Nixdorf Computer

The Nixdorf Computer AG in Essen from Heinz Nixdorf founded as a successor to the laboratory for pulse technique (LFI ) 1968. The company was one of the most important and innovative computer manufacturers in Europe.

Predecessor companies Laboratory for pulse technique

As a student at the American office machine manufacturer Remington Rand Corp.. active, Nixdorf worked on developing a simple counting devices, so-called multiplication and Saldierwerken with. The development of the computer project was stopped after a few months of the company's management, however - the market value of calculators was not recognized - then Nixdorf, who recognized the market potential, introduced his concept of the electronic computer to broadcast tube base several large companies. In the Rhenish-Westphalian electricity companies ( RWE) Nixdorf generated interest and trust, so that it was equipped with a development in the amount of 30,000 D- Mark on July 1, 1952 and founded the Laboratory for pulse technique. Yet 1952, the first electronic computer shipped to radio tube base for the bookkeeping of RWE and further operated in the following year. The innovation and expansion phase of the young company was in big steps, so that the LFI from the producers of calculators for RWE AG in the 1950s, quickly becoming the supplier of electronic calculators for major office equipment manufacturers such as Exacta Office GmbH - 1963 Wanderer-Werke - in Cologne and the Compagnie des Machines Bull in Paris developed. Thus, the company was forced in 1954 to move out of the provided at the beginning of the RWE working spaces due to lack of space and to rent new premises. Constantly new electronic computers were developed, such as the electronic booking multiplying machine Multitronic 6000 or 1963 presented Wanderer Conti, who once was the world's first desktop computer with built-in printer. 1965 was followed by sold by Wanderer Logatronic, the LFI 1967 further developed for Nixdorf - purpose computer 820. The rapid expansion of the company brought with it that in 1957 first rooms were rented in Nixdorf's birth city of Paderborn. A year later Nixdorf to the entire company from Essen to Paderborn and the first factory building was erected in 1961 at the Pontanusstraße in which the Technical Town Hall of the city of Paderborn is housed. 1967 saw the possibility Nixdorf, no longer to act only as a supplier but also to take the sales of products into their own hands. So first offices were established and the LFI showed by establishing a second operating plant in Berlin presence. Public understanding of the company came in 1968 with the purchase and acquisition of the largest customers, the Walker works in Cologne.

Creation and development of Nixdorf Computer AG

With the acquisition of Walker shares and the Walker works - the purchase price was 17.2 million D- Mark - had not only Nixdorf powerful development and production departments, but he possessed at the same time also has its own distribution structure. With the stock acquisition with hikers through Nixdorf in April 1968 to 1 October of the same year came the merger between the former Walker works and the Laboratory of pulse technique for Nixdorf Computer AG ( NCAG ) based in Paderborn. The fast adjusted success of NCAG based on the development of a new computer market, the slightly outdated technology or the decentralized electronic data processing. Mass manufacturers such as IBM continued to use on mainframe computers and centralized data processing, mainframe computers to small and medium-sized enterprises were too expensive and the large producers could not serve this market. Nixdorf came into this market niche with the modular Nixdorf 820 before, thus brought the computer directly to the workplace, enabling small and medium enterprises, the use of electronic data processing at an affordable price.

In the following period, large companies were acquired as customers, neighboring the Nixdorf system for cost reasons in their Auslandsdependancen. The hardware and software packages have been tailored to the customer, training did the customers in dealing with the distributed computing familiar. Major competitors in the field of Middle data technology were Kienzle apparatus, Triumph-Adler, Olivetti, Philips, NCR and Dietz computer. Even in 1968 found a 100 - million mark behalf of the American office machine manufacturer Victor Comptometer, which was taken over in 1972, computer Paderborn the way overseas. In addition to constant domestic expansion of the distribution network, the NCAG summarized later walking in the United States and Japan.

