The story begins in 1881 when David Gestetner, a young Hungarian clerk, patented the Cyclostyle pen. He had discovered that wax coated paper used in the manufacture of children’s kites could be used as an effective ink stencil. The Cyclostyle pen made this practical for office workers. This discovery led to the development of Automatic Cyclostyle Machines and the birth of office automation.
These first stencil machines were hand operated flat bed devices, similar to the printing presses of the time, but without the lengthy set-up requirements. Gestetner advertisements in the 1890s proclaimed that they could produce ‘1200 copies per hour, without preparation.’
David Gestetner established a business to manufacture the duplicator in Tottenham, North London, which grew steadily and employed around 6,000 people until the 1970s.
In the early 20th century, the Rotary Cyclostyle appeared, but there was also competition from A B Dick in the USA with his product called the Mimeograph, and Roneo in the UK. The Gestetner duplicators gave a better and more consistent copy quality by using two cylinders; the silk screen and stencil ran around these two cylinders with the inking system inside between them.
Patent complications between Gestetner and A B Dick followed between the wars, so an agreement was reached for A B Dick to sell in the USA and Gestetner in the rest of the world. Gestetner seized this opportunity and the brand became synonymous with duplication. Gestetner established major markets throughout the world for its stencil duplicators and offset press printing machines. It was particularly strong in Europe the Commonwealth with up to 90% market share in some countries.
By 1930, Sigmund Gestetner, David’s son, had taken over running the business. The London factory had reached 11 acres and there were up to 20 sales branches in the UK and Ireland, plus 20 directly owned sales subsidiaries overseas, of which the largest was France.
Stencil Duplicators continued to be developed until the 4130 in 1986. Model 66 was probably the most famous, which was designed by Raymond Lowe, the world-renowned product designer. Examples are held by the British Museum and in Churchill’s War Bunker in Whitehall.
The increasing popularity of copiers led to the purchase of Staticon, a copier manufacturing company based in Byfleet, Surrey. In 1973 Gestetner began selling its first selenium drum plain paper copier, the FB 12 (Flat Bed 12 copies per minute).
In 1974, David and Jonathan Gestetner, Sigmund’s sons, took over the reins. By this time there were 52 subsidiaries worldwide and Gestetner machines were sold and serviced in 153 countries. Gestetner then acquired Rex Rotary, a Danish duplicating company.
A decade later, Gestetner was bought by AFP, an Australian management company but David Gestetner remained on the board. This led to another phase of growth and in 1989 Gestetner acquired the Business Systems Division of Nashua Corporation.
Nashua had become a major force in the copier business in Europe based on its manufacture of zinc oxide copier paper, which was used in machines manufactured in Japan. It had a significant market share and copier base, a good dealer division, a strong brand name and an important contract with the number one copier manufacturer in Japan.
Nashua UK was merged with Gestetner and Rex Rotary and the NRG Group was formed to represent the three brands: Nashuatec, Rex Rotary and Gestetner.
NRG’s parent and manufacturer is now one of the world’s leading innovators in office equipment, providing technological benefits from its dedicated research and development activities. The R&D programme brought us the first digital copier and a complete range of original engines. Being part of a Group of companies has allowed Gestetner to remain at the cutting edge of office technology and to continue to develop the integrated solutions that we provide for our customers.
