This file part of www.watertownhistory.org website
Brandt Manufacturing Co
E. J. Brandt
1921, Watertown High School Orbit
Quite a number of years ago the
founder of the present Brandt Manufacturing Company was employed in a local
bank [Bank of Watertown] where it was
necessary for him to pay out various items usual in banking transactions, over
the counter. In addition to this he was
required to make up the payroll for a railroad employing a very large number of
men.
These latter payments, together
with the regular transactions of each day, made the total of small coin
payments so great that it was a considerable mental strain. Moreover, the likelihood of error was always
present. The thought suggested itself
that a mechanical means of dispensing silver and pennies would be a tremendous
saving of time and labor.
Mr. Brandt had from time to time
constructed mechanical devices as a pastime after banking hours. Among these
was a miniature old-fashioned flour mill with an overshot water-wheel. Disposed
about the mill were various moving figures such as customers, a fisherman, and
also sitting in the shadow of the mill, a young couple. The mill with its mechanical figures was
placed above a large aquarium. The whole was propelled by a weight. The water
was drawn from the aquarium and as it ran over the wheel turning it, it was
apparently driving the mill.
In the working out of this and
similar interesting but non-essential devices, the thought became more
pronounced that the counting and paying of money, mechanically, would be an
excellent subject to work upon. The idea
once conceived it was merely a matter of a few days to crystallize a general
principle for carrying it into effect. It took one year, however, to work out
in detail and produce the first machine to be used commercially.
So thoroughly and accurately was
this first model constructed that it is still in use in one of our local banks.
This pioneer machine has now passed its twentieth birthday.
The object of the machine was to
make a given payment of change or gold by the depression of a single key, thus
eliminating the work of selecting the coins necessary to make the payment. For
instance, when the key 87 is depressed the machine delivers the least number of
coins necessary to make the payment and in this case these coins would be in a
half dollar, a quarter, a dime, and two pennies.
Computation is unnecessary and as
the machine selects the coins and delivers them it can readily be seen how
important the machine is to the business world. In the case of the changer
machine the difference between the amount tendered and the amount of the
purchase is automatically returned without computation. For instance, if a
dollar is tendered and the sale is 13c the machine returns the correct change
by simply depressing the 13th key,
computation being unnecessary.
As the Brandt Automatic Cashier
was the pioneer in its field it took years to establish it as one of the
standard equipments in use in the business world. The sale of the machines has,
however, gained momentum in recent years and there are between four and five
millions of dollars worth of the same now in use.
The plant here is equipped with a
large number of special appliances to make the different parts of the machines
and one hundred employees, under competent foremen, are necessary to keep this
machinery in operation and to assemble the parts made. The office force
employed in the factory office and in the main office on
The principal departments for
administering business, together with the names of those administering them are
as follows:
E. J. Brandt
................ Experimental
Department
E. W. Quirk ................. Foreign Department
C. R. Acker
................... Sales Department
A. W. Guetzlaff .............. Service Department
R. D. Easton ................. Engineering Department
O. E. Hoffman ............... Auditing Department
E. J. Cavenaugh .............. Shipping Department
G. E. Bullock ................ Production Department
W. G. Halfpap .............. Factory Superintendent
R. J. McAdams.
................ Purchasing Department
The general offices for
conducting the business have been variously located in New York, Washington,
Chicago and Watertown. It has been necessary in the more recent history of the
business to occupy an office building here located on Main Street and from this
point the business is conducted through various offices in New York,
Washington, Boston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Minneapolis, and other
points. These offices are controlled by District Managers who report to the
home office here. There are fifty men employed in the sales force.
The officers of the company are:
Edward
J. Brandt President and General
Manager
C.
R. Acker Vice-President and
Sales Manager
E.
W. Quirk Secretary and Foreign
Manager
1937
Feb Tributes to E. J.
Brandt. Messages from many cities
record evidences of respect and admiration and mourn death WDT
1959
06 27 Completion of its new
factory, 705 South Twelfth St; addition plant located in N Water St. WDT
1983
05 06 Karma, a division of Brandt, Inc., sold
to three employees of Karma WDT
10 01 E. James Quirk retired from active
service with the company, Chairman of the board WDT
10 03 Brandt’s to be sold WDT
1984 Company remained in the Brandt-Quirk family until January of 1984 when
sold to Nelson Peltz and Peter May, investors from the east coast.
04 18 Karma named the Opportunities Inc.
Employer of the Year WDT
10 19 The book “Edward J. Brandt, Inventor,” being made available to the public WDT
1995 Nelson Peltz and Peter May sold business in August of 1995 to De La Rue.
2008 In September De La Rue, Plc sold
its Cash Systems division, consisting of Watertown plant and one in Lisle,
Ill., to the Carlyle Group .
2009
02 26 Change in owners prompts
restructuring moves WDT
09 25 Change, second this year,
in controlling interest in Brandt, Inc
WDT
Cross References:
Edward
Opperud, obit
