Dutch giant Royal Philips announced plan Thursday to build a health technology center in Tennessee that officials expect will create more than 800 jobs in the Nashville area over the next two years. <\/p>\n
\"We take great pride in the health care strength here in Middle Tennessee, and this company will only add to that,\" Gov. Bill Haslam said. \"I can't think of a better company than Philips to complement and support Nashville's regional health care community.\" <\/p>\n
Haslam said he had hosted Philips executives at the governor's mansion and also visited officials in Amsterdam on a recent trade mission to Europe and praised the company's \"depth and talent and commitment.\" <\/p>\n
Philips plans to consolidate various operations in Tennessee, including customer service, finance, human resources and marketing. <\/p>\n
Craig Gruchacz, the head of global business services in North America at Philips, praised state officials for fostering a \"health care technology ecosystem\" in Tennessee. <\/p>\n
\"We are eager to share our ideas and our best practices and also learning from other like-minded organizations,\" he said. <\/p>\n
Gruchacz said the company is scouting sites in the Nashville area and hopes to decide on a location in the coming months. <\/p>\n
Founded in 1891, the company started by making carbon filament lamps in a factory in the Netherlands. It became a world leader in the manufacture of light bulbs before branching out into the consumer and medical electronics markets, making everything from X-ray equipment to electric shavers and televisions. <\/p>\n
Philips last year spun off its lighting division so it could focus on its future as a health technology provider. <\/p>\n
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Philips to build health technology center in Tennessee - ABC News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dutch giant Royal Philips announced plan Thursday to build a health technology center in Tennessee that officials expect will create more than 800 jobs in the Nashville area over the next two years. Continue reading