Endicott chronology

1951-1959

1950

February -- The Scientific Computation Laboratory is established with an initial staff of five mathematician-planners and one card punch operator. It is equipped with one Model I Card Programmed Calculator (CPC) and associated machines.

J. W. Schnackel serves as general manager.
July 14 -- The Endicott-developed IBM 650 magnetic drum data processing machine is announced.

IBM employs approximately 1,500 development people in nine different buildings in the Endicott-Vestal area.

The Glendale Drive laboratory opens to complement the original North Street lab.
June 30 -- An additional swimming pool is added to the IBM Country Club.

November 13 -- Some 50,000 people attend a plant-wide Open House, held to mark the completion of the new 133,000-square foot heat-treating and plating building.
Some 7,270 suggestions are adopted out of approximately 30,000 submitted, and awards ranging from $10 to $2,250 are made.
Some 9,546 employees at the site produce time machines, accounting machines and punched cards.

The site's Research and Development Engineering organization of about 1,600 people consists of five major groups: research, development, defense engineering (at the Vestal Laboratory), administrative and personnel.
The plant's Parts Manufacturing Division employs more than 2,000 people. It occupies about 352,000 square feet of floor space, of which 133,000 square feet is in the Heat-Treat and Plating Building. There are approximately 1,100 machine tools in this division, and they are divided into 210 machine groups (valued at more than $12 million). Engaged in fabricating individual parts and assemblies, the Parts Manufacturing Division consists of 21 different process departments, under the direct supervision of 62 managers and four project managers.
The Assembly Division puts together the hundreds of component parts comprising IBM equipment.
One of the largest Endicott units is the EAM (electric accounting machine) Assembly Division, which uses four acres of floor space for its operations.
The Card Production Division manufactures 72.5 million punched cards per day in April (compared to 2 million cards per day in 1914).
The IBM 608 calculator is announced, the first commercial calculator with advanced engineering techniques such as transistors, printed circuits and modular design.

E. A. Wuerthele serves as general manager.
The Endicott-developed IBM 557 alphabetic interpreter is introduced.
The IBM Electric Accounting Machine Supplies Division (SD) is formed in March, and Endicott becomes one of its four punched card manufacturing plants.

The Endicott Laboratory releases the IBM 650 RAMAC system, IBM 557 alphabetic interpreter, IBM 408 accounting machine, IBM 083 sorter, IBM 720 and IBM 730 wire printers and the IBM 938 and IBM 939 electrostatic printers.

Construction gets underway of an expansion to the IBM Homestead.
January 27 -- The Endicott-developed IBM 408 alphabetical accounting machine is announced.
The Endicott plant is producing products for three of IBM's five sales divisions: for the Supplies Division -- data processing supplies and punched cards; for the Time Equipment Division -- such items as clock and program systems, time recorders, automatic production recording systems and central control systems; and for the Data Processing Division -- electromechanical printers, interpreters, test scoring and transfer posting machines, as well as the IBM 650 electronic data processing machines (EDPM), and the printers, readers and punches associated with the IBM 700-series of EDPMs produced at Poughkeepsie.

April -- SD moves its card engineering organization from Endicott to a new 53,000-square foot laboratory in Vestal, N.Y.
May 5 -- The Endicott-developed IBM 88 collator is introduced.
September 2 -- The Endicott-developed IBM 7070 data processing system is announced.
A 40-room addition is added to the original Education Center.

April 22 -- The Endicott-developed IBM 84 sorter is introduced.
May 25 -- The IBM General Products Division (GPD) is established to develop and manufacture intermediate and small electronic data processing equipment and punched card accounting machines. Endicott becomes one of GPD's four plant and lab sites.
September 9 -- The Endicott-developed IBM 357 data collection system debuts.
October 5 -- The Endicott-developed IBM 1401 data processing system and IBM 1403 printer are announced. A 1401 is later installed in Building 46.
December -- The 2,000th customer class is completed.
December -- Endicott serves as a manufacturing, and product development and testing site for GPD; and a manufacturing and engineering laboratory site for the Supplies Division.
Endicott also develops the IBM 409 accounting machine.