Jump to content

British Tabulating Machine Company

From Alfawiki
British Tabulating Machine Company
Company typePrivate
IndustryData processing equipment manufacturing
Founded1902; 124 years ago (1902)
FounderRobert Porter
Defunct1959 (1959)
FateMerged with Powers-Samas to form International Computers and Tabulators (ICT)
Headquarters
Letchworth, Hertfordshire
,
United Kingdom
Key people
Harold 'Doc' Keen (Chief Engineer), Dora Metcalf (Project overseer for CANTAB)
ProductsHollerith unit record equipment, bombe machines, Hollerith Electronic Computer (HEC) series
Number of employees
1,225 (1939)


The British Tabulating Machine Company (BTM) specialized in producing and distributing Hollerith unit record equipment alongside various other data-processing apparatus. Throughout World War II, BTM manufactured approximately 200 "bombe" machines deployed at Bletchley Park to decipher German Enigma machine encryptions.

History

Established in 1902 under the name The Tabulator Limited following Robert Porter's acquisition of the rights to market Herman Hollerith's devices from the American Tabulating Machine Company (which later became IBM), the firm adopted the title "British Tabulating Machine Company Limited" in 1907. By 1920, it had moved its operations from London to Letchworth, Hertfordshire, transitioning from merely reselling Hollerith products to manufacturing them internally.

Revenue figures rose significantly, from £6,000 in 1915 to £170,000 by 1937, while employee numbers expanded from 45 in 1916 to 1,225 by 1939. BTM allocated a quarter of its income as royalties for exclusive distribution rights of Hollerith equipment across Britain and the Empire (excluding Canada), a costly contract that underwent several renegotiations before concluding in 1948.

During the Second World War, BTM engineered and constructed the bombe device instrumental in decoding German Enigma messages. The concept originated with Alan Turing and was realized under the guidance of BTM’s chief engineer Harold 'Doc' Keen, who had led its engineering division since the 1930s. The project, known as "CANTAB," was overseen by computing innovator Dora Metcalf until 1942. By the end of hostilities, over two hundred bombes had been produced and deployed.

HEC computer

BTM created the valve-based Hollerith Electronic Computer (HEC), initiating with the HEC 1 model completed in 1951; one unit is exhibited at the Birmingham Museum. Follow-up versions included HEC 2, 2M, and 4, with production exceeding one hundred machines. These computers incorporated a drum memory of approximately 2 kilobytes and utilized around 1,000 valves, supporting punched card input/output or printer output capabilities. The HEC 4—also identified as BTM 1201 (or 1202 when equipped with a larger drum) and later rebranded as ICT 1201—was exported globally, including shipments to New Zealand.

Merger

In 1959, BTM combined forces with competitor Powers-Samas, resulting in the formation of International Computers and Tabulators Limited (ICT). ICT eventually merged into International Computers Limited (ICL), which was subsequently acquired by Fujitsu.

References

  • John Harper, BTM – British Tabulating Machine Company Limited [1] (archived 1 December 2010).
  • John Keen, Harold 'Doc' Keen and the Bletchley Park Bombe, 2003, .
  • Martin Campbell-Kelly, ICL and the British computer industry, [2].

External links

Retrieved from "https://www.alfawiki.org/index.php?title=British_Tabulating_Machine_Company&oldid=89435"