Burroughs Plymouth Plant, Plymouth Michigan
The Burroughs Plymouth, Michigan Plant(s) was a big part of the history of Burroughs itself. Starting in February 1937, the Plymouth plant was to go through the years as a major contributor to the corporation's success.
The slide show below are pages from a calendar called "The History of the Plymouth Plant". It was put together with special thanks to Gary Bickell, Dick Tucker, Fran Jackson, & The Plymouth Historical Museum.
The Burroughs Plymouth, Michigan Plant(s) was a big part of the history of Burroughs itself. Starting in February 1937, the Plymouth plant was to go through the years as a major contributor to the corporation's success.
The slide show below are pages from a calendar called "The History of the Plymouth Plant". It was put together with special thanks to Gary Bickell, Dick Tucker, Fran Jackson, & The Plymouth Historical Museum.
Plant Marks 50-Year History". The following is from a September 7, 1988 newspaper article published by the Plymouth/Canton Community Crier. It was provided to me by Gene Kornegay - thank you for sharing Gene!
On Friday, June 5 of this year the Unisys Plymouth Plant celebrated "50 years of Progress, Pride, and Excellence" with a party for all employees, retirees, and local dignitaries.
Although the plant site was purchased by Burroughs Corp. in 1924, the facility did not open until June 1938. In 1957, the plant included four buildings, a power house, and a quonset warehouse. Today, the 161-acre site features 865,000 square feet of building space and a 3,000 car parking area.
From its beginnings as a Burroughs plant the Plymouth plant, the Plymouth facility has been a leader in the development and manufacture of office automation, banking, and computer equipment. Under the direction of the Unisys Corp., which was recently formed by the merger of Burroughs and Sperry, the Plymouth plant once again is reading to take the lead in its industry.
The early history of the Plymouth plant reflects a heavy involvement in its country's national defense.
From 1942 through 1946, the plant perfected and manufactured the Norden bombsight, which made precision high altitude daylight bombing possible during World War II. For outstanding achievement in the production of war material, Burroughs received the Army-Navy E award.
Between 1950 and 1952, the Plymouth plant contributed to the Korean War effort by manufacturing jet engine parts for he US Air Force.
However, in light of recent allegations about involvement of Unisys Corp. in the Pentagon scandal, it is especially important to note that the Plymouth plant has had little involvement in the defense business since the 1950s.
Instead, the Plymouth facility has continued to concentrate its efforts in the computer and banking industries. This aspect of its business has a long history. In 1941, just two years after the plant opened, it produced the first handmade model of the Sensimatic, a programmable mechanical bookkeeping machine. In 1949, and electromechanical accounting machine with a programmed control panel was introduced.
In 1954, the Plymouth plant introduced a desk-size digital computer with applications for science, engineering and business. Then in 1955, the Series B 100 Sorter-Reader was designed and started the Plymouth facility on the course which it continues to develop.
The first sorter-reader sorted documents (such as checks) independently of a host computer system, thus saving banks and other industries expensive computer time. Later improvements allowed for storage of pictures of documents on microfiche, eliminating the necessity of retrieving the physical documents in case of error and thereby improving customer service.
Currently, the Plymouth plant is developing a high speed sorter-reader which can sort documents, produce an image of the documents and store the image at a rate of 1,800 documents per minute.
Throughout the years since 1958, the Plymouth plant has produced many advances in computer technology, including as on line teller system in 1961, a business minicomputer in 1968, and financial terminal in 1971. Since the early 1980s, the emphasis has shifted from computers to document processors.
The Plymouth plant also has changed the way in which it's products are manufacture. Like most American industries, at one time Plymouth facility made every component of its products including the nuts and bolts. However, in recent years, the majority of parts are manufactured elsewhere and brought to the Plymouth plant for assembly and testing.
The most recent change at the Plymouth plant has been the addition of the Unisys Corp. Computer Software and Publication Operations division. Housed in Building 4, this division distributes the computer software and literature (such as user manuals) for the entire Unisys Corp. It presently employs approximately 250 people, most of them hired since this division came to Plymouth in 1986 with plans to expand employment levels to about 300.
