Evening star., 1933-08-13
BUSINESS MACHINE
:. :. TRADE IMPROVES.
- ...--
Research Produces Profits
' by Keeping Step With
D.
: New Conditions.
epeeial pispatcn to The stsf.

! c&peeial pispatcn to The strf.
ID NEW YORK, August 12-The busi-
ness machine industry is feeling the
i" effects Of the general trade upturn,
though 1t may be slower than many
lines in recovering because existing
equipment will be sufficient fer while
i. TO handle the office work resulting
e from expanding orders
This industry includes all the varied
equipment used in controlling busi-
ness operations and directly carrying
out offlce routine. 1t always holds up
for some time after general trade
decline because the amount of ONCE
: work In business does not decline pro-
portionately with its sales volume or
profits.
- Business machinery firms in order
to maintain volume and profits must
continually find new articles to sell
or improve existing products. In other
words their research departments, in
periods of depression or prosperity,
must always be active. Even during
the darkest days of the depression,
offlce equipment research staffs strived
steadily to make more efficient ma
SAlAico dliQ tlluS SliOSc ultO ODSUleSC6lCc
outstanding products. How we'll they
performed their tasks is indicated today
by the fact that the biggest gains in
most business machine orders are in
orAnd-new items or new models.
p. S7,o0o,o00 Spent in 10 Years.
International Business Machines Cor
poration, which has one Of the largest
and most active research departments
,rin the industry and has spent more
than 100000 for research in the last
19 years, has produced numerous new
tines in the last three years.
~, Among these are complete line Of
Industrial and accounting scales, pub
lie address system, internal and COM
municating systems, electromatic type
writer's. checkwriter and automatic let
ter writer. It also has introduced new
and improved electric tabulating ma
chimes, including the automatic multi
plier, capable Of computations up to
Quadrillions by logarithraic method;
, automatic billing machines direct SUBJ
traction machines and alphabetical tab
ulators. Then there are recording door
locks and locks for commercial estab-
!. .Nshments, devices which prevent lock-
other doors are closed and bolted. These
appliances often are installed in con-
1nection with burglar alarms systems.
Thomas j. Watson, in an interview
with this reporter. said that products
b developed by the research department
were responsible for more than 80 per
cent Of the companys earnings in re-
cent years. All through the depres-
zion Mr.. Watson insisted on education,
research and salesmanship as instru-
'ments toward recovery. And he carried
his theories into practice by widening
the scope of the company's educational
activities. accepting several more uni
versity trusteeships, by increasing the
selling forces in many parts of the world
and by maintaining the staff Of the re-
search department.
~ Typewriter Is Added.
~ Burroughs Adding Machine Co. added
q standard typewriter to it's line in
1881 but did not start shipments until
February, 1892. Other new products
food trays in cafeterias, cash machine
= for gasoline filling stations, type
writer bookkeeping machine that car
ries 20 totals, pay roll and pay check
writing machine, a high-speed book
keeping machine, desk model adding
machine, an adding -subtracting desk
machine and an electrically operated
typewriter. The company's June sales
were the best Of any month since De-
cember, 1881. being "A per cent ahead
of June. 1882. and 81 per cent above
May. 1888.
=. Addressograph CORPORATE on con-
s%antly has added new lines, including
a duplicating machine, power and hand
atype-setting keyboard devices for its
duplicating machine, and many i'm
provements on existing machines.
!; National Cash Register Co. brought
out a bank bookkeeping system, a
check writer, a sales classifying ma
chine for gas stations, fare registers
for automobile busses. a sales analysis
machine for industrial concerns and
hotels and a machine combining the
features of typewriter and adding ma
chine. Operations in the first half Of
1888 resulted In a deficit amounting to
a. cents q share on the class A shares
against a net loss of So cents In the
same 1882 period.
=. Improvement Shown.
Underwood Elliott Fisher Co. intro
duced a new standard. portable and
noiseless typewriter MODEL and improved
It's billing machines. In the first half
Of the year it earned 81 cents a share
is against deficit Of SO cents a share
IA the first half OF 1882.
y. Remington-Rand, Inc, brought out
m electric accounting machine, new
high-speed tabulators. bank book
keeping machine and new types of
noiseless typewriters. The company re-
,ported a profit of s6s.232 in June. con-
frasted with a net loss of $3.50, $3.50 in
June, 1882, and indicated that June
was the first month since 1880 that
its domestic business showed a profit
-. Once equipment companies still are
operating on q depression basis, so
that companies now doing better may
be expected to show substantial gains
when general business recovery becomes
more widespread.