Ericsson Mobile Communications
 |
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| Subsidiary, Aktiebolag | |
| Industry | Mobile phones |
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Predecessor | Ericsson Radio Systems |
| Successor | Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, Ericsson Mobile Platforms |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Defunct | 2001 |
| Headquarters | Lund, Sweden |
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Key people
|
Åke Lundqvist, Lars Ramqvist, Nils Rydbeck, Johan Siberg |
| Parent | Ericsson |
Ericsson Mobile Communications AB was a subsidiary of Ericsson, entirely focused on development of mobile phones (handsets). The major offices were located in Lund, Kumla, Raleigh, North Carolina and Lynchburg, Virginia.
Under the command of Ericsson Radio Systems present CEO Lars Ramqvist, a new joint venture company was formed together with General Electric July 1, 1989, under the name Ericsson GE Mobile Communications. The company consisted of all mobile phone activity of both companies in Sweden and USA. Ericsson owned 60% of the company, and General Electric owned 40%. In this fusion GE contributed, among other things, a factory of some 1,600 employees in Lynchburg, Virginia. Ericsson Radio Systems former CEO Åke Lundqvist moved to the USA as CEO for the new company, which also controlled the mobile handset activities in Kumla and the research facility in Lund. Mobile telephony, at this time, constituted 14% of the billing in the business unit for radio communications at Ericsson.
In 1990 Ericsson GE Mobile Communications, at the initiative of Åke Lundkvist, opened a new office for research and development in Research Triangle Park, a science park in Raleigh, North Carolina. The purpose of this initiative was to divide research and development from pure manufacturing, to mirror the split between Kumla and Lund in Sweden.
The activity in Ericsson GE Mobile Communications was characterized by severe cooperation problems between the two companies, and inability to break into the U.S. market for mobile phones.
In the beginning of 1992 Ericsson purchased another 20% of the joint venture and Ericsson GE Mobile Communications was owned to 80% by Ericsson. At the end of 1993 General Electric left the board for the joint venture. Eventually, on April 1, 1998, General Electric used a bail-out sell clause in the contract with Ericsson and sold its remaining last part of the joint venture back to Ericsson, which thereby became the sole owner of the company.
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