In the 1970s, the NCAG increased the market leader in the Middle data technology in Germany and developed into the fourth largest computer manufacturer in Europe with production sites in Germany, Ireland, Spain, the USA and Singapore. In 1972, the Westphalian computer manufacturer was represented in 22 countries worldwide. The global expansion led at the company headquarters to encourage construction activities: In the Paderauen - today Heinz -Nixdorf - Aue - the new head office was established in 1971 based at the Prince Avenue. Today the building houses the Heinz Nixdorf Museum Forum and the Heinz Nixdorf Institute of the University of Paderborn. At the formerly Lower Frankfurter Weg - today Heinz- Nixdorf-Ring - created new manufacturing facilities that have been awarded the German Architecture Prize for industrial buildings.

As of 1975, the NCAG an urgently needed new generation of data acquisition and data processing systems brought out: the 88xx series. The old 820 system had finally survived. In addition to the data processing sector NCAG had developed continuously further market segments since 1971. One segment covered electronic cash systems and bank terminals. In Sweden, the largest at the time data processing network could be realized with bank terminals from the house Nixdorf. The other segment was the area of data collection systems, a data storage on electromagnetic bands and was no longer as before, to punch cards. The system gave the mid-1970s the necessary successes, as the company was in a quite critical economic situation. A proper successor to the 820 missing Nixdorf first, because in times of steady expansion and the economic success of product development was simply neglected.

With the introduction of the 88xx system was the success story of NCAG a continuation and a year after 25 years of service - in 1978 - exceeded the total sales for the first time the billion mark- border. Worldwide occupied the NCAG at the time more than 10,000 people.

In order to adequately train the apprentices of NCAG on the computer, set up a factory in 1969 Nixdorf vocational school, from whose Trägerverein 1972, the training center for information processing occupations ( bib) emerged. Furthermore, there was for a directive of Nixdorf physical education for trainees required. As a contact in sport was Kurt bendlin, winner of the bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Mexico City in 1968, is available. To enter the workforce opportunities for sports, built Nixdorf 1984 Ahorn Sports Park on the premises of NCAG. The sports park was also the Paderborn citizenship available and can be used for free today.

To adjust employees at all levels of the hierarchy to the ever-growing company, was conducted from the end of the 1970s, the week-long Nixdorf opener Program ( NAP). These quarterly meetings of the kick-off events at different venues - but usually in the conference hotel Sauerland Stern Hotel, Willingen - was the beginning of a tour of management and manufacturing in Paderborn and was then continued at the conference with expert speakers from different areas of the company. In working groups, the new employee in the subsequent days had to work on various problem solving. The primary objectives of the NAP were the networking among the employees, the identification and integration of new employees as well as the transfer of knowledge in a lively and practical form, so as to achieve the best possible and also long-term value for the company.

The rapid growth required the acquisition of new funds. 1978 Nixdorf refused an offer of Volkswagen AG, the majority wanted to participate in the NCAG itself. In contrast, the commitment was given the German bank, which paid 200 million D- Mark for a stake of 25 percent. More capital, about 300 million D- Mark could be obtained in 1984 with the passage of the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange and a year later the right issues yielded a further 700 million marks. At home and abroad the mid- 1980s, the production capacity has been constantly expanding.

1985 sales rose to nearly 4 billion D- Mark, the profit amounted to 172 million marks. Employees were at that time 23,300 people in 44 countries. The following year was overshadowed by the death of the company founder. On March 17, 1986 Nixdorf died of a heart attack at the computer fair CeBIT in Hannover.

Development of Nixdorf Computer AG after the death of company founder

The succession of Nixdorf entered yet in April 1986 Klaus air, in the first year after the death of Nixdorf again able to report records. Sales grew to over 5 billion D- Mark, and the company employed more than 30,000 people worldwide. At the foundation of the DAX in 1988, the Nixdorf Computer AG was one of the companies listed there. However, they could not follow the fundamental change in the computer and electronics industry. Important trends such as the triumph of the personal computer were missed, and a rapid price decline marked the now highly competitive mass market with slightly outdated technology. In addition, the company ran by the sudden death Nixdorf in a succession crisis. On the part of management to invest heavily, although no corresponding means were available on the revenue side. The end of 1989, the CEO Klaus air pressure of the Supervisory Board after three and a half years had to vacate his position with immediate effect and was replaced by Horst Nasko. The owners were forced due to the huge operational losses, to sell the company.

