Remington Rand
American office-equipment and computing company associated with Remington typewriters, UNIVAC computers, filing systems, and wartime M1911A1 pistols.
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Overview
Remington Rand was an American diversified business-machine manufacturer that became one of the most important office-technology and early computing companies of the twentieth century. It was created in 1927 through the merger of the Remington Typewriter Company and Rand Kardex Corporation. The combination joined a historic typewriter maker with a supplier of filing and information-management equipment, giving the new company a broad base in office machinery. Remington Rand expanded rapidly during its first year by acquiring the Dalton Adding Machine Company, Powers Accounting Machine Company, Baker-Vawter Company, and Kalamazoo Loose Leaf Binder Company. The company’s products extended well beyond typewriters. Its portfolio included adding machines, accounting and punched-card systems, card-filing equipment, visible-index systems, loose-leaf binders, and electric shavers. The Kardex and Variadex lines continued the predecessor company’s role in organizing business records. Remington typewriters, whose lineage included the adoption of the QWERTY keyboard, remained a central part of the business. The corporation also became a defense contractor during the Second World War. Between 1943 and 1945, it manufactured 958,764 licensed M1911A1 .45-caliber pistols for the United States military, making it the largest wartime producer of that model. Labor relations were a significant part of Remington Rand’s history. A major strike beginning in 1936 involved workers at the company’s Middletown, New York, operations. Company management attempted to defeat the strike through dismissals, replacement labor, public-relations campaigning, and other measures associated with the so-called Mohawk Valley Formula. In 1937, the National Labor Relations Board found that company conduct had interfered with employees’ organizing rights. The dispute continued for several years, and the Middletown plant eventually closed in 1940, leaving approximately 1,200 workers without jobs. Remington Rand moved decisively into electronic computing after acquiring Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation in 1950 and Engineering Research Associates in 1952. These transactions brought into the company the technical work of leading early computer pioneers, including J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, as well as the ERA engineering organization. The resulting computer business produced the UNIVAC line. The first UNIVAC was delivered to the United States Census Bureau on March 31, 1951, and formally dedicated on June 14. UNIVAC I became a landmark commercial computer and was used by government agencies, military organizations, and private-sector customers. A UNIVAC system used by CBS to analyze the 1952 presidential election famously projected Dwight Eisenhower’s victory from a small sample of voting data. The company’s computer operations also included punched-card and plugboard-programmed systems, including the machines later marketed as the UNIVAC 60 and UNIVAC 120. Although the physical scale and cost of early computers limited their customer base, Remington Rand helped establish commercial data processing as a major industry. In 1955, Sperry Corporation acquired Remington Rand, creating Sperry Rand. The Remington Rand name continued for some time as a business division or product identity, but the independent corporation ceased to exist. Sperry later shortened its name to Sperry and merged with Burroughs in 1986; that transaction created Unisys, the corporate successor most closely associated with Remington Rand’s computer business. The Remington electric-shaver operation followed a separate path and was sold by Sperry in 1979.
History
Remington Rand’s history began with two established office-technology businesses. The Remington Typewriter Company descended from the typewriter operations of E. Remington and Sons, whose machines helped popularize the QWERTY keyboard layout. Rand Kardex specialized in filing, indexing, and records-management equipment. Their 1927 merger created Remington Rand, a company positioned to serve the expanding administrative infrastructure of modern corporations and government agencies. The new corporation immediately pursued diversification. It acquired the Dalton Adding Machine Company, Powers Accounting Machine Company, Baker-Vawter Company, and Kalamazoo Loose Leaf Binder Company during its first year. These additions gave Remington Rand products for calculating, accounting, storing, and retrieving business information. The company continued to market Remington typewriters and developed a broad office-equipment portfolio. Kardex and Variadex products represented the company’s emphasis on systematic information management before electronic computers became commercially important. Industrial relations became contentious in the 1930s. Workers at Remington Rand’s Middletown operations went on strike from 1936 into the following years. James Rand Jr. attempted to undermine the action by dismissing union employees, recruiting replacements, threatening plant closure, and using an aggressive public-relations campaign. The campaign drew on the Mohawk Valley Formula, which portrayed striking workers as dangerous or disloyal and sought to mobilize community opposition to the union. Police and local authorities became involved as tensions increased. In 