A.B. Dick Company history

A.B.Dick Company was founded in 1884 in Chicago, Illinois, by a young lumberman named Albert Blake Dick, and was incorporated in that state on April 11.

The firm is best known for its development of the first commercial mimeograph in 1887.

The A.B.Dick Model 75 Rotary Mimeograph was released in 1904.

76 followed in 1909, as well as the A.B.Dick Company Adding Machine and the "Dermatype Wet Stencil," which replaced stiff wax stencil and revolutionized the industry.

The Edison Mimeograph 77A came out in 1913.

In 1918, the company established the “Ditto” trademark.

In 1924 stencil was improved again, and the "hill" dry stencil was introduced.

In 1932 A.B.Dick of Canada was established, representing the company's first international foray.

In 1934 it announced a retirement plan for all employees, who, in grateful appreciation, soon had a bronze plaque made for display at the headquarters building.

In 1949, the company moved its headquarters to suburban Niles, where it opened a new plant.

In 1951 the new building added a west wing.

In 1952 the company began to expand, entering the offset business by acquiring Lithomat Corporation in Massachusetts, which made paper masters.

Through 1958 the company had known only three presidents: the founder, A.B. Dick; his son, Jr.; and his grandson, A.B. Dick III. Their strong reliance on family was the cornerstone of their approach to managing the business and its employees.

His grandfather, George F. Getz, was a director and executive committee member of City National, which merged into Continental in 1961.

The company would buy out Scott Paper in 1978 to form the Record Systems Division (RSD). Major product lines were established, and there was more thrust at developing new products for all lines than announcements of new technology.

In 1979, the company was purchased by General Electric Co. of Great Britain.

Through a family investment company in Phoenix, Bert Getz was a director of The Arizona Bank and helped negotiate its sale to Security Pacific Corp. in 1986.

Getz joined the California bank`s board and took part in its 1990 merger with BankAmerica Corp.

In 1998 the company purchased an operation in Holland, opened a supply distribution center in Sparks, Nevada, and announced its intention to move the manufacturing facility to Touhy Avenue and its worldwide headquarters to Caldwell Avenue, both in Niles, Illinois.