History of Bull of 1919 to 1932

For the principal article, to see Bull

Frederic Rosing Bull

Fredrik Rosing Bull (1882 - 1925) is engineer at the insurance company Storebrand in Norway. The July 31st 1919, it deposits a Brevet “ sorter-recording-adding machine combined with Perforated cards ”. In August 1921, its prototype is presented to the board of directors of his company, which adopts it.

He then undertakes the production of new specimens of his electromechanical statistical machine, in their bringing successive improvements, following the demonstration of interests of other insurance companies to the Denmark. He signs a Contrat with the company Oka, which deals with the marketing and production costs; this company is directed by Reidar Knutsen, and the production is ensured by a workshop of precision of Oslo (Ormestad).

It is a success, the machine receives good publicity. It is due at the same time to technical qualities of the machine (its simplicity), and to its contribution compared to the system then present of Hermann Hollerith (IBM), giving a choice to the customer S and cause a drop in the prices. The users escape the monopoly from IBM, they can buy their equipment rather than to rent them (it was the formula imposed by IBM).

Fredrik Rosing Bull deposits its Brevet S in 16 industrialized countries (including America and Japan). He dies of cancer the June 7th 1925. He had taken the same year Knut Andreas Knutsen (" KAK "), brother of the director of Oka, to continue its work.

Knut Andreas Knutsen

Knut Andreas Knutsen (1888, Oslo - 1983, Paris) is in the beginning an engineer hydro electrician. He helped Bull to install and put on the way the machines sold by Oka. Starting from 1925, it is devoted to the improvement, the improvement, and the installation of the Bull machines. It organizes the after-sales service, the training of the users. He studies the competitor patents in detail. He draws from his ways in the North of Europe to repair the machines of the ideas of improvement: horizontal sorter in 1929, device of impression in 1930.

Establishment of Bull in France in 1931

A Swiss doctor

The Doctor Marchand, after a meeting with Fredrik Rosing Bull with Oslo, buys for a Swiss company of insurances, a tabulator and a sorter Bull delivered in 1926. He sees broader and thinks that the construction of machines with perforated cards is the means of equipping the Suisse with a modern industry, and not to more be tributary of America in this field. He contacts Oscar Bannwath, director of the company H.W. Egli, known for its computers Madas and Millionnaire, and suggests to him building machines Bull.

Manufacture in Switzerland

Oscar Bannwath consults on this subject Emile Genon, which sells calculating machines Elliott-Fisher and Underwood. Emile Genon, of Belgian nationality, buys in 1927 the relative rights of the Bull patents in 10 countries of Europe. It involves H.W thereafter. Egli, initially hesitant, to acquire in 1928, rights industrial concerning the patents of france R. Bull and K.A. Knutsen, out of the zone of the Scandinavian countries. The first manufactured machine with Zurich is delivered in December 1929 to the Laboratoires Sandoz. It is necessary then to establish the company in an European country with the potential broader than that of Switzerland.

The choice of France, company H.W. Egli Bull

France is selected compared to Germany for several reasons: personal taste of K.A. Knutsen and Emile Genon, the competition and the substantive patent law can favor Bull on its rivals, France remains a market to be taken for punched-card industry (in spite of the presence of IBM since 1914, and of Samas-Powers), reduction of the cost price (since Poincaré, the money, the labor, raw materials, and the expenses of transaction are cheap). The company H.W. Egli Bull is founded in March 1931 in Paris. It is of French right but with Swiss majority, it comprises three partners: - the Swiss company H.W. Egli, the company Bull A.G (founded in 1930 by Emile Genon, and which bring its beginning of sales network and the acquired new patents of K.A. Knutsen), ATEIC (Technical Association of Industrial and Countable Studies). The last company which distributed American accounting machines before is directed by the Belgian industrialist Henri Vindevoghel. It will sell the machines Bull in France. It also brings to the company the workshop Atemata of 900 m ², located 92 (a), Avenue Gambetta in Paris whose reconversion is decided: manufacture of tabulators, sorters, punching machines by using its modern park of machine tools, and by gathering the manufacturing machine tools there located at Zurich. In March 1931, about fifty people of the company H.W. Egli Bull moves into this building, which will be the seat of the Compagnie Bull, until in 1983.

Anchoring in France (1932)

The second phase of anchoring in France takes place in 1932. It is caused by an offensive of Remington Rand, owner of Powers. As of April 1931, Mr. Rand had engaged of the talks with the company H.W. Egli in order to repurchase its rights to him on the Bull machines; leaders of Remington visit in July the Parisian workshops and, in November 1931, two American negotiators go on mission to Zurich. However, since 1930, a group of French seeks to establish, him also, an industry of machines with Perforated cards in France. Its most active elements are two p Olytechnicien S, It Doury, salesman of Powers machines, and Georges Vieillard, which uses these same machines with the Banque of Alsace-Lorraine. The basic idea of the project is to ensure the financing of the operation by a user's association within a trade union. Our two polytechnicians meet Emile Genon which is, him, in the search of capital to ensure the development of H.W. Egli Bull: the agreement is done quickly. But it is initially necessary to draw aside Remington Rand. The boat which brings back to the USA the representatives of Remington Rand, will arrive the December 7th. The French thus lay out to act of the duration of the crossing. December 2nd, G. Old man telephones the president of H.W. Egli, proposes to him to repurchase to him half of its participation in the capital of H.W. Egli-Bull, and specifies to him that it will send, the evening even, 50.000 F as advance (all G. Old man and E. Doury have then). To respect the commitment entered into, one now needs a legal structure and funds. In the same day of the December 2nd 1931, a public limit company with the capital of 55.000 F, " the trade union of using of material of data processing " is defined in its statutes; the first general meeting and constituent takes place itself with the seven people legally necessary; the 50.000 F promised are sent to H.W. Egli.

December 11th, Remington Rand cables the agreement of acquisition of a holding in the capital of company H.W. Egli Bull, whose director suggests in Georges Vieillard withdrawing his offer. This last refuses. And the December 20th 1931, the board of directors expresses his intention to increase its capital preferably by allotting a right to the trade union of using. This trade union withdraws gradually with H.W. Egli the control of the company, to become soon majority. In April 1932, it is made thing eight French, two Belgians, Switzerland and a Norwegian sits from now on at the council. The president is the colonel Emile Rimailho (1864 - 1954), celebrates artillery officer which had taken part in the design of the gun of 75, then had passed in industry, where he had become a specialist in the Scientific management. In 1933, company H.W. Egli Bull takes the name of Compagnie of the Machines Bull, which it will preserve from now on.

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