Ferranti-Packard
Encyclopedia
Ferranti-Packard Ltd. was the Canadian division of Ferranti
's global manufacturing empire, formed by the 1958 merger of Ferranti Electric and Packard Electric. For several years in the post-war era the company underwent dramatic expansion and repeatedly almost became a major computer supplier, but eventually shed various divisions and returned to becoming an electrical grid supplier once again. The company was purchased in 1998 by the Austria
n company, VA TECH.
s during the Niagara Falls
hydroelectric developments. Ferranti Canada had first been set up in 1912, acting primarily as a sales and distribution arm for their British designed electrical products.
Prior to World War II
, Canada's economy was primarily agricultural. While this allowed it to raise a fairly large army with relative ease, it also meant that it was unable to arm itself. C.D. Howe, Minister of Armaments, started an ambitious plan to heavily industrialize the country, turning it almost overnight into what is today a G8
nation.
Canada had entered World War II completely unprepared, and in the post-war era decided they would not allow this to happen again. However, as the art of war turned increasingly technical, it was clear that Canada did not have the wherewithal to support a full program of research on its own. In 1947 the Defense Research Board
(DRB) was formed, and sent out a letter outlining their ideas for sharing research between the armed forces, industry and academia.
The letter made its way all the way to the desk of Vincent Ziani de Ferranti, the then-current CEO of the family-held British company. At the time Ferranti in the UK was involved in a similar commercial/academic development project with Manchester University to build the Manchester Mark 1
computer, so it seemed that their Canadian division would naturally be able to do the same. In October 1948 he flew to Canada to meet with the DRB. He was disappointed to learn that the DRB did not have the financial resources to fund any sort of program, but Ferranti remained interested even though it appeared the only way to work with the DRB would be for free.
Just such a project started soon after, when word of the Ferranti meeting reached Jim Belyea, a researcher in the Canadian Navy's electrical labs. He had been proposing a completely automated system for ships to pass around tactical data from radar
and sonar
, to help organize the defence of a convoy under attack by submarines. Belyea presented his ideas to Ferranti, who agreed to start development of the technologies needed. By 1950 they had successfully developed a PCM-based radio system for passing digital data between ships, and the DRB started to become very interested. Full-scale development of the system, known as DATAR
, started in February 1951 and underwent trials in late 1953. However the cost of developing a production version was well beyond what the Canadian Navy was able to afford. They attempted to sell the system to the United States Navy
, but they were uninterested and the Canadians were forced to end the project. Somewhat ironically the US Navy would later decide they needed just such a system, having a rather unhappy experience with their Naval Tactical Data System
in 1958.
During this period, some time in 1951, Ferranti Canada also considered commercializing the University of Toronto
's experimental UTEC
computer, which seemed considerably less complex than the Mark I being developed in England. This effort also ended ironically, when in 1952 the University purchased a surplus Mark I originally intended for the UK's nuclear weapon
s program which had suffered massive budget cuts with a change of government.
In 1956 the company received a contract from the Canadian Post Office
to develop an electronic mail sorting system, which they delivered later that year. The system used a hard-wired transistorized computer that stored a table of postal code
s on a magnetic drum. Operators were presented with envelopes and typed in the postal code, which their typewriter printed onto the envelope as a bar code in fluorescent ink. The sorting system would then read the bar code and automatically route it sort it. The system was a complete success.
In fact it so impressed visitors from the US Post Office
that they decided they needed one of their own. They also decided to develop their own system instead of simply buying the Ferranti one, delaying their entry into automated sorting until 1960. A Canada-wide expansion using Ferranti's existing system soon ended in the 1957 election, whose main issue was rampant Liberal spending, including Ferranti's "million dollar monster".
Oddly the system was later adapted for cheque sorting by the Federal Reserve Bank
in New York
, who took delivery of an almost identical machine in 1958, based on reading MICR digits instead of bar codes. This MICR-based concept was originally developed by SRI
in 1952 for their similar ERMA
project, but they did not manage to actually deliver their machine until 1959. There was some talk of developing the Ferranti system into a commercial line, but it became clear that as general purpose computers fell in price, a single mass-produced model would soon be able to outperform a custom built design, even on cost. Honeywell
started shopping around just such a system at about this time.