Takeover by Siemens

On October 1, 1990, Siemens acquired the majority of Nixdorf ordinary shares and led the Nixdorf Computer AG with the range of data and information technology of Siemens AG Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG (SNI) together. 1992 Siemens increased its shareholding in the SNI to 100 percent and incorporated them into the Siemens AG. After a painful downsizing with the loss of several thousand jobs in Paderborn, Germany in the early 1990s, SNI was around the middle of the decade stabilize as Europe's largest computer company. In 1995, the services and solutions business in the fields was information technology and telecommunications released from the company SNI and together with parts of Siemens AG, Siemens Business Services GmbH & Co. OHG (SBS ), then transferred with its headquarters in Paderborn and Munich. On 1 October 1998, the SNI was dissolved as a corporation and fully integrated into the Siemens AG, with further parts migrated to SBS. The name Siemens Nixdorf was still alive for one more year in the form of Siemens Nixdorf Banking and Retail Systems GmbH.

Establishment of new companies

On 1 October 1999, the commercial and banking activities of SNI from the Siemens group were removed and taken over by the private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners as a result of portfolio adjustment. The name was changed to Wincor Nixdorf International GmbH. Since mid-2004, the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and is named Wincor Nixdorf AG. The businesses include ATMs, POS systems and reverse vending machines.

From the computer division of SNI and its subsidiary Fujitsu Computers Europe of Japanese technology company Fujitsu, the Fujitsu Siemens joint venture holding company was established in 1999. Under the brand name of Fujitsu Siemens Computers, computer systems were sold. April 1, 2009, Siemens sold his shares to Fujitsu. The sold to Fujitsu company part is called today as Fujitsu Technology Solutions GmbH and has its headquarters still in Germany ( Munich).

Already in the 1990s, was created by targeted outsourcing of SNI and by initiative of the former Nixdorf SNI employees and a growing environment of specialist IT suppliers and vendors that met the resulting primarily through the Internet with new market conditions well. Important examples are the Orga Card Systems GmbH, today Sagem Orga and the Paragon AG.

Products

System families 620-880

Family of systems 620 ( data collection, 1974-1984 ): The data collection system Nixdorf 620 was used in the centralized and decentralized data collection acquisition in business and administration and constantly further developed by Nixdorf. 1982 was the NCAG with this system, with a market share of about 40 percent leader in data collection systems in Germany. This system was based on developments in the U.S. computer manufacturer Entrex.

Nixdorf 820 ( 1968-1979 ): forerunner of Nixdorf - purpose computer 820 was from the Laboratory for pulse technique (LFI ) developed and distributed by hikers Logatronic. The arithmetic unit of the system family 820 based on semiconductor basis, with early silicon transistors were used. As a system writing workshop was an IBM - ball typewriter used, which was not used by other manufacturers of similar systems due to the high price. Unlike competitors that their computers integrated into desks or tables typewriter, the NCAG for the 820 developed a panel chassis with unique design. The different customer needs led to a variety of models of the 820, for example as Invoicing, billing or accounts magnetic computer, there was a consistent orientation to each market segment.
Nixdorf 840 ( 1973-1979 ): development of the 820 computer. Besides the known applications of 820 direct data processing and data transmission and thus a combination and communication with other computer equipment (computer center ) was possible with the 840 system. As an output device matrix printers were used.
Nixdorf 880 ( 1972-1975 ): First NCAG system with random-access memory ( magnetic disks ). The short production time is due to the new development of product families in the area of magnetic disk systems.
Family of systems 700 ( POS Systems, 1971-1981 ): The family of systems 700 included the Nixdorf POS systems 705 and 710, and the terminal system 720 From the outset the different powerful single system with one CPU with microprocessor, with a special printer of cash requirements and with a backup system were at power failure safe.

