Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company

Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company

Company type	Holding company
Industry	Business machines, time recording, weighing scales
Founded	1911
Founder	Charles Ranlett Flint
Defunct	1924
Fate	Renamed International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)
Headquarters	Endicott , United States
Key people	George Winthrop Fairchild (Chairman), Thomas J. Watson Sr. (President, 1915–1924), Charles Ranlett Flint (Founder)
Products	Employee time-tracking devices, weighing scales, automatic meat slicers, punched card machinery
Number of employees	1,300
Parent	None

The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) was established in 1911 as a holding entity by financier and trust organizer Charles Ranlett Flint. He merged four distinct manufacturers: Bundy Manufacturing Company, International Time Recording Company, Tabulating Machine Company, and Computing Scale Company of America. This merger resulted in the formation of CTR, which was based in Endicott, New York. At its inception, the company employed approximately 1,300 individuals and produced a wide variety of products such as employee time-tracking devices, weighing scales, automatic meat slicers, and punched card machinery.

Among the leading figures were Chairman George Winthrop Fairchild and President Thomas J. Watson Sr. (serving from 1915 to 1924). CTR’s strategy centered on combining systems for record-keeping and measurement to cater to diverse industrial sectors.

In 1924, the company underwent a rebranding to become the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), reflecting its growing presence in the marketplace. Although the initial constituent companies continued operating under their original names for some time, they were fully merged into IBM's organizational framework by 1933, optimizing operational efficiency.

This early unification served as the cornerstone for IBM’s subsequent expansion and competitive positioning within the business machine sector, setting the stage for innovation and worldwide growth.

Bundy Manufacturing Company

The earliest time clock was created on November 20, 1888, by Willard Bundy, a jeweler from Auburn, New York. In 1889, his brother Harlow Bundy established the Bundy Manufacturing Company to manufacture time clocks on a larger scale.

By 1900, Bundy Manufacturing divested its time recording division to the newly formed International Time Recording Company (ITR) and redirected its efforts toward producing adding machines. In 1906, Harlow Bundy moved the operation into a new three-story brick building located in Endicott, New York.

International Time Recording Company

In 1894, J. L. Willard and F. A. Frick founded the Willard & Frick Manufacturing Company in Rochester, New York, marking the inception of the first company dedicated to time card recorders.

Investor George W. Fairchild spearheaded the creation of International Time Recording Company (ITR) in Jersey City in 1900 by merging Bundy’s time recording business with Willard & Frick. The company was reincorporated in Binghamton, New York in 1901 and acquired Chicago Time-Register Co., an early innovator in autograph time recorders.

By 1906, ITR had relocated its manufacturing operations to Endicott, New York, expanding its facilities next to those of Bundy Manufacturing. Prior to CTR’s formation, Harlow Bundy held positions as ITR’s treasurer and general manager.

ITR broadened its reach through acquisitions such as Del Ray Register Company in 1907 and Syracuse Time Recorder Company in 1908, which enhanced its offerings of dial recorders and time clocks.

The company's 1935 catalog showcased industrial time clocks, recording instruments, program clocks, and decorative storefront clocks. Additionally, ITR marketed the Series 970 Intercommunicating Telephone System. Since at least 1907, ITR published Time magazine targeting employees and clients; this publication was renamed Think by IBM in 1935.

Tabulating Machine Company

Herman Hollerith began his enterprise under the name The Hollerith Electric Tabulating System, concentrating on equipment for punched card data processing. He formally established the Tabulating Machine Company in 1896, which was later reorganized in 1905 as The Tabulating Machine Company. Hollerith’s innovations, originating from patents filed in 1884 and developed during his tenure at the U.S. Census Bureau (1879–1882), transformed data tabulation by introducing punched card technology in 1886, a method that became a benchmark in the industry for over eight decades.

The company’s initial deployment involved leasing machines to a railroad firm in 1896, but it soon pursued the substantial contract for the 1900 US Census, which it secured and executed effectively. To maintain operations beyond census projects, Hollerith expanded into commercial sectors both within the United States and abroad, marketing his semiautomatic devices for punching, tabulating, and sorting data. In 1911, entrepreneur Charles Ranlett Flint purchased the company for $2.3 million, with Hollerith receiving $1.2 million from the transaction.

Computing Scale Company of America

Established in 1901 as a holding entity, the Computing Scale Company of America brought together several subsidiaries: The Computing Scale Company (Dayton, Ohio), The Moneyweight Scale Company (Chicago), The W.F. Simpson Company (Detroit), and The Stimpson Computing Scale Company (Elkhart).

This organization traced its origins to patents acquired in 1891 by Dayton businessmen Edward Canby and Orange O. Ozias and specialized in commercial weighing scales. The company’s operations formed a foundational base that later supported expansion into wider industrial applications and growth within the weighing and measurement market.