1937, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Remington Rand had interfered with workers’ organizing rights. The conflict persisted, and the Middletown plant ultimately closed in 1940, with roughly 1,200 jobs lost. During the Second World War, Remington Rand became an important defense manufacturer. From 1943 through 1945 it produced 958,764 licensed M1911A1 pistols for the U.S. military. The company’s wartime output exceeded that of other manufacturers of the model. Its military production contributed to Remington Rand’s ranking among the largest American corporations by the value of wartime contracts, while also demonstrating the breadth of its manufacturing capabilities beyond office products. The company’s most consequential transformation came through computing. In 1950 it acquired Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation, the organization founded by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly after their work on ENIAC. In 1952 it acquired Engineering Research Associates, another pioneering computer firm. These acquisitions supplied both technical personnel and intellectual property for an expanding electronic-data-processing business. The first major result was UNIVAC I. The machine was delivered to the U.S. Census Bureau on March 31, 1951, and dedicated on June 14. It was among the earliest commercial computers built in the United States and was adopted by government, military, and business customers. One UNIVAC system became widely known after CBS used it to forecast the 1952 presidential election. Remington Rand also developed punched-card and plugboard systems, including equipment introduced under the UNIVAC 60 and UNIVAC 120 names. These products connected the company’s earlier office-machine expertise with the emerging computer industry. In 1955, Sperry Corporation acquired Remington Rand and formed Sperry Rand. The Remington Rand name survived in some divisions and product activities, but the company no longer operated as an independent corporation. Sperry later became known simply as Sperry before merging with Burroughs in 1986 to create Unisys. The Remington electric-shaver business was separated from the broader corporate succession: Sperry sold it in 1979, and it later passed through other owners. Remington Rand is therefore best understood as both a major historical office-equipment brand and a key predecessor of the commercial-computing lineage that led to Unisys.
- 1986
Sperry merges with Burroughs
[3]The merger produced Unisys, a later corporate successor to Remington Rand’s computing activities.
- 1955
Acquisition by Sperry
[1]Sperry acquired Remington Rand, creating Sperry Rand and ending Remington Rand’s independent corporate existence.
- 1952
Engineering Research Associates acquisition
[1]The purchase strengthened Remington Rand’s position in electronic computing and computer engineering.
- 1951
UNIVAC I enters service
[2]The first UNIVAC was delivered to the Census Bureau and formally dedicated later that year.
- 1950
Eckert–Mauchly acquisition
[1]Remington Rand acquired the company founded by ENIAC developers J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly.
- 1943
M1911A1 production begins
[1]Remington Rand began producing licensed M1911A1 pistols for the American war effort.
- 1937
NLRB labor ruling
[1]The National Labor Relations Board ruled that company actions had interfered with employees’ union-organizing rights.
- 1927
Formation of Remington Rand
[1]Remington Typewriter Company merged with Rand Kardex Corporation to form Remington Rand.
Products and positioning
A diversified office-technology and information-processing company that evolved from typewriters and records management into commercial computing, while also undertaking major wartime manufacturing contracts.
Typewriters
Remington typewriters
Remington Rand continued the typewriter business associated with the historic Remington name. Remington machines were linked to the early commercialization of the QWERTY keyboard and remained a core office product after the 1927 merger. The line served general business, government, and administrative users before electronic word processing displaced mechanical and electromechanical typewriters.
Filing and information management
Kardex and Variadex systems
Kardex and Variadex products provided card-filing, visible-index, and records-management capabilities. They represented the company’s pre-digital approach to organizing business information and were inherited from or developed alongside the Rand Kardex business. The systems were used in offices that needed structured access to customer, inventory, personnel, and accounting records.
Military firearms · 1943
M1911A1
Under wartime contract, Remington Rand manufactured licensed copies of the M1911A1 .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol for the United States Armed Forces. Production ran from 1943 to 1945 and totaled 958,764 pistols. The contracts were canceled after the war, so this was a major contract-manufacturing activity rather than a continuing consumer product line.
Mainframe computers · 1951
UNIVAC I
UNIVAC I was one of the first commercial computers produced in the United States. Developed from work begun by Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation, it used electronic data processing for government, military, scientific, and business applications. Its large physical size and high cost meant that early systems were often installed and maintained at dedicated facilities, but the machine helped establish commercial computing as a viable industry.
