Rand Ledger Company

Remington Rand – Kardex - Rand Ledger Company

It was in North Tonawanda in 1890 that J. H. Rand, Sr., invented the world's first visible ledger. He was the native-born son of North Tonawanda pioneer parents. It was here in 1898 that Remington Rand first manufactured and marketed the forerunners of the visible equipment, supplies and systems which were to revolutionize the record-keeping methods of modern business. J. H. Rand, Sr., established the Rand Ledger Company. In 1925, the Rand Ledger Company merged with the Kardex Company to form the Remington Rand Company and purchased the Herschell-Spillman Company's manufacturing plant on Sweeney Street. In 1951 the first main frame computer, UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) was produced by Remington-Rand at their Maryland manufacturing facility and was used by the United States Bureau of Census. In 1965, they employed nearly 1,000 area residents at the North Tonawanda plant. The Sweeney Street plant was Remington's major printing facility. They also had a plant in Tonawanda which manufactured the steel filing equipment necessary to house the Remington Records Retrieval systems made in North Tonawanda. Contrary to many erroneous news articles in recent  years, the North Tonawanda plant was NOT a typewriter manufacturing facility.  It printed and assembled the visible equipment, supplies and systems which had created the Rand manufacturing dynasty.

Photo above is the Kardex Institute Building on Goundry Street between Oliver and Marion Streets, later known as the Remington Rand Maintenance School.

To view our section on 184 Sweeney Street (the purchased Herschell-Spillman plant mentioned above), please click HERE.
To view our section on the Remington Rand Company, please click HERE.
To view our section on the Remington Rand Maintenance School, please click HERE.