Simplex Time Recorder Company

Simplex Time Recorder Company

Meanwhile, Edward G. Watkins founded the Simplex Time Recorder Company in 1894. Watkins invented and patented one of the first practical time clocks, along with the synchronized clock systems seen in schools up until recent times. The company, located in Gardner, Massachusetts, purchased the IBM Time Equipment Division in 1958. This purchase included IBM's fire protection division. Originally, Simplex's fire alarm line simply consisted of relabeled IBM devices and control panels, but they began to introduce redesigned IBM products starting in the early 1960s. In the mid-1960s, Simplex attempted to introduce low-voltage DC systems; these panels were not a success. Most of Simplex's audible notification appliances prior to the 1990s were relabeled Benjamin Electric, Federal Signal, Faraday, and Autocall devices. Simplex's time-division began to lose market share, but their newly founded fire alarm division significantly prospered. In 1970, Simplex introduced conventional control panels.