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A Diversifying Workforce: HP’s Growth
Wartime production demands led Hewlett-Packard’s workforce to grow from 3 employees in 1940 to around 200 by 1945. The combination of a national labor shortage and the company’s nondiscriminatory hiri ...
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A Jolt to the Line: HP 400A Voltmeter
The 400A vacuum tube voltmeter was Hewlett-Packard’s first voltmeter. Voltmeters would become one of the young company’s most important business avenues.
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A Letter of Commendation
The war brought Hewlett-Packard into its first work on microwave technology through the Leopard project, a top secret program to disrupt enemy radar and protect Allied ships. The demands of the projec ...
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A Look at the Logo: HP’s Simplified Logo
In 1946, with the company’s instrument and measurement business growing by the day, the Hewlett-Packard logo was simplified to create something legible and easy to engrave. Its basic elements remained ...
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A New Page: HP’s Production Grows
Although Hewlett-Packard’s production operations grew in scale as the company expanded dramatically the 1940s, floor plan arrangements continued to emphasize open spaces with employees working side by ...
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A Revolution: HP 400AC Voltmeter
When Dave Packard designed the HP 400AC voltmeter in 1948, he was on to something big. This product launched the beginning of a voltmeter product line that would continue for 50 years and more than a ...
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A Riveting Job: Wartime Women at HP
Wartime production brought more employees into the fold, especially women and retirees. “Rosie the Riveters” were a common sight on Hewlett-Packard assembly lines in the mid- to late-1940s. ...
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An Early Commitment to Giving
Hewlett-Packard committed to philantrophy early in its history. The first page of this ledger noted a $5 donation as “Misc. – Contribution” in June 1940 — the year after HP was founded. That ethos wou ...
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Army-Navy “E” Award: Sharing Credit
Hewlett-Packard employees were invited to share in the company’s Army-Navy “E” Award with personalized certificates of appreciation.
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At Attention: HP Attenuator Department
A group of employees were busy at work in the Attenuator Department, which in 1946 was made up mostly of women. Workers constructed attenuators — a small current-regulating device — and performed othe ...