History of the Radio Holland Group
Radio Holland 's history is marked by persistence and entrepreneurial spirit. The company was founded in 1916 by a group of Dutch ship owners as the ‘Nederlandsche Telegraaf-Maatschappij Radio-Holland’. The shipowners saw the significance of radio communications to the safety and efficiency of shipping, and Radio Holland began installing radio stations on board of Dutch merchant vessels. In those days and up to the nineties, we also employed the radio-officer on board, who operated the communication equipment.
In the years following this pioneering start, the company expanded its activities considerably in various areas and also outside. In 1919 Radio Holland opened an office in the Netherlands East Indies, soon followed by other establishments such as in Curaçao. In the eighties, the network of Radio Holland expanded to Hong Kong, Singapore, USA, Middle East and Africa. After having employed more than 800 radio-officers at the peak days, the function of radio-officer finally ceased to exist in 1999, at the end of the Morse era, which was followed by a new era of satellite communications.
Nowadays, Radio Holland focuses on supplying, installing and servicing maritime electronics on the basis of ever evolving technology and regulations. On 16 December 2006, Radio Holland celebrated its 90th anniversary!