Punched-card and accounting computers · 1952
UNIVAC 60 and UNIVAC 120
These systems grew out of Remington Rand’s punched-card and plugboard-programmed calculator work. The Remington Rand 409 design was introduced commercially as the UNIVAC 60 in 1952 and as the UNIVAC 120 in 1953, with the latter offering greater memory capacity. They connected traditional accounting-machine workflows with the company’s newer electronic-computing portfolio.
Personal-care appliances · 1937
Remington electric shavers
Remington Rand entered electric shavers in 1937 through a dedicated division. The shaver business later became separate from the parent company’s main office-equipment and computing succession. Sperry sold the operation in 1979, after which it became associated with Remington Products and later owners.
Marketing campaigns
- 1952CBS UNIVAC election forecast
United States
CBS used a UNIVAC system to analyze a sample of election data during the 1952 U.S. presidential election. The computer projected an Eisenhower victory and became an important publicity moment for commercial computing.
Outcome. The broadcast helped make UNIVAC and electronic computers familiar to a broad American audience.
- 1936Anti-union public-relations campaign during the Middletown strike
United States
During the labor dispute, management used public messaging associated with the Mohawk Valley Formula to portray striking employees as harmful to their families and communities and to encourage opposition to the union.
Outcome. The NLRB later found interference with employees’ organizing rights; the plant ultimately closed in 1940.
Brand decisions
1955
Accept acquisition by Sperry CorporationM&ABackground
Remington Rand had become a diversified office-equipment and computing company, while consolidation was reshaping the business-machine sector.
Action taken
Sperry acquired Remington Rand and formed Sperry Rand.
Aftermath
The Remington Rand corporate identity was subordinated to Sperry Rand, although some divisions and products retained the name for years.
1952
Acquire Engineering Research AssociatesM&ABackground
The company continued consolidating early computer engineering capabilities.
Action taken
Remington Rand acquired Engineering Research Associates.
Aftermath
The transaction strengthened its position among the largest American computer companies of the period.
1950
Acquire Eckert–Mauchly Computer CorporationM&ABackground
Remington Rand sought capabilities in the emerging field of electronic computing.
Action taken
It acquired the company founded by ENIAC developers J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly.
Aftermath
The acquisition provided the technical foundation for the UNIVAC commercial-computer line.
1927
Merge the Remington and Rand Kardex businessesM&ABackground
The merger combined typewriter manufacturing with filing and information-management equipment.
Action taken
The companies formed Remington Rand as a diversified office-machine manufacturer.
Aftermath
The new company expanded rapidly into adding machines, accounting systems, filing products, and related office equipment.
Recent events
- 1955
Sperry acquires Remington Rand[1]
M&A
The transaction created Sperry Rand, after which Remington Rand continued for a period as a division or product identity rather than an independent corporation.
- 1952
Remington Rand acquires Engineering Research Associates[1]
M&A
The acquisition added ERA’s early-computing engineering capabilities to Remington Rand’s expanding computer organization.
- 1951
UNIVAC I is delivered and formally introduced[2]
Product launch · Product generation
The first UNIVAC was delivered to the U.S. Census Bureau in March and dedicated in June, establishing Remington Rand as a major commercial-computing supplier.
- 1950
Remington Rand acquires Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation[1]
M&A
The acquisition brought the creators of ENIAC and their developing commercial-computer work into Remington Rand.
- 1943
Remington Rand begins large-scale M1911A1 wartime production[1]
Other
The company produced licensed M1911A1 pistols for the United States military and ultimately became the model’s largest wartime manufacturer.
- 1937
National Labor Relations Board rules against Remington Rand conduct[1]
Regulation · Lawsuit
The NLRB found that management had interfered with employees’ rights to organize and directed the company to cease such interference.
- 1936
Remington Rand workers conduct a major labor strike[1]
Lawsuit · Other
A strike at Remington Rand operations escalated amid replacement labor, police involvement, anti-union campaigning, and disputes over employees’ organizing rights.
- 1927
Remington Rand is formed through the merger of Remington Typewriter and Rand Kardex[1]
M&A · Other
The merger created a diversified business-machine company combining typewriters, filing systems, and related office equipment.
- 1927
Remington Rand expands through multiple office-equipment acquisitions[1]
M&A
During its first year, the company acquired the Dalton Adding Machine, Powers Accounting Machine, Baker-Vawter, and Kalamazoo Loose Leaf Binder businesses.
Sources3 sources
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