Another brush with success came in 1959 with the ReserVec
on-line reservation system developed for Trans-Canada Air Lines
. This product suffered from stiff competition from IBM
's SABRE
system in the US, but there was nothing similar in the UK, whose own airlines were in the market for such a system. Apparently due largely to not invented here
problems, Ferranti in the UK decided to develop an entirely new system to fill this need instead of using the Canadian version.
But by this time Ferranti's UK computer divisions were themselves in turmoil. Their attempt to commercialize the Atlas design was dragging on, and meanwhile sales of their older Mercury were drying up. In order to address this, as well as move into a new market segment, they decided to launch a newer system aimed at the low-end of the market. The result was the Ferranti Orion
, which used an entirely new circuity system known as "Neuron". This proved to be somewhat of a disaster, and only 12 Orion I machines ever shipped (the first went to AB Turitz and Co., of Gothenburg, Sweden, in March 1963).
Meanwhile Ferranti-Packard decided they should set up production for the Atlas machine as well, but after successfully securing loans from the government they were astounded to learn that the UK division refused to allow them access to the design. Many of the company's engineers resigned in disgust, although some were later convinced to stay on. The UK division then asked several Canadian engineers to move to England in an attempt to re-engineer the Orion based on ReserVec's transistorized circuits. Known as Orion II, the project ran in parallel to the original Orion for some time. (Orion II was much more successful, both technically and commercially, than its predecessor. Nearly 40 machines were delivered by the end of 1964.)
With the experience gained during Orion II the engineers returned to Toronto convinced that ReserVec's design sold into the Orion's marketplace would be a commercial success. Once again approaching the Federal Reserve Bank, they proposed to build a new machine to replace the earlier post office-derived system. The Bank accepted the proposal, and work on what would become the Ferranti-Packard 6000
started in late 1961.
In order to differentiate themselves from the numerous models in this performance range, the FP-6000 would directly support multitasking
, then known as multiprogramming, as well as be highly modular. The prototype machine was completed in 1962, and was delivered to the FRB took place in early 1963. Further sales proved difficult however. One was purchased by the DRB's station in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
, another by the Toronto Stock Exchange
, one by a Scottish research facility, and a final machine by Saskatchewan Power, bringing the total to five machines.
Meanwhile, unknown to Ferranti-Packard, Ferranti in the UK had decided to cut their losses and exit the commercial computer business. In early 1963 they approached International Computers and Tabulators
with the proposal to sell off their commercial division. Perhaps unsurprisingly, ICT found the proposal unattractive. When they learned of the FP-6000 their attitude changed, and they eventually agreed to the purchase under the stipulation that rights to the FP-6000 would be transferred from Canada. The FP-6000 then became the basis for ICT 1900 series
machines, which eventually sold into the thousands.
After the ICT takeover, Ferranti-Packard proposed that they manufacture several models of the 1900-series, as well as serve as a gateway into the North American market. ICT, however, was interested in Europe only. Most of the FP-6000 engineers soon left the company, forming ESE Limited and Teklogix
.
The programmers founded I. P. Sharp Associates
in December 1964.
One of the Canadian company's last developments was the flip-disc display
, which creates a large display out of a grid of small disks, painted black on one side and some bright color (typically yellow) on the other. Small magnets on the back of the disks flip them over if the wires running behind them are powered. The UK headquarters gave the invention little note, but it became somewhat successful in spite of this, and HQ eventually used it as a way to try to sell off the Canadian division in the 1970s. Today these displays can commonly be found in outdoor use, notably on highway signage and in the automotive application of destination signs for Public Service Vehicles.
With the electronics division empty, Ferranti-Packard was once again a major electrical vendor only. Over the years many other specialty divisions were sold off or closed, and eventually all that was left was the original Packard transformer division. It was this that VA TECH purchased.
Ferranti
Ferranti or Ferranti International plc was a UK electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century from 1885 until it went bankrupt in 1993. Known primarily for defence electronics, the Company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but ceased trading in 1993.The...
's global manufacturing empire, formed by the 1958 merger of Ferranti Electric and Packard Electric. For several years in the post-war era the company underwent dramatic expansion and repeatedly almost became a major computer supplier, but eventually shed various divisions and returned to becoming an electrical grid supplier once again. The company was purchased in 1998 by the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n company, VA TECH.
