Retrieved from the Daily Gazette by Dana Fellows ~ 2011

July 6, 1967

Northwestern Steel & Wire Company Installs New Computer

In 1967 Northwestern Steel & Wire purchased a RCA Spectra Computer, like the one in the photo.

Northwestern Steel & Wire Company has installed a new RCA Spectra 70-25 computer for use in the fields of handling order entry, invoicing systems, production planning, scheduling and inventory controls, and various other fields.

The computer complex consists of the processor, card reader, six tape stations with controller, high speed printer, card punch, and typewriter console. Information is supplied to the complex via punched cards and magnetic tapes.

The third floor of the office annex houses the new computer in a room specifically constructed for this purpose. The room’s temperature and humidity are kept at a constant level, the temperature holding at 70 degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity varying between 45 to 50 percent. In addition Northwestern has a large, excellently trained staff of systems analysts and programmers, along with plans to convert other of the company’s systems to the computer in the near future.

RCA Spectra 70-25 Computer from Brochure