Since 1910: A Brief History of Marchant Calculators

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Headquarters and Main Plant of Marchant Calculators
Division of Smith-Corona Marchant Inc., Oakland, California.

The "Transflo"

Merger With Smith-Corona

Smith-Corona Inc, long a leading manufacturer of typewriters, adding machines and cash registers, was taking action along similar lines. Mutual interests led to the merger of the two corporations on July 1, 1958. The consolidated corporation took the name of Smith-Corona Marchant Inc.
Marchant now operates as one of three major manufacturing divisions of the corporation, bearing name the Marchant Calculators Division of Smith-Corona Marchant Inc.

In the fall of 1958 the corporation acquired the calculator manufacturing subsidiary of a major telephone equipment manufacturer in West Germany. The long established manufacturing unit’s line of calculators and new models soon to be released will be marketed under the Marchant name throughout the world. The factory located in West Berlin is operated by a subsisdiary, Hamman Rechenmaschine G.m.b,H.

The “Transflo”

Intensive product development continues at Marchant Calculators as it has throughout the almost five decades since the Marchant brothers completed the first “Standard.” Now on the production lines is another major advance in automatic calculators – the Marchant “Transflo.”

The name “Transflo” was chosen for the new calculator because it makes figures “flow” from dial to dial. Its focal feature is a back transfer control. This permits transferring an answer from the lower carriage dials into the keyboard dials. On other calculators it is necessary to manually re-enter in the keyboard the figures in the answer dials.

The figures back transferred into the keyboard dial of the “Transflo” can be used for another calculation (addition, subtraction, multiplation or division) or they can simply be stored in the lower carriage dial for future use.

Because the “Transflo” transfers, stores and recalls figures it brings to business and industry, and to calculator users everywhere, a new flexibility and versatility in figure work never before enjoyed.

Beyond the “Transflo”, in the years to come is a family of business machines that will spring from a tradition of pioneering. This pioneering spirit had its beginnings in the hearts, minds and hands of the Marchant brothers almost 50 years ago. It had the same beginning with two brothers by the name of Smith who fashioned the first typewriters 72 years ago.

Now that these two names are joined, the unified effort of those who carry on the Smith-Corona and Marchant tradition is dedicated to significant improvements of the arts of communication and calculation, to the end that our economy and our civilization shall reward man more richly year by year.