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Brandt Manufacturing Co

E. J. Brandt

1800s Founded by Edward J. Brandt along with several other investors. The company has played a key role in Watertown’s industry since that time.

1907

12 18 Owing to the development of the two branches of the business for years conducted by the Edward J. Brandt-Dent company each branch being entirely different from the other, the business has been divided into two corporations ... The corporation name is now the Brandt Cashier Manufacturing company . . . and this corporation continues the manufacture for the Brandt automatic cashiers for the United States and Canada . . . The two local corporations will be conducted separately, but they will be practically under the same management . . . The gas fixture branch of the business will be conducted by the newly incorporated Brandt-Dent company. The officers remain the same. WDT

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 Main Street, number thirty.

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

After Brandt’s death the company was passed to his son-in-law, Earl Quirk. It then stayed in the Brandt-Quirk family until it was sold in 1984, to East Coast investors.

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

1985

07 17 A reorganization of the management structure of Central Jersey Industries, parent of Brandt, Inc., headquartered in Watertown, may mean more jobs locally in the future. The reorganization, already under way in some areas of the business, will mean a reduction in management personnel working out of the local plant, but future production may increase, according to a statement by company officials. The increased employment would be in the area of additional manufacturing jobs as some processes are transferred to Watertown from other plants owned by Central Jersey. 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.

The Carlyle Group purchased the business on Sept. 1, 2008, and changed the name to Talaris Inc. In the past four years the company’s earnings have increased 40 percent as Carlyle focused on expanding the company into new markets worldwide, according to the release.

2009

02 26 Employees being laid off

Talaris Inc., a leading provider of cash handling equipment and software solutions to financial institutions and retailers worldwide, is laying off some employees because of the struggling economy.

Talaris, which was formerly known as De La Rue Cash Systems Inc., was sold last year to a private equity firm, the Carlyle Group.

The number of employees being laid off is “within the realm of normal business operations.”

The local firm is one of Watertown's oldest industries, dating back to the 1800s when it was known as Brandt Automatic Cashier Co. The local operation, which was formed by Edward J. Brandt and several other investors, has been a large part of Watertown's industrial and civic foundations since that time.

The company remained in the Brandt-Quirk family until January of 1984 when it was sold to Nelson Peltz and Peter May, two investors from the east coast. They continued to own the business until August of 1995 when it was sold to De La Rue. In September of last year, De La Rue, Plc sold its Cash Systems division, which consists of the Watertown plant as well as one in Lisle, Ill., to the Carlyle Group for about $700 million in cash. WDT

09 25 Controlling Interest Sold

For the second time in less than one year, controlling interest in Brandt, Inc., based in Watertown, has been sold. Triangle Industries, Inc., based on New Brunswick, N.J., announced that it has purchased a controlling block of shares in Central Jersey Industries, Inc. Central Jersey on Jan. 14 purchased Brandt, Inc., from the Brandt-Quirk family, and the firm became a wholly owned subsidiary of Central Jersey. Along with the transfer of shares will go a transfer of power on the Central Jersey board of directors. WDT

2010

08 02 Talaris to outsource some work

Talaris Inc. outsourcing the manufacture of its coin products currently produced in Watertown to Flex-tronics Internationals.

“Talaris is exiting from the manufacture of coin products so that we can focus on our core competencies - sales, service, engineering and design,” Chris Reagan, president of the company, said. “However, we remain committed to Watertown and its pool of skilled labor.”

In addition to manufacturing, Talaris has engineering, call center, service, repair and parts depot and finance functions in Watertown. According to Reagan, while no jobs are expected to be lost this year, there will be a reduction of between 20 to 30 positions in 2011. More than 120 people will remain employed at the site.

The local firm dates back to the 1800s when it was known as Brandt Automatic Cashier Co. The local operation, which was formed by Edward J. Brandt and several other investors, has been a large part of Watertown's industrial and civic foundations since that time.

The company remained in the Brandt-Quirk family until January of 1984 when it was sold to Nelson Peltz and Peter May, two investors from the east coast. They continued to own the business until August of 1995 when it was sold to De La Rue.

In September of 2008, De La Rue plc sold its Cash Systems division, which consists of the Watertown plant as well as one in Lisle, Ill., to the Carlyle Group for about $700 million in cash.

Today Talaris is a global business as a leading provider of cash handling equipment and software solutions to financial institutions and retailers worldwide. It has about 2,000 people working in more than 30 offices, including over 1,000 service and support staff. An additional network of 130 business partners increases the coverage to over 85 countries. With more than 250 patents granted across 26 countries, Talaris delivers cash handling solutions on every continent, wherever money moves.

The company's new change in business includes transferring production of its coin products, which include high-speed, high volume coin counters and coin sorters to Flextronics. Flex-tronics is a leading electronics manufacturing services provider. The firm helps its customers through a network of facilities in the United States and 30 countries on four continents. This global presence provides design and engineering solutions that are combined with core electronics manufacturing and logistics services.

Today's announcement marks the culmination of over six months of study and analysis by Talaris. During that period, the company examined multiple options for its coin manufacturing operations. WDT

2012

02 20 Talaris to be sold

Glory, a Japanese manufacturer of money handling systems, has offered the Carlyle Group $1 billion to purchase Talaris, according to a release from Carlyle. Talaris is a world leader in manufacturing cash handling and automated teller machine equipment. Its Watertown branch, located at 705 S. Twelfth St., focuses on engineering, service, repair, replacement parts and finance functions. WDT

Cross References:

Edward Opperud, obit

Brandt-Quirk home