History
Packard Electric had first been set up in 1894 in order to supply transformerTransformer
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors—the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic field...
s during the Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
hydroelectric developments. Ferranti Canada had first been set up in 1912, acting primarily as a sales and distribution arm for their British designed electrical products.
Prior to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Canada's economy was primarily agricultural. While this allowed it to raise a fairly large army with relative ease, it also meant that it was unable to arm itself. C.D. Howe, Minister of Armaments, started an ambitious plan to heavily industrialize the country, turning it almost overnight into what is today a G8
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
nation.
Canada had entered World War II completely unprepared, and in the post-war era decided they would not allow this to happen again. However, as the art of war turned increasingly technical, it was clear that Canada did not have the wherewithal to support a full program of research on its own. In 1947 the Defense Research Board
Defence Research and Development Canada
Defence Research and Development Canada, also Defence R&D Canada or DRDC , is an agency of the Department of National Defence , whose purpose is to respond to the scientific and technological needs of the Canadian Forces...
(DRB) was formed, and sent out a letter outlining their ideas for sharing research between the armed forces, industry and academia.
The letter made its way all the way to the desk of Vincent Ziani de Ferranti, the then-current CEO of the family-held British company. At the time Ferranti in the UK was involved in a similar commercial/academic development project with Manchester University to build the Manchester Mark 1
Manchester Mark 1
The Manchester Mark 1 was one of the earliest stored-program computers, developed at the Victoria University of Manchester from the Small-Scale Experimental Machine or "Baby" . It was also called the Manchester Automatic Digital Machine, or MADM...
computer, so it seemed that their Canadian division would naturally be able to do the same. In October 1948 he flew to Canada to meet with the DRB. He was disappointed to learn that the DRB did not have the financial resources to fund any sort of program, but Ferranti remained interested even though it appeared the only way to work with the DRB would be for free.
Just such a project started soon after, when word of the Ferranti meeting reached Jim Belyea, a researcher in the Canadian Navy's electrical labs. He had been proposing a completely automated system for ships to pass around tactical data from radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
and sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
, to help organize the defence of a convoy under attack by submarines. Belyea presented his ideas to Ferranti, who agreed to start development of the technologies needed. By 1950 they had successfully developed a PCM-based radio system for passing digital data between ships, and the DRB started to become very interested. Full-scale development of the system, known as DATAR
DATAR
DATAR, short for Digital Automated Tracking and Resolving, was a pioneering computerized battlefield information system.Development on DATAR was started by the Canadian Navy in partnership with Ferranti Canada in 1949. DATAR combined data from various ships providing commanders with an "overall...
, started in February 1951 and underwent trials in late 1953. However the cost of developing a production version was well beyond what the Canadian Navy was able to afford. They attempted to sell the system to the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, but they were uninterested and the Canadians were forced to end the project. Somewhat ironically the US Navy would later decide they needed just such a system, having a rather unhappy experience with their Naval Tactical Data System
Naval Tactical Data System
Naval Tactical Data System, commonly NTDS, refers to a computerized information processing system developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s and first deployed in the early 1960s for use in combat ships.- Reason for development :...
in 1958.
During this period, some time in 1951, Ferranti Canada also considered commercializing the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
's experimental UTEC
UTEC
UTEC was a computer built at the University of Toronto in the early 1950s. It was one of the first working computers in the world, although only built in a prototype form while awaiting funding for expansion into a full-scale version. This funding was eventually used to purchase a surplus...
computer, which seemed considerably less complex than the Mark I being developed in England. This effort also ended ironically, when in 1952 the University purchased a surplus Mark I originally intended for the UK's nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s program which had suffered massive budget cuts with a change of government.
In 1956 the company received a contract from the Canadian Post Office
Canada Post
Canada Post Corporation, known more simply as Canada Post , is the Canadian crown corporation which functions as the country's primary postal operator...
to develop an electronic mail sorting system, which they delivered later that year. The system used a hard-wired transistorized computer that stored a table of postal code
Postal code
A postal code is a series of letters and/or digits appended to a postal address for the purpose of sorting mail. Once postal codes were introduced, other applications became possible.In February 2005, 117 of the 190 member countries of the Universal Postal Union had postal code systems...
s on a magnetic drum. Operators were presented with envelopes and typed in the postal code, which their typewriter printed onto the envelope as a bar code in fluorescent ink. The sorting system would then read the bar code and automatically route it sort it. The system was a complete success.