Amalgamation

At that time, CTR carried $6.5 million in bonded debt—three times its current assets—with $4 million financed through Guaranty Trust Company. Flint appraised CTR at $17.5 million despite tangible assets amounting to only $1 million, highlighting a strategic business approach centered on diversification across "three separate and distinct lines" to stabilize income and satisfy bond commitments.

According to CTR’s 1911 stock prospectus, the combined companies generated net earnings of $950,000 from May 1910 through April 1911.

Organization and leadership

At its inception, CTR along with its subsidiaries employed about 1,300 workers distributed among locations in Endicott and Binghamton, NY; Dayton, OH; Detroit, MI; Washington, D.C.; and Toronto, Ontario. The corporate headquarters were established in Endicott.</ref> George Winthrop Fairchild assumed the role of chairman and took over active management following the resignation of the first president within one month. Fairchild led CTR until 1912 when Frank N. Kandolf, previously CEO of International Time Recording, succeeded him as president. Charles Ranlett Flint remained on the board until his retirement in 1930. Herman Hollerith continued contributing as consulting engineer until retiring in 1921.

Early Watson period

Thomas J. Watson Sr. and 29 other executives from NCR were found guilty in 1913 of antitrust offenses connected to a scheme involving used cash register dealers (see NCR Corporation § Expansion). Due to his damaging correspondence, Watson became cautious about keeping written records thereafter. After being dismissed from NCR Corporation in 1914 and facing potential imprisonment, he sought a new opportunity with financier Flint, who, despite concerns over Watson’s legal issues, entrusted him with leadership of CTR. Initially named general manager, Watson was elevated to president following an appeals court’s mandate for a retrial that ultimately did not take place. He carried over the motto Think from his time at NCR.

Watson's approach

Although Watson later became a prominent figure, he maintained a low profile until 1924, when he assumed full leadership after chairman George W. Fairchild passed away. Prior to this, for about ten years, he deferred authority to Flint, Fairchild, and Hollerith.

Watson reinvigorated a dispirited sales team of 400 by embedding a sales culture inspired by NCR that emphasized superior products and ethical conduct. His 'competitive proposition' stressed honesty, integrity, and loyalty, promoting fair competition—values that continue to be significant today. To enhance team spirit, he introduced musical events and company songs.

A core principle of CTR’s and subsequently IBM’s business philosophy was the slogan 'We sell and deliver service,' highlighting their dedication to genuinely supporting customers—a belief Watson held as essential for mutual success in sales.

Structural changes and business tactics

CTR comprised three primary divisions:

• Computing Scale, which attracted the least interest from Watson; its largest segment (Dayton Scale) was sold in 1933 to Hobart Manufacturing. Post-sale, the company began generating profits.
• Time Recording constituted the initial primary income source and served as Watson’s vehicle for diversification efforts, though these met with limited success.
• The tabulating division was most appealing to Watson due to his NCR experience and grew to become the largest part of CTR by the early 1930s.

During the 1920s under Fairchild's leadership, Watson propelled revenue growth from $4.2 million in 1914 to $16 million by 1920 but encountered a cash-flow shortage in 1921 when sales dropped to $10.6 million. Guaranty Trust provided financing that aided CTR’s recovery. Watson responded with cost reductions, cutbacks in research and development, layoffs, maintained low dividends alongside strong revenues, and enforced conservative accounting practices.

He embraced Hollerith’s equipment rental system, which ensured steady revenue streams and ongoing client engagement—an approach that became fundamental to IBM's operational model. Product introductions were postponed until markets were prepared for broad adoption; nevertheless, he prioritized robust research leadership by appointing James W. Bryce in 1922 while personally upholding stringent standards.

Displeased with the cumbersome CTR name, Watson rebranded the company as International Business Machines (IBM), initially for a Canadian subsidiary established in 1917 and later adopted broadly in marketing efforts. Following Patterson’s death in 1922 and Fairchild’s passing in 1924, IBM replaced CTR on the New York Stock Exchange that same year. Subsequently, Watson guided IBM into becoming a leading corporation over the next quarter-century. The holding company structure was dissolved in 1933 as its subsidiaries consolidated into IBM.

See also

• History of IBM
• History of computing hardware
• Time clock

Further reading

• Reissued by Arno Press in 1976, though portions of the text are difficult to read.
• IBM Archives: Reference / FAQ / Predecessor Companies.
• IBM Archives: CTR product advertisement (1911).

External links

• IBM Archives: Overview of the Time Equipment Division and its offerings, IBM, circa 1956
• Early Office Museum: Punched Card Tabulating Machines