The Unisys Plymouth plant has experienced many changes through the years, from strong beginnings through tremendous growth and recessionary set-backs to retrenchment and plans for future growth. During its heyday, the plant employed approximately 5,000 workers. Like much of American industries, the plant was deeply affected by the economic hardships of the early 1980s and employment levels fell to below 1,000. But today, it now appears the Plymouth plant has overcome these hardships in large measures.
On Friday, June 5 of this year the Unisys Plymouth Plant celebrated "50 years of Progress, Pride, and Excellence" with a party for all employees, retirees, and local dignitaries.
Although the plant site was purchased by Burroughs Corp. in 1924, the facility did not open until June 1938. In 1957, the plant included four buildings, a power house, and a quonset warehouse. Today, the 161-acre site features 865,000 square feet of building space and a 3,000 car parking area.
From its beginnings as a Burroughs plant the Plymouth plant, the Plymouth facility has been a leader in the development and manufacture of office automation, banking, and computer equipment. Under the direction of the Unisys Corp., which was recently formed by the merger of Burroughs and Sperry, the Plymouth plant once again is reading to take the lead in its industry.
The early history of the Plymouth plant reflects a heavy involvement in its country's national defense.
From 1942 through 1946, the plant perfected and manufactured the Norden bombsight, which made precision high altitude daylight bombing possible during World War II. For outstanding achievement in the production of war material, Burroughs received the Army-Navy E award.
Between 1950 and 1952, the Plymouth plant contributed to the Korean War effort by manufacturing jet engine parts for he US Air Force.
However, in light of recent allegations about involvement of Unisys Corp. in the Pentagon scandal, it is especially important to note that the Plymouth plant has had little involvement in the defense business since the 1950s.
Instead, the Plymouth facility has continued to concentrate its efforts in the computer and banking industries. This aspect of its business has a long history. In 1941, just two years after the plant opened, it produced the first handmade model of the Sensimatic, a programmable mechanical bookkeeping machine. In 1949, and electromechanical accounting machine with a programmed control panel was introduced.
In 1954, the Plymouth plant introduced a desk-size digital computer with applications for science, engineering and business. Then in 1955, the Series B 100 Sorter-Reader was designed and started the Plymouth facility on the course which it continues to develop.
The first sorter-reader sorted documents (such as checks) independently of a host computer system, thus saving banks and other industries expensive computer time. Later improvements allowed for storage of pictures of documents on microfiche, eliminating the necessity of retrieving the physical documents in case of error and thereby improving customer service.
Currently, the Plymouth plant is developing a high speed sorter-reader which can sort documents, produce an image of the documents and store the image at a rate of 1,800 documents per minute.
Throughout the years since 1958, the Plymouth plant has produced many advances in computer technology, including as on line teller system in 1961, a business minicomputer in 1968, and financial terminal in 1971. Since the early 1980s, the emphasis has shifted from computers to document processors.
The Plymouth plant also has changed the way in which it's products are manufacture. Like most American industries, at one time Plymouth facility made every component of its products including the nuts and bolts. However, in recent years, the majority of parts are manufactured elsewhere and brought to the Plymouth plant for assembly and testing.
The most recent change at the Plymouth plant has been the addition of the Unisys Corp. Computer Software and Publication Operations division. Housed in Building 4, this division distributes the computer software and literature (such as user manuals) for the entire Unisys Corp. It presently employs approximately 250 people, most of them hired since this division came to Plymouth in 1986 with plans to expand employment levels to about 300.
The Unisys Plymouth plant has experienced many changes through the years, from strong beginnings through tremendous growth and recessionary set-backs to retrenchment and plans for future growth. During its heyday, the plant employed approximately 5,000 workers. Like much of American industries, the plant was deeply affected by the economic hardships of the early 1980s and employment levels fell to below 1,000. But today, it now appears the Plymouth plant has overcome these hardships in large measures.