The firm was founded as NV Hazemeyer's Fabriek van Signaalapparaten during 1922 by Hazemeyer and Siemens & Halske to produce naval fire-control systems. During the Second World War, the company's factory was captured and pillaged by the German Army; shortly after the conflict's end, the remaining assets were nationalised by the Dutch government, the company being renamed N.V. Hollandsche Signaalapparaten (or Signaal for short). During 1956, the Netherlands-based electronics company Philips became the majority owner of Signaal after buying a large portion of the shares from the government. The firm expanded throughout much the Cold War period, producing various naval electronics and defense systems for a range of customers around the world.During 1990, the French electronics and defence contractor Thomson-CSF acquired Signall from Philips; accordingly, Signaal was rebranded as Thomson-CSF Signaal.[1] Following the renaming of Thomson-CSF to Thales in 2000, Thomson-CSF Signaal was renamed Thales Nederland. Presently, the company is primarily involved in naval defence systems, such as sensors, radars and infrared systems. Other areas of business include air defence, communications, optronics, cryogenic cooling systems and navigation products.