In fact it so impressed visitors from the US Post Office
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
that they decided they needed one of their own. They also decided to develop their own system instead of simply buying the Ferranti one, delaying their entry into automated sorting until 1960. A Canada-wide expansion using Ferranti's existing system soon ended in the 1957 election, whose main issue was rampant Liberal spending, including Ferranti's "million dollar monster".
Oddly the system was later adapted for cheque sorting by the Federal Reserve Bank
Federal Reserve Bank
The twelve Federal Reserve Banks form a major part of the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States. The twelve federal reserve banks together divide the nation into twelve Federal Reserve Districts, the twelve banking districts created by the Federal Reserve Act of...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, who took delivery of an almost identical machine in 1958, based on reading MICR digits instead of bar codes. This MICR-based concept was originally developed by SRI
SRI
Sri may refer to:*Sri, a Hindu honorific; not to be confused with Sir, a title of respect used in several modern contexts*Sri Lanka, an island state at the south tip of India, formerly called Ceylon*SRi, a car specification badge...
in 1952 for their similar ERMA
Electronic Recording Machine, Accounting
ERMA , was a pioneering computer development project run at SRI under contract to Bank of America in order to automate banking bookkeeping...
project, but they did not manage to actually deliver their machine until 1959. There was some talk of developing the Ferranti system into a commercial line, but it became clear that as general purpose computers fell in price, a single mass-produced model would soon be able to outperform a custom built design, even on cost. Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
started shopping around just such a system at about this time.
Another brush with success came in 1959 with the ReserVec
ReserVec
ReserVec was a computerized reservation system developed by Ferranti Canada for Trans-Canada Airlines in the late 1950s. It appears to be the first such system ever developed, predating the more famous SABRE system in the US by about two years...
on-line reservation system developed for Trans-Canada Air Lines
Trans-Canada Air Lines
Trans-Canada Air Lines was a Canadian airline and operated as the country's flag carrier. Its corporate headquarters were in Montreal, Quebec...
. This product suffered from stiff competition from IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
's SABRE
Sabre (computer system)
Sabre Global Distribution System , owned by Sabre Holdings, is used by more than 55,000 travel agencies around the world with more than 400 airlines, 88,000 hotels, 24 car rental brands, and 13 cruise lines...
system in the US, but there was nothing similar in the UK, whose own airlines were in the market for such a system. Apparently due largely to not invented here
Not Invented Here
Not invented here is a term used to describe persistent social, corporate, or institutional culture that avoids using or buying already existing products, research, standards, or knowledge because of their external origins. It is normally used in a pejorative sense, and may be considered an...
problems, Ferranti in the UK decided to develop an entirely new system to fill this need instead of using the Canadian version.
But by this time Ferranti's UK computer divisions were themselves in turmoil. Their attempt to commercialize the Atlas design was dragging on, and meanwhile sales of their older Mercury were drying up. In order to address this, as well as move into a new market segment, they decided to launch a newer system aimed at the low-end of the market. The result was the Ferranti Orion
Ferranti Orion
The Orion was a mid-range mainframe computer introduced by Ferranti in 1959 and installed for the first time in 1961. Ferranti positioned Orion to be their primary offering during the early 1960s, complementing their high-end Atlas and smaller systems like the Sirius and Argus...
, which used an entirely new circuity system known as "Neuron". This proved to be somewhat of a disaster, and only 12 Orion I machines ever shipped (the first went to AB Turitz and Co., of Gothenburg, Sweden, in March 1963).
Meanwhile Ferranti-Packard decided they should set up production for the Atlas machine as well, but after successfully securing loans from the government they were astounded to learn that the UK division refused to allow them access to the design. Many of the company's engineers resigned in disgust, although some were later convinced to stay on. The UK division then asked several Canadian engineers to move to England in an attempt to re-engineer the Orion based on ReserVec's transistorized circuits. Known as Orion II, the project ran in parallel to the original Orion for some time. (Orion II was much more successful, both technically and commercially, than its predecessor. Nearly 40 machines were delivered by the end of 1964.)