System family 88xx and other products

Nixdorf 8810 (from 1986): PC system with microprocessor. Features: 5 1/4-inch floppy disk drive and 14-inch color screen. Software MS-DOS. The field of application of the Nixdorf 8810 personal computer was designed for data processing and long-distance transmission. Was applied to the PC by freelancers and medium business enterprises.
Nixdorf 8811 Data Phone ( 1975-1979, predecessor models with dial as early as 1973): The data phone, equipped with push-button and LED display, enabling dialogue between phone and computer, so that information could be issued directly from the computer via the System 8811. As a data output device, a silent printer ( Metalleinbrennverfahren ) was provided and an optional alphanumeric keyboard extended the character set from 20 to 55 characters. However, the Post refused, despite the innovative nature of a permit, so that the data telephone was commercially unsuccessful.
8812 Nixdorf POS system (from 1976): Consistent further development of Nixdorf POS systems 705 and 710 Equipped with a microcomputer 8812 was used in the commercial and hospitality / hotel industry. Other features included an international 10-key keypad, an operator display, each with an alphanumeric and a numerical display as well as a printing station for receipt and journal. One terminal of the trading terminal 8812 to the Central System 8862 was given.
Nixdorf 8812/200 POS system (from 1986). Development based on the Equipped 8812 was this POS system with a 9- inch screen, a customer display, a banking POS terminal with integrated card reader, a bar code reader, a stationary scanner as well as a hand-held scanner and a mini dot matrix printer.
Nixdorf 8814 ( 88SP ) Voice Mail system: produced between 1985 and 1990.
Nixdorf 8815 word processor system (from 1977): As a central unit served a mini computer as a storage media floppy disks were used. The issue was based on dot matrix printer. All functional elements were adjusted individually housed on a height-adjustable work surface.
Nixdorf 8818 Digital ISDN switching system ( from 1982): The 1982 featured Nixdorf 8818 DVS was the NCAG the first German manufacturer of a digital switching system, while the 8818 system was the first of the post approved in Germany digital switching system. Between 30 and 3000 phones or terminals could be connected to the 8818. In the composite network, the system 8818 could serve up to 12,000 extensions. The switching capacity for models 80-600 allowed 246 participants, the 3000 model even up to 512 participants, the simultaneous speech, or conference calls with up to six participants. A phone number memory of ten numbers and a quick redial was available to each user. The highlight of the system was achieved with the introduction of software Release 5.1 and 5.2, with the full network capability of the system and the multi- client capability has been introduced. Network capability means that different dislocated installed systems for all participants in functionalities in each plant. All are networked together (up to 255 ) Equipment ( star or mesh- shaped) behave like a single physical system with cross-system performance characteristics (for example, recall from one node to another, Follow me, number portability and performance from a node in the other transfer ). More and system capability means that in a physical plant several independent or linkable to each other Companies configurations can be programmed. The Octopus E model 300/800 is its fully compatible successor and but also uses the operating system NICOS, the hardware was developed parallel to the Hicom 150H office Com / HiPath 3700, but it is exactly to administer as a 8818, the system is up to 2006 been sold, all pure UP0 and UP0 e terminals (up to OpenStage and new ) of Siemens range and the ISDN system telephones from Nixdorf and all Gigaset Professional handsets can be used on you, the maximum configuration of 800 participants in 1024 connecting points, up to 255 plants are full system-wide networked to a pysikalischen system which is integrated in 8818 large parts. Network modules enable IP telephony system and system networking, call center operations to 1024 agents with standard tools without additional servers feasible.
Nixdorf 8820 Terminal System ( 1975-1984 ): Programmable system for data acquisition and terminal operations. As mass media floppy disks were used. The system was used in shipping departments to detect incoming and outgoing goods, to assess and control.
