Remington
Remington Company
Began: 1830s; Ilion, New York
Ended: 1955
Field & Discipline: Business; Firearms Manufacturing
Details:
The firm of E. Remington & Son began as an arms manufactory. During 1830’s, founder Eliphalet Remington was assisted in running his business by his son, Philo. In 1861, when the American Civil War broke out, Eliphalet died and Philo now took over as president of the company, assisted by his two brothers, Eliphalet and Samuel.
The four years of the Civil War saw flourishing trade for the company with many government arms contracts. The 1870’s were the golden age of the firm, when it was one of the major private firearms manufacturers of the United States, producing up to fifteen hundred guns daily. After the Civil War the firm could not operate to capacity on the diminished demand for civilian weaponry, and so the company aimed for international orders and diversification.
The E. Remington & Sons company handled the gun business under the supervision of Samuel Remington, who in 1866 went to Europe, where he stayed until 1877, serving as France’s procurement officer for American ordinance from 1870 on. In 1867 the Danish government placed an order for nearly $40,000 armaments. The Swedish government followed and over the next years contracts were drawn up with Spain, Egypt, Mexico, Japan and other countries. By 1875, Remington had delivered over a million arms to foreign governments.
A new partnership run by Philo and Eliphalet jr, was created to manufacture other products. Under Remington Brothers Agricultural Works the firm began to produce farm implements, mainly mowers and cultivators. By 1885 business consisted primarily of house pumps and Remington fire engines. The business was sold in 1887.
Another attempt at diversification was the Remington Sewing Machine Company. Aided by a former Singer executive, Remington developed the Remington Empire Sewing machine in 1870. This venture did not meet with success.
Remington also engaged in the early manufacture of the typewriter. In mid February 1873 James Densmore and his partner Yost arrived in Ilion to exhibit their [manufactured] typewriter*, newly invented by [made typewriter of] Sholes* and his partner [made typewriter of] Carlos Glidden*.
On March 1st a contract for manufacture was drawn up on terms highly advantageous to Remington, with Densmore taking most of the risk. Remington undertook design modifications and the initial manufacture of one thousand “Sholes and Glidden” machines. The first machine, produced on 30th April 1874, with all the type in upper case was called the Sholes & Glidden typewriter.The side panels, frame, top and some other parts were made in the foundry at the Remington Brothers Agricultural Works. The wooden type bar levers, the japanning and decorations were the responsibility of the Remington Sewing Machine Company. The forged typebars, screws and other machined parts most likely came from the armory.
Shortcomings in manufacture were compounded by poor distribution techniques of Densmore and Yost. In November 1875 a new contract was drawn up in which Remington handled both manufacture and sales. In 1878, the Remington No.2 model came out, a much more compact machine, close to the modern typewriter.
Severe economic recession during the mid 1880’s left Remington in financial difficulty. In 1882 the sewing machine assets were sold, and in March 1886 the Firearms company was bought by Hartley & Graham of New York City and operated it under the name of Remington Arms Company. The typewriter section was sold to Wyckoff, Seamans & Benedict, who reorganized the business as the Remington Standard Typewriter Company.
In the 1920’a Remington merged with the company of [company merged with] Rand* to become Remington Rand. Rand also contributed his Kardex machines business to the new firm.. The Powers Accounting Machine Company, founded by [company merged with] Powers,* the second largest vendor of tabulating equipment in the United States, also joined the conglomerate. Remington Rand was now in direct competition with IBM in the office equipment market, and these two firms dominated this area from 1927 to the 1950’s.
In the 1930’s Remington Rand diversified into a broad product base including punched card equipment (from the Powers Accounting Machine), adding machines (from Dalton Adding Machine Company), typewriters (from the Remington Typewriter Company), and miscellaneous filing, record-handling, protecting devices and products like ring binders and paper (from Rand’s Kardex Bureau, Baker-Vauter Company, Safe-Cabinet Company and others). The company marketed these products worldwide.