With the experience gained during Orion II the engineers returned to Toronto convinced that ReserVec's design sold into the Orion's marketplace would be a commercial success. Once again approaching the Federal Reserve Bank, they proposed to build a new machine to replace the earlier post office-derived system. The Bank accepted the proposal, and work on what would become the Ferranti-Packard 6000
Ferranti-Packard 6000
The FP-6000 was a second generation mainframe computer developed and built by Ferranti-Packard in the early 1960s. It is particularly notable for supporting multitasking, being one of the first commercial machines to do so...
started in late 1961.
In order to differentiate themselves from the numerous models in this performance range, the FP-6000 would directly support multitasking
Computer multitasking
In computing, multitasking is a method where multiple tasks, also known as processes, share common processing resources such as a CPU. In the case of a computer with a single CPU, only one task is said to be running at any point in time, meaning that the CPU is actively executing instructions for...
, then known as multiprogramming, as well as be highly modular. The prototype machine was completed in 1962, and was delivered to the FRB took place in early 1963. Further sales proved difficult however. One was purchased by the DRB's station in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Dartmouth founded in 1750, is a community and planning area of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes after the large number of lakes located in the city.On April 1, 1996, the provincial...
, another by the Toronto Stock Exchange
Toronto Stock Exchange
Toronto Stock Exchange is the largest stock exchange in Canada, the third largest in North America and the seventh largest in the world by market capitalisation. Based in Canada's largest city, Toronto, it is owned by and operated as a subsidiary of the TMX Group for the trading of senior equities...
, one by a Scottish research facility, and a final machine by Saskatchewan Power, bringing the total to five machines.
Meanwhile, unknown to Ferranti-Packard, Ferranti in the UK had decided to cut their losses and exit the commercial computer business. In early 1963 they approached International Computers and Tabulators
International Computers and Tabulators
International Computers and Tabulators or ICT was formed in 1959 by a merger of the British Tabulating Machine Company and Powers-Samas. In 1963 it also added the business computer divisions of Ferranti...
with the proposal to sell off their commercial division. Perhaps unsurprisingly, ICT found the proposal unattractive. When they learned of the FP-6000 their attitude changed, and they eventually agreed to the purchase under the stipulation that rights to the FP-6000 would be transferred from Canada. The FP-6000 then became the basis for ICT 1900 series
ICT 1900 series
ICT 1900 was the name given to a series of mainframe computers released by International Computers and Tabulators and later International Computers Limited during the 1960s and '70s...
machines, which eventually sold into the thousands.
After the ICT takeover, Ferranti-Packard proposed that they manufacture several models of the 1900-series, as well as serve as a gateway into the North American market. ICT, however, was interested in Europe only. Most of the FP-6000 engineers soon left the company, forming ESE Limited and Teklogix
Teklogix
-About The Company:Teklogix was created in 1967 by Lawrence Cragg together with a small group of engineers.The company focused on mini computer applications. It designed and built complete systems based upon DEC's PDP-8 computer, DEC's logic modules and purpose built logic...
.
The programmers founded I. P. Sharp Associates
I. P. Sharp Associates
I. P. Sharp Associates, IPSA for short, was a major Canadian computer time sharing, consulting and services firm of the 1970s and 80s. IPSA is particularly well known for its work on the APL programming language, an early packet switching computer network known as IPSANET, and a powerful...
in December 1964.
One of the Canadian company's last developments was the flip-disc display
Flip-disc display
The flip-disc display is an electromechanical dot matrix display technology used for large outdoor signs, normally those that will be exposed to direct sunlight. Flip-disc technology has been used on buses across North America and Europe. It has also been used extensively on public information...
, which creates a large display out of a grid of small disks, painted black on one side and some bright color (typically yellow) on the other. Small magnets on the back of the disks flip them over if the wires running behind them are powered. The UK headquarters gave the invention little note, but it became somewhat successful in spite of this, and HQ eventually used it as a way to try to sell off the Canadian division in the 1970s. Today these displays can commonly be found in outdoor use, notably on highway signage and in the automotive application of destination signs for Public Service Vehicles.
With the electronics division empty, Ferranti-Packard was once again a major electrical vendor only. Over the years many other specialty divisions were sold off or closed, and eventually all that was left was the original Packard transformer division. It was this that VA TECH purchased.