International Time Recording Company
As the world’s largest manufacturer of time recorders, ITR sold numerous diverse models into the UK market. The history of the company is well documented online by the IBM Archives, IBM Hursley Park Museum website, and on Wikipedia – for more detailed information, please refer to sources noted on the Links page. The following is only a brief outline of the company’s history.
The International Time Recording Company was formed in 1900 in New Jersey by George W. Fairchild, who had previously joined the Bundy Manufacturing Company in 1896. It was set up as a selling agency for Bundy (key recorders), the Standard Time Stamp Company (time stamps and card recorder), and the Willard and Frick Manufacturing Company (card recorder). In 1901, it acquired the Chicago Time Register Company, the manufacturers of the first autograph recorder. These 4 companies were merged into ITR together in 1902. ITR later acquired two manufacturers of dial recorders: Dey Time Registers in 1907, and the Syracuse Time Recorder Company in 1908.
These acquisitions gave ITR a large portfolio of USA-manufactured time recorder styles and models, many of which found their way into the UK. ITR’s UK branch, International Time Recording Company Ltd, was primarily responsible for this distribution. This UK-based company was formed in 1912 in London and subsequently expanded, with satellite sales and service branches in Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle upon Tyne, and Glasgow. Despite parent company name changes in the USA (C-T-R, IBM, and Simplex), this trading name was kept in the UK until 1977 when it changed to ITR International Time Ltd, eventually being bought out by Blick in 1982.