Anelex

Anelex Corporation

Company type	Public
Industry	Computer
Founded	1951 (1951) in Boston, Massachusetts
Founder	E. Ross Anderson
Defunct	Template:End date and age
Fate	Acquired by Mohawk Data Sciences Corporation

Anelex Corporation (also occasionally presented as ANelex) was a U.S.-based computer hardware manufacturer operating from 1952 until 1967, with its main office located in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was established by entrepreneur E. Ross Anderson (circa 1896–1968), who had earlier co-founded Anderson-Nichols & Co. in 1922. Initially functioning as a subdivision of Anderson-Nichols, Anelex became an independent entity in 1952. Eventually, Anelex incorporated Anderson-Nichols, and both organizations shared the same Boston headquarters until the building's demolition in 1996.

The firm specialized in producing computer peripherals, notably high-speed line printers and hard disk drives. It ranked as the world's second-largest printer manufacturer after IBM and was reportedly the fourth company globally to develop hard disk drives. In 1967, Mohawk Data Sciences Corporation acquired Anelex.

History

Anelex was established in 1951 by E. Ross Anderson, evolving out of Anderson-Nichols & Co., a company engaged in tool manufacturing and architectural engineering services. The company’s strategy focused on creating proprietary computer hardware rather than engaging in general manufacturing activities. Following a contract with the U.S. federal government to supply a high-speed line printer, Anelex was spun off as a separate corporation in 1952. The company went public in 1960, with Anderson-Nichols maintaining a 15% ownership stake until 1961. Soon after becoming independent, Anelex moved its administrative offices to Concord, New Hampshire, while continuing substantial operations at its nearly two-acre Boston site.

Anelex’s primary products were high-speed line printers intended for use with both analog and digital mainframe systems. Its inaugural trademarked product, the Synchroprinter (introduced in 1952), could print 15 lines of 40 characters each per second. By 1962, the company had developed fifth-generation printers capable of outputting as many as 2,000 alphanumeric lines per minute. By the early 1960s, Anelex acted as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), supplying printing devices to more than 30 computer manufacturers worldwide.

The company’s growth was fueled by strategic expansions and acquisitions: opening a Minneapolis branch office in 1962; acquiring Franklin Electronics Corporation of Bridgeport, Pennsylvania—a startup specializing in high-speed line printers—in 1963; and purchasing Unicraft Corporation of Newport, New Hampshire—a producer of precision instruments—in 1964. Anelex briefly entered the military market with single-purpose computers in 1962 but withdrew within a few years.

In late 1963, Anelex introduced its initial hard disk drive offerings compatible with IBM systems: the Model 80 featuring six platters and storing approximately 3.9 million characters; the Model 800 with eight platters supporting up to 23 million characters; and the high-capacity Model 4800 designed to accommodate multiple disk packs for storage up to 95 million characters. These releases positioned Anelex among the earliest hard disk drive manufacturers following IBM, Bryant Computer Products, and Data Products. The first units were delivered by mid-1964.

Anelex's financial trajectory culminated with its acquisition by Mohawk Data Sciences between August and October of 1967 through a stock exchange deal, thereby strengthening Mohawk’s presence within the rapidly evolving computer hardware sector.