Freiden/Singer Flexowriters, Conversation with Bob Behr

Last updated Feb 10 2013. (C)Copyright 2013 Herb Johnson.

I corresponded in early 2003 with former Flexowriter repairman Bob Behr. His comments and history about the Flexowriter and the company that made that product are below. Links to more conversations about Flexowriters and to some Friden documents, is on my Friden Web page. - Herb Johnson

From: Herbert R Johnson 
To: Bob Behr
Sent: Friday, January 03, 2003 3:09 PM
Subject: Re: Schematic


> Your flexowriter schematics will be mailed Saturday. I included some
> copies of assemblies and of images of the Flexowriter at no charge.
>
> At some point I may put some Flexowriter info on one of my Web sites.
> Would you care to say anything about them that I would have your
> permission
> to post? Something about their utility, uses, quality of construction,
> and so on would be of interest.

Date: Fri, 3 Jan 2003 20:35:22 -0500
From: Bob Behr

Thank you Herb. I would be glad to contribute my knowledge of the
Flexowiter, how it came to be, and its commercial uses. I serviced that
machine and its aux equipment as well as sold them for many years.

Bob Behr
Involved with this equipment from 1954-1971.

Date: Sat, 4 Jan 2003 10:29:02 -0500
From: Bob Behr

The Flexowriter was developed by a company called Commercial Controls, in
Rochester, NY. It was a typewriter that was used for repetitive writing. The
US government used this medium to write letters to relatives who lost family
members in the 2nd WW.

In the 60's Friden Inc. bought out Commercial Controls and used the
Flexowriter, in conjunction with their rotary calculator to perform automatic
billing.

The Flexowriter was a mechanical marvel. It consisted of a TYPEWRITER,a
punched paper Punch and READER. A SELECTOR BRIDGE  told the punch what code
to punch and the TRANSLATOR received impulsers from the READER and pulled
down the appropriate tyewriter key.

As time passed aux equipment was added. A second reader and punch could be
added in order to write letters automatically. One reader read the names and
addresses and the second reader wrote the letter.Order writing was also an
application.The applications were unlimited. The salesman who found new
applications earned  a good income. A successful man in the 60's could earn
$30,000-$100,000. A Flexowriter sold in the range of $2500-$4000. A billing
machine sold forabout $10,000-$15,000.

The Flexowriter was truly a Mechanical Marvel..

Bob Behr..

Herb. you can use this info anyway you would like. Thanks BOB

From: hjohnson@
Date: Sat, 04 Jan 2003 13:42:22 +0000

>Thank you, Bob, this is very informative, and I'll put it on my site
>in due course. One question: what are the dates for those prices? I
>would assume they are from the 1960's. And what was the date when
>Commerical Controls first manufactured the Flexowriter - I'd guess the
>early 1940s?
>
>It's been some time since I [Herb Johnson]
>worked on a Flexowriter myself. I helped someone attach it to a
>personal computer - an IMSAI 8080 - back in the mid 1970's. That's
>why I've included it with my other S-100 items on my site. Later on,
>teletypes were more often used, and then of course Epson and others
>made the first inexpensive personal computer printers.
>
>The IMSAI 8080
>was one of the first personal computers, and it used a 100-pin card
>backplane "bus" which became an industry standard. The various manuals
>listed throughout my S-100 site are from companies who built computers to
>that bus standard.
>
>Herb

Date: Sat, 4 Jan 2003 16:20:49 -0500
From: Bob Behr

The cost of the equipment was [from] the late 60's and early 70's. I would
think the date that the Flex was first mfg was in the 40's.

I started with [Commercial Controls] in 1954 and they were marketing them
with other office equipment.Things have certainly changed in this field.
I started at CC at $65 per week, as a tech. I left Singer, which had
bought out Friden, in 1971. In 1963 I went into the sales department
and made about 15k the first year, Big increase in pay.

Stay well
Bob

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Copyright © 2013 Herb Johnson