Kodak

In 1879, London was the center of the photographic and business world. George Eastman went there to obtain a patent on his plate-coating machine. An American patent was granted the following year.

In April 1880, Eastman leased the third floor of a building on State Street in Rochester, and began to manufacture dry plates for sale. One of his first purchases was a second-hand engine priced at $125.

"I really needed only a one horse-power," he later recalled. "This was a two horse-power, but I thought perhaps business would grow up to it. It was worth a chance, so I took it."

Success of the dry plate venture so impressed businessman Henry A. Strong, that he invested some money in the infant concern.

On January 1, 1881, Eastman and Strong formed a partnership called the Eastman Dry Plate Company. Late that year, Eastman resigned from his position at the Rochester Savings Bank to devote all his time to the new company and its business. While actively managing all phases of the firm's activities, he continued research in an effort to simplify photography.

In 1884, the Eastman-Strong partnership had given way to a new firm -- the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company -- with 14 shareowners. A successive concern -- the Eastman Company, was formed in 1889.

The company has been called Eastman Kodak Company since 1892, when Eastman Kodak Company of New York was organized. In 1901, the Eastman Kodak Company of New Jersey was formed under the laws of that state.

Eastman built his business on four basic principles:

• a focus on the customer
• mass production at low cost
• worldwide distribution
• extensive advertising

He saw all four as being closely related. Mass production could not be justified without wide distribution. Distribution, in turn, needed the support of strong advertising. From the beginning, he imbued the company with the conviction that fulfilling customer needs and desires is the only road to corporate success.