Nixdorf 8830/35 ( 1974-1982 ): The 883X series systems were the last stages of development of the 820 and 840 family of systems. It was Einplatzmagnetplattensysteme in a compact design, equipped with screen and Nixdorf dot matrix printer.
Nixdorf 8850 data communication system / data collection system ( from 1982): Further development of the data collection system 620 with increased capacity and up to 24 jobs.
Nixdorf 8840 text processing system ( from 1979 until 1990): The electronic Help MultiText 8840 was designed as a multi-user system, each writing course could be fitted with a daisy-wheel printer. Routine tasks, such as writing standard letters, forms, form letters, etc. were facilitated by storing on magnetic disks of the central unit. The printer enabled by the print wheel writing of up to ten copies.
Nixdorf 8862 Trade Information System ( from 1976): The Central System 8862 8812 joined the components with each other and provided a check and query the goods flows of the order on the issue until the inventory.
Nixdorf 8864 Bank Terminal ( 1975 ): Use in trade and banks as multi - job computer. Dialog transport, inventory management, data collection, etc. are possible in the terminal central unit. As storage disks, magnetic disks and magnetic tapes were provided. Special peripherals such as check readers and ATMs were designed to meet the customer needs of the banks.
Nixdorf 8870 M ( 1983 to 1986 /87): Self- development of NCAG as Disk dialog computer. Building on the 8870 / g and / u series. Posted due to the launch of the Quattro.
Nixdorf 8870 / g ( 1973-1982 ): the successor to the 880 Nixdorf computer system with disk storage and a maximum of four computer workstations. Application of the 8870 / g was the stock level monitoring, ordering, bookkeeping, payroll and payroll, bill of organization and data acquisition and processing.
Nixdorf 8870 / u ( 1976 to 1986 /87): Standalone data processing system for data acquisition and data processing. Use as a single-user or multi-user system (up to 24 workstations ). Since 1977, delivery of the 8870 systems with the user software COMET, which was adjusted according to the customer's specific operational needs and tailored to the individual areas of responsibility.
Nixdorf 8890: As a 8890 supplied by Hitachi IBM 390 -compatible system from 1985 was sold. In addition to MVS and VM and the Comet programs were still able to run on the 390 architecture. This should be a loss of customers to competitors can be prevented.
Nixdorf BT01 (from 1987): BTX phone with separate color display and alphanumeric keyboard. Processing of data in text, image and voice possible.
Nixdorf LK 3000 Application-specific Pocket Computer (1979), with modules for language translation, or customer -specific databases. Developer and manufacturer was the company Lexicon, USA.
AKT - Automatic teller safe ( to 8864 )
Digifon, digital telephone ( Digifon base, Digifon Solo, Digifon comfort, RNG, Digifon Solo/2S, Digifon Solo/2U, Digifon Comfort / 2, RNG / 2, AFT / 1, AFT / AFT 2 / 3, except for System 8818, partly Octopus E model 300/800, no standard procedure).
IBAS - first ISDN small private branch exchange ( development for Siemens takeover is not completed ).
Logofon analog telephone family ( Logofon base / Logofon info / Logofon Hotel / Logofon Comfort / Logofon mobile ).
Octophon, digital telephone for the German Federal Post Office ( Octophon 21S, 21U, 23 and 24, RNG, RNG / 2, AFT / 1, AFT / 2 AFT / 3, except for System 8818, partly Octopus E model 300/800, no standard procedure).
Service station systems with control of the fuel dispenser display and data transmission to the checkout.
Targon / 31/ 32/35 system families: From 1988, these systems were used in Banks, industry and trade. All three families of systems have been operated at the AT & T UNIX System V. The Targon / 31 and / 32 systems based on the Motorola 680xx processors family and have been positioned as a "small " servers. At this time, the current client-server structure with this system have already been covered. So 1990 was possible to run Microsoft Windows 3.11 client with a Targon/31 as a print and file server. The Targon / 32 family has been designed to be fault -tolerant system. CPU, memory and hard disk replacement were possible during operation.
Targon / 35 served the large Unix installations and was not a proprietary development of Nixdorf, but a purchase of the company Pyramid.

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