in Middleton, MA, that repaired burnt out light bulbs by replacing the filaments. Poor moved the business to Danvers, bought out his partner, brought in his brother Edward Poor, and renamed the firm the Bay State Lamp Company. This firm persisted from 1901 to 1913.

In 1909 the Hygrade Incandescent Lamp Company was established to make and sell new lamps, and Walter E. Poor became its full-time engineer in 1911. The Poors outgrew their facilities in Danvers, and they moved it to Salem, MA in 1916. That company was active from 1909 to 1931.

In 1906, the Novelty Incandescent Lamp Company was established in St. Mary's, Pennsylvania to make and sell novelty shaped bulbs. This never happened and the business occupied itself in refilling lamps. A new factory was set up In Emporium, Pennsylvania. In 1920, the company was sold to General Electric and became the Keystone Lamp Division. During the depression after World War I, GE closed down Novelty and sold its assets in 1921 to electrical engineer and superintendent, Bernard G. Erskine and two associates. In 1922, they established the Nilco Lamp Works, which was active until 1931. In 1924, Nilco established a subsidiary company to manufacture tubes. It was named the Sylvania Products Company. These were shipped from Emporium, Pennsylvania.

In 1931, a merger between Hygrade, Nilco, and Sylvania resulted in the founding of the Hygrade Sylvania Corporation. The company sold incandescant lamps under the Hygrade name, and radio tubes under the Sylvania name. Hygrade Sylvania marketed its first fluorescent lamp in 1938. Hygrade Sylvania was the second largest producer of radio tubes, following RCA, and the third largest manufacturer of large-style incandescent lamps after General Electric and Westinghouse.

In 1942, the company's name changed to Sylvania Electric Products, Inc.

In 1959, the company merged with General Telephone & Electronics (later GTE) and became a division of it. It was still known as Sylvania Electric Products, Inc. In 1971, the name was changed to GTE Sylvania Incorporated.

In 1993, the firm was acquired by OSRAM GmbH.