By the 1930s, Remington Rand was among the major sellers of sophisticated new adding machines for which there was a wide market in businesses and institutions. Success in this area continued into 1950’s, by which time Remington Rand was also a leader in the accounting-machine market.
In the 1950’s the firm added the computer to their inventory by acquiring two companies that had already developed computer technology: the [acquired company of] Eckert*-[acquired company of] Mauchly* Computer Corporation in Philadelphia in 1950, and Engineering Research Associates in 1952.
Between 1945 and 1955, Remington Rand continued to expand and in 1955 were bought by [bought by] Sperry*. General Douglas MacArthur became chairman of the board, and Rand, vice chairman. The new company was called Sperry Rand.
Extra Connections:
Remington first used the carbon paper brought them by [shown carbon paper by] Rogers*.
Buffalo Bill Cody* used their rifles.
One of their first typewriter customers was [early typewriter customer was] Twain*
Oneliner: Remington Co., who made arms, typewriters, and computers
Bibliography:
- Cortoda, James W., Before the Computer. Princeton University Press; Princeton, New Jersey, 1993.
- Hoke, Donald R., Ingenious Yankees. Columbia University Press, New York, 1990.
Remington Rand was an early American business machine manufacturer, best known originally as a typewriter manufacturer and in a later incarnation as the manufacturer of the UNIVAC line of mainframe computers. Formed in 1927 following a merger, Remington Rand was a diversified conglomerate making other office equipment, electric shavers, etc. The Remington Rand Building at 315 Park Avenue South in New York City is a 20-floor skyscraper completed in 1911.[1] After 1955, Remington Rand had a long list of mergers and acquisitions that eventually resulted in the formation of Unisys.
History
Rowayton, Connecticut was company headquarters from 1943 to 1964. Retired General Leslie Groves, who had headed the Manhattan Project, served as chief of research and development during part of this time.
Remington Typewriter Company and Rand Kardex Corporation. One of its earliest factories, the former Herschell–Spillman Motor Company Complex, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.[2][3] Within the first year, Remington Rand acquired the Dalton Adding Machine Company, the Powers Accounting Machine Company, the Baker-Vawter Company, and the Kalamazoo Loose Leaf Binder Company.[4][5] From 1936 to 1937 Remington Rand went on strike, which resulted in violence and the loss of jobs.[6]
From 1942 to 1945, Remington Rand was one manufacturer of the M1911A1 .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol used by the United States Armed Forces during World War II. Remington Rand produced more M1911A1 pistols than any other wartime manufacturer.[7] Remington Rand ranked 66th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts.[8]
In 1950, Remington Rand acquired the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation, founded by the makers of the ENIAC, and in 1952, they acquired Engineering Research Associates (ERA), both of which were pioneers in electronic computing. At that time, Remington Rand was one of the biggest computer companies in the United States.[9]
On June 14, 1951, the company's first computer was introduced, and it was called Univac I (Universal Automatic Computer). Many branches of the U.S. military, including the Air Force and the Army, were among the first ones to use the computers. When companies started to buy the computers, they would leave the computers at the Remington Rand facility since they were so big and bulky. The Univac I was about the size of a one-car garage, and 46 machines were built and sold for $1 million each.[10]
Remington Rand was acquired by Sperry Corporation in 1955 to form a company then known as Sperry Rand (later shortened to Sperry). However, the brand name of "Remington Rand" remained as a subdivision for many years.[11] Sperry merged in 1986 with Burroughs to form Unisys.[9]
Remington Rand was a regular co-sponsor of the CBS panel show What's My Line? throughout much of the show's run.[12]
Strike of 1936–37
Main article: Remington Rand strike of 1936–37
The strike started out by the Federal Union, which was affiliated with the American Federation of Labor (AFL). James Rand Jr. used the idea of the Mohawk Valley Formula to try and break up the strike. The Mohawk Valley Formula was used to spread propaganda about the union strikes. The propaganda was done by spreading out rumors and bashing the union strikers for hurting their families, by having no income coming to their households since they are out of work. The propaganda was also often used to call the union strikers communist or an anarchist, to make the public hate the union strikers.[14]Remington Rand had a strike from 1936-1937.
