The name Brunsviga stands for a very successful line of mechanical calculating machines. At the beginning Brunsviga designates the calculating machine models, the manufacturing firm in "“Brunsviga of machine works AG"” is later renamed.

Historical data

On 3 November 1871 the company Grimme, Natalis & Co, Commanditgesellschaft was created on shares (GNC) in Braunschweig. 1921 were converted the company into Grimme, Natalis & CO AG. A further change took place 1927, the company was called now Brunsviga Maschinenwerke, Grimme, Natalis & CO A.G.

Franz Trinks was responsible until 1925 for the technical development of the Brunsviga machines, it died in the year 1931.

The 1957 final organ contract with the olympia works AG should supply the necessary capital, in order to bring the calculating machines for the rapidly changing sales market on the newest technical conditions. Obviously this project did not succeed, because the fortune of the Brunsviga Maschinenwerke AG was transferred on 16 January 1959 to the olympia works AG.

Development

GNC manufactured sewing machines, household machines and the like. In March 1892 the license rights at the calculating machine of the Willgodt Theophil Odhner for Germany, Belgium and Switzerland for 10.000 Marks were offered to the company GNC plus 10 Marks per machine. In April 1892 engineer and operations director Franz Trinks implemented the acquisition of these license rights against large resistance in the supervisory board. The first calculating machine was delivered in July 1892 under the name "“Brunsviga"” for 150 Marks and issued still in the same year on the world exhibition in Chicago by Germany. A ten-digit calculating machine German Arthur Burkhardt, which resembled a Thomas Arithmometer, cost at that time 675 Marks.

Up to the end of the yearly 1892 approx. 60 machines were produced according to a model supplied by Odhner as accurate copies. Already starting from the next year the machines were sequentially improved. Contrary to America the market for calculating machines had to be opened only in Germany. Land surveying offices were almost the only national customers. The need of calculating machines in Western Europe to wake, Grimme probably is to regard Natalis & Co as main earnings/services of the company.

With the structure, helped an international distributing organization the experiences, which was made in the sewing machine production. The Brunsviga calculating machines were applied intensively. Potential customers were selected from directories and received leaflets. The advertisement of Grimme, Natalis & CO promised that one could learn the handling of the machine in 10 minutes.

The selling was made by representatives, who had to go through a training in the parent plant, whereby one did not only attach importance to fast serving, but trained the representatives also in such a way that they could present the optimal solution method for the kinds of computation of the customers. In the initial years also as efficient a control calculation as possible belonged to the solution method, since the machines were considered as unreliable.

The representatives were well paid, in addition, set under strong success pressure, since they became to dismiss with Erfolglosigkeit fast. From the beginning to intensive and brisk customer service one paid attention. In addition a close net at sales offices and repair workshops was developed. If difficulties with the machines arose, a representative's visit could be requested by each customer. In this way aimed report arrived over lack of the machines and requirements of the customers at the parent plant. This was the most important source of information for the efforts to make the Brunsviga calculating machines more user friendly and to increase the sales market in this way.

Further organized GNC operational training courses at the existing calculating machines and at new models. The calculating machines were manufactured, like the sewing machines manufactured before, without Vorbestellung in large numbers of items industrially and were a so large success that GNC already manufactured calculating machines after few years only. From the original original Odhner machine most diverse models were derived, in order to become fair the customer's requests. High production resources required up to 18 different versions, what 1925 to "“new facts"” - series led, which was manufactured in the exchange's building. Important cuts into the firm development were the two world wars, which provided for a restriction of the building of calculating machines.

Grimme, Natalis & CO did not only build Sprossenradmaschinen. Starting from 1932 the calculating machine "“Brunsviga 10"” was built, those with partitioned Staffelwalzen functioned and starting from 1936 were manufactured also adding machines.

Literature

• Erhard Anthes: To the dating of Brunsviga calculating machines. In: Space bar, No. 6, August 1982, P. 9-11
• Peter Faulstich: Brunsviga (1892-1959) - mechanical calculating machines as world success. In: Magazine for enterprise history, Franz Steiner publishing house, 1992, P. 101-114. On-line version with rechnerlexikon.de
• Peter Faulstich: "„Brain from steel "“- Brunsviga 1892-1959. In: Historical office world, March 1994, No. 37, P. 10-39
• Ernst Martin: The calculating machine and its history of the development - calculating machines with automatic decimal transmission. 1. Volume, 1. Edition, 1925
• Hartmut Petzold: Machines counting - a historical investigation of its production and use from the empire to the Federal Republic. VDI publishing house, Duesseldorf 1985, technology history in single representations, volume 41
• of Platen: The Brunsviga calculating machines

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