The History of Olivetti
Created before World War I, Olivetti is an Italian manufacturer of computers, printers and other business machines. Its products can be found in Italy, Spain, France, Germany and parts of South America.
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Origins
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In 1908, Italian engineer Camillo Olivetti founded the "Ing. C. Olivetti e C" company to manufacture typewriters. He personally trained about 20 workers to handle production. During World War I, the company briefly switched gears to manufacture artillery fuses and aircraft equipment.
After World War I
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After the war, the company began producing its own machine tools for the production of typewriter parts and expanded its operations, opening its first overseas subsidiary in Barcelona by 1929. In the 1930s, Camillo Olivetti gradually stepped back from day-to-day operations in favor of his son and the company expanded into office furniture, teleprinters and adding machines.
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1950s Through 1980s
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In the 1950s, Olivetti began manufacturing computers. Some of its products included an early transistor based mainframe called the Elea 9003, an early PC called the M20 and an IBM clone from 1983 known as the M24. In 1985, it acquired control over the British company Acorn Computer Ltd. and formed a partnership with Thomson SA. It sold Acorn's Master Compact and Thomson's MO6 as the Prodest PC 128 and Prodest 128s.
1980s Through 2000s
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In the late 1980s and 90s, Olivetti ceased manufacturing computers and then ceased to exist as a separate company. Luxembourg-based Bell S.A acquired the company and then a consortium including Milan-based Pirelli and Treviso-based Benetton Group acquired it. In 2003, it was absorbed into Telecom Italia, which began manufacturing computers and other office equipment under the brand Olivetti Tecnost.
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