SIC 3579 Office Machines, Not Elsewhere Classified

SIC 3579

Companies principally engaged in manufacturing miscellaneous office machines and devices comprise this industry classification. Such devices include typewriting, mailroom, and dictation machines. In addition, a multitude of companies in the industry produce specialty products, such as paper shredders, envelope stuffing machines, ticket counters, and coin wrapping machines. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing modems, facsimile machines, and other communications interface equipment are classified in SIC 3661: Telephone and Telegraph Apparatus.

NAICS CODE(S)

339942

Lead Pencil and Art Good Manufacturing

334518

Watch, Clock, and Part Manufacturing

333313

Office Machinery Manufacturing

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

This industry had many diverse product offerings, including time clocks, stapling machines, binding machines, collating and sorting machines, forms handling equipment, address labeling machines, automatic list finders, embossing machines, and ticket counters. Sales of miscellaneous office machines fluctuated with other economic trends. While some segments of this industry were growing, particularly those that incorporated new digital and automating capabilities, other segments were declining. The main reasons for this decrease included an increased use of computers, foreign competition, increased productivity, reduced corporate spending, and U.S. demographic changes.

Manufacturers responded to the more competitive environment of the 1990s and early 2000s by integrating the latest technology into new product offerings, infiltrating new channels of distribution and targeting home offices. Sustaining the industry during this period were record numbers of new business starts; all of the new businesses required office equipment and supplies. In addition, the booming success of the direct mail industry contributed to growth in the mailroom equipment segment of the market.

ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE

Typewriters

Typewriters and word processing machines accounted for a large segment of the miscellaneous business machines industry. While most of the units sold were electronic typewriters, some companies were still marketing electromechanical typewriters, which resemble traditional manual typewriters but use electricity to reduce the effort required by the typist and to increase the quality of type.

Electronic typewriters take the electromechanical concept a step further by reducing the number of moving parts and featuring advanced capabilities. For instance, many electronic typewriters can recall a series of pressed keys and then delete those characters from a sheet of paper on command. Some units also allow the typist to store a word or phrase in the machine's memory, which automatically recalls and prints on command.

A third model of typewriter is the personal word processor (PWP). PWPs allow the typist to view text on a screen before it is actually transferred to paper, much like a personal computer (PC). Most PWPs are simply an electronic typewriter with a liquid crystal display and a central processing unit attached. Unlike PCs, PWPs usually offer access only to internally stored proprietary software programs. Many PWPs are also equipped with spreadsheet software, and some advanced units offered disk drives, DOS compatibility, and hand-held scanners.

Typewriters and PWPs were less expensive and typically regarded as easier to use than most PCs. Even so, they continued to lag far behind PCs in popularity, despite efforts by major manufacturers to catch up. In 1996, Olympia, a home office company based in Dallas, launched a major effort to market its electronic typewriters as viable alternatives to PCs for performing simple word processing tasks without the hassle of booting up a computer. In 2000, Smith Corona Corp. announced its intentions to launch a series of new typewriters and supplies and to step up its marketing efforts with the goal of increasing typewriter sales...