Remington Rand bought the Noiseless Typewriter Company in 1924, and the Noiseless Typewriter Company kept their company name and their workers were getting paid by Remington Rand. Also in the summer of 1936, James H. Rand Jr. tried to break up the strike by firing union workers and hiring new workers to take their places. Rand Jr. also threatened to close the plant. The strike got so out of hand that the state and local police had to help keep the strikers from throwing stones at workers and vehicles.[13]
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which has a professional strikebreaker system, came in and tried to help the strikers and Remington Rand to reach a deal. The NLRB had strikebreakers come in and the strikebreakers had many different tactics to help the strikers return to work and work out a deal. The strikebreakers brought techniques that involved propaganda, which would spread demoralizing rumors among striking employees. The strikebreakers would also use missionaries to go to the employees homes and would persuade them to go back to work. The missionaries would dress up as Remington Rand's personnel department in order to help persuade the employees.[14]
In 1937, the NLRB decided in favor of the workers, and the board ordered Rand to stop interfering with employee's unions and the right to organize. After the strike was broken in the summer of 1940, the Middletown plant had closed permanently, leaving 1,200 employees without jobs. There were still legal battles being fought for the employees that were in the strike while the plant was closing. The Middletown plant was run by strikebreakers until the closing of the plant in 1940.[14] Today the building is the home of Stubborn Beauty Brewery.[15]
Products
Typewriters
Main article: Remington Typewriter Company
Initially produced by E. Remington and Sons, Remington typewriters were the first to use the QWERTY keyboard layout. Remington had bought the design from its inventor, Christopher Sholes. The Remington No.1 was the first model released. All keys were uppercase. Remington spun off Remington Typewriter Company in 1886, and after the 1927 merger, the Remington Rand Corp. continued to manufacture and sell typewriters.[16]
Colt M1911
During World War II, Remington Rand produced 958,764 licensed copies of the M1911 for the war effort between 1943–1945. These were shipped to the Springfield Armory as each contract was fulfilled. Colt Manufacturing Company was unable to fulfill the demand and was assisted by Remington Rand, Singer Corporation, Union Switch & Signal, Remington Arms and the Ithaca Gun Company. After the war all contracts for the 1911A1 were cancelled.
The UNIVAC
The UNIVAC I (UNIVersal Automatic Computer I) was the second commercial computer made in the United States.[17] It was designed principally by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, the inventors of the ENIAC. Design work was begun by their company, Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation, and was completed after the company had been acquired by Remington Rand. (In the years before successor models of the UNIVAC I appeared, the machine was simply known as "the UNIVAC".)[16]
The first UNIVAC was delivered to the United States Census Bureau on March 31, 1951, and was dedicated on June 14 that year.[18] The fifth machine (built for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission) was used by CBS to predict the result of the 1952 U.S. presidential election. With a sample of 1% of the voting population it predicted Eisenhower's win.[16]
In 1949, Remington Rand designed the Remington Rand 409, a control panel programmed punched card calculator (but not introduced as a product until 1952 as the UNIVAC 60 then in 1953 as the UNIVAC 120 with double the memory).[16]
They also sold punched card systems, beginning with the 1928 acquisition of the Powers Accounting Machine Company and ending in the 1950s.
Electric Razors
Remington Rand also made electric razors. The Remington brand of razor was originally produced by a division of Remington Rand, starting in 1937. Sperry Corporation sold the division in 1979 to Victor Kiam, who became the company spokesman of the new Remington Products Company. His line, "I liked the shaver so much, I bought the company" became one of the more memorable advertising slogans of the early 1980s.