In 1919, when George Lathem and his son, Louie Sr., began selling time clocks, factories were one of the few markets for time recorders and night watchman patrol clocks. The Lathems traveled by train throughout the Southeast, getting off at whistlestops and looking for the telltale smokestacks of a potential new customer.

The expansion of the time recorder market began with the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, requiring accurate time records. Increasing wage scales further added to this growing market. Following World War II, the Lathems resigned their sales relationship with another manufacturer and began selling war surplus machines while developing their first Lathem product.

At about the same time, Harrison Hooper came to work for the Lathems. He was the engineering power at Lathem in the early years and helped develop Lathem's first time recorder. In 1947, Louie P. Lathem, Jr., joined the firm. It was the same year that Lathem Time developed its first time recorder - the Series 76 Lathem Watchman Clock, named for the company's former address, 76 Spring Street.

Bill Lathem, President and CEO

Over the next 10 years, Lathem began building a network of independent office supply and machine dealers that today stretches worldwide. Lathem Time Corporation has grown to become one of the industry's leading suppliers of small business time and attendance products and boasts one of the largest dealer networks in the country.

In the 1980s, management was ceded to the next generation of the Lathem and Hooper families with the death of Harrison Hooper and the retirement of Louie Lathem. Bill Lathem became the chief executive officer and Ann Hooper became the chief financial officer. The company is now proud to qualify as a woman-owned business with the majority of ownership falling to the daughters, granddaughters, and great granddaughters of the founders.

Lathem Makes Product Advances to Keep Time with Small Business

Although known many years for mechanical time recorders, Lathem now also develops automated employee time and attendance tracking systems, including the No. 1-selling automated system for small business, PayClock® EZ. Other products include time clocks, data collection terminals, software and synchronized wall clocks.

Lathem has re-dedicated itself to new products by investing heavily in engineering, design and development. Not limited to manufacturing expertise, several of these new products feature powerful application software. One of the company's newest developments is the data integration of its PayClock EZ system with Intuit's QuickBooks® Pro/Premier 2002 software. This integration provides small businesses with a fully automated "punch-to-paycheck" system for managing their payroll process and expenses. PayClock's automation reduces payroll preparation time by up to 80 percent and eliminates inaccuracies associated with manual calculations, saving up to 3 percent in payroll costs.

Employee Pride Drives Company's Success

Lathem's continued success for more than 82 years can be attributed to several factors. Employee pride in the company drives Lathem's commitment to excellence. Employees average 11 years of service with the company, and many have been with Lathem more than 25 years.

Lathem's products, including parts, tools and dies are designed and manufactured in-house, ensuring strict quality and cost control at each stage of production. New products are carefully and extensively tested before entering the marketplace, and Lathem's engineering team continuously reviews all products, improving performance and implementing technological advancements.

Since 1919, Lathem's commitment to high-quality products and service has made it one of the most respected and trusted names in the time and attendance industry, estimated at half a billion dollars. Lathem Time remains a family-owned and operated company, now into its fourth generation, with 175 employees. Over 300,000 companies worldwide use a Lathem timekeeping product for managing their business.

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