Overview: During the late 1800s industrial boom, Willard Legrand Bundy patented several groundbreaking devices including automated time recorders, calculating machines and cash registers. These gadgets introduced new efficiencies that transformed business operations. Bundy founded a successful manufacturing company to mass produce time clocks used by major railroads and factories for scheduling workers. Though not a well known name today, his innovations significantly impacted workplaces and helped launch firms that evolved into corporate giants.
Early Life and Entry into Business
Willard Legrand Bundy was born on December 8th, 1845 in Otego, New York. In 1849, his family relocated to Auburn, New York where Bundy completed his schooling. After graduation, he began working at a local jewelry store owned by Theophius Price. This experience provided Bundy‘s introduction to business operations, manufacturing and customer service.
The jewelry trade in the 19th century consisted of small brick-and-mortar stores selling items like pocket watches, bracelets, cuff links and other accessories. Store owners personally created customized pieces and repairs in addition to sales. The hands-on craftsmanship and direct customer interactions attracted Bundy‘s mechanical aptitude and personable nature.
By 1868 at age 23, Bundy has gained enough expertise to open his own jewelry store in Auburn. This entrepreneurial venture marked his entry into managing an independent business. Just three years later in 1871, Bundy married Etta Sweet and started a family with two sons born in the early 1870s.
Major Inventions and Patents
While running his jewelry store, Bundy began conceiving various mechanical devices and gadgets. His first major patented invention came in 1880 – a calendar-clock movement that incorporated useful timekeeping and calendar features.
Over the following 25+ years, Bundy became a prolific inventor obtaining patents for numerous groundbreaking contraptions that introduced new efficiencies into workplaces:
| Invention | Patent Date | Description | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time recorder | 1888 | Automated machine to record employees start and end times by imprinting clock dial on paper disk | Eliminated tedious manual time tracking by managers. Increased accountability and productivity. |
| Electric cash register | 1892 | Added electrical components for more functions | Enhanced accounting, security, reporting capabilities beyond basic cash boxes |
| Rotary computing | 1896 | Circular calculating machine to perform arithmetic problems | Improved speed, accuracy and convenience over manual computations |
| Printing time recorder | 1904 | Next generation time clock with printing capabilities | Generated more detailed timestamped records than original model |
Arguably his most celebrated innovation was the time recorder – essentially an early mechanical “punch clock” device. Before this invention, managers had to manually log each employee‘s work hours which was incredibly time consuming while prone to errors. Bundy helped usher the modern conveniences we take for granted into the workplace.
In addition to practical gadgets, Bundy also constructed an elaborate 3,100 piece “Thousand Year Clock” in his jewelry shop containing over 2 million parts. This creative endeavor was purely to entertain and impress customers. The clock presently resides at the Cayuga Museum, continuing to tick centuries later!
Bundy Manufacturing Company
After receiving the seminal patent for his mechanical time recorder in 1888, Bundy partnered with his brother Harlow to mass produce the devices for commercial sales. On September 30, 1889, they established the Bundy Manufacturing Company in Binghamton, New York.
Harlow‘s administrative and leadership capabilities perfectly balanced his brother‘s inventive genius. As General Manager, Harlow handled day-to-day business operations and accounts. Meanwhile, Willard served as Plant Superintendent overseeing manufacturing and technical duties.
The fledgling company grew rapidly due to intense market demand for time recorders from large employers. Within one year, sales topped over $100k. By 1890, outputs increased five-fold to $500k annually. Assembly lines struggled to keep pace as orders poured in.
To attract top talent, Bundy Manufacturing offered employee profit sharing plans and incentives. This helped recruit over 140 highly skilled workers specialized in precision mechanics and assembly by the mid 1890s. Multiple satellite offices were also opened across the United States.
By 1898 – less than a decade from its founding – Bundy Manufacturing supplied approximately 9,000 time recorder units to major railroads, factories and other leading enterprises. Their time clocks became indispensable for scheduling hundreds or thousands of workers and tabulating payroll. The company‘s meteoric success established Binghamton, NY as the epicenter of time tracking equipment production.
In 1900, Bundy Manufacturing merged with two other time recorder firms to form the larger International Time Recording Company (ITR). Just over a decade later in 1911, ITR consolidated with The Tabulating Machine Company to create the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR). CTR later adopted the more familiar corporate name it still bears today – International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). The Bundy brother‘s pioneering company served as a major building block in the foundation of one of America‘s iconic brands.
Later Career and Death
In 1900 tensions emerged within Bundy Manufacturing caused by discord between the two brothers. After a falling out, Willard departed the company following alleged patent disputes. He partnered with his son Willard H. to establish a competing venture called W.H. Bundy Recording Company. Their new firm manufactured updated versions of time recorders along with printing calculators and other devices.
The family-run start up experienced brisk initial success. However in 1907, Willard tragically passed away at age 61 due to pneumonia. This premature death cut short his productive engineering career at its prime. One can only speculate what other innovations Willard may have created if blessed with a longer life.
Nonetheless, the groundbreaking gadgets Willard Bundy succeeded in inventing over a relatively brief 26 year period proved sufficient to forever transform various workplace processes for the better. By identifying inefficiencies and devising automated solutions, his machines introduced new accountability, productivity and precision. Their benefits reverberate over a century later.
