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A Brief History of Geac

[May 20, 1998]

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Note: Aside from the past presidents, most of the individuals mentioned in this document were still employed by Geac on its 25th anniversary. There were many other people who were influential over the years, but aren't specifically mentioned here because they had already left the company. Perhaps someone someday will write a more definitive history.

1971

March 15company starts doing business (Bob Isserstedt and Gus German) with initial equity of $50
May 11incorporation papers filed
unknownfirst Geac 150 installed at Simcoe County Board of Education (financial application written in FORTRAN)

1972

May 1Don Bagshaw joins the company
unknownfirst Geac 500 installed at Donlands Dairy (order entry system)
unknowninventory system installed for Ontario Hydro at Pickering NGS
November 28first issue of "Geaction" is published

1973

unknownfirst Geac 800 installed at Donlands Dairy

1974

May 20Brian McGibbon joins the company
AugustTed Grunau joins the company
November 14contract signed with Vancouver City Savings Credit Union

1975

unknownGeac Canada Ltd formed
SeptemberGeac Computers Ltd (UK) formed (office at Hamilton Leasing)

1976

February 9Phil Stevens joins the company
April 30Geac annual sales near $3 million
unknownVancouver office opened
summersecond issue of "Geaction" is published (but called Vol.1 No.1)
summer60 staff in Canada, 12 in UK
approximatehead office moves to 145 Idema Road in Markham

1977

February 18first ski trip to Vermont organized by Dave Timlock
April 30annual revenue $5.5 million (100 employees)
SeptemberFirst GLIS customers go live on hybrid 8000s (Guelph and Waterloo)
October100 staff in Canada, 20 in UK
OctoberComputer Data magazine article on Canadian banking includes Geac
OctoberBill Mutch joins the company
November 8Geac first booth (20' by 10') at Canadian Computer Show
November 8Geac 8000 officially introduced (300 MB disks, originally 8-12 terminals - later supported 20-40 custom-designed Informer terminals)

1978

unknownIrving Bush joins the company
January 13University of Guelph Library switches to full Geac 8000 for its Circ System
March 1office opened in Ottawa (credit union service bureau)
March 3University of Waterloo Library switches to full 8000 for its Circ System
Aprildual 8000 system installed at Canada Permanent (~1GB disk)
April 19Geac displays at the Ontario Credit Union Managers' Conference
June8000 sold to Brauch and Neville
April 30annual revenue $6.7 million (#39 in top 50 Canadian EDP companies) (153 employees)
MayGeac Social Club formed
June 15Geac displays at the Canadian Library Association Exhibition (the only company with a computer on display)
unknownfirst annual golf tournament
Octoberthe name "Geac" was registered in the USA

1979

unknownGeac Computers Inc. formed in the USA
February 16first meeting of the Geac Social Club
April 30annual revenues $9.0M (218 employees)
June 6head office moves to 350 Steelcase Road in Markham (40,500 sq ft)
JulyLibrary System leased to Princeton University
AugustProfit sharing plan created (ESOP I?)
August 16Propharm Prescription System converted to Geac 8000
December 5first public library system installed at London Public Library
Novemberword processing system completed for Ontario Hydro (Pickering)
NovemberHoward Phee declared Kinsman of the Year in Newmarket area
Novemberoffice opened in Los Angeles

1980

January 7Chuck Williams joins the company as VP, GM and COO (from HP)
JanuaryGeac attends first American Library Association conference
February 1first disaster recovery (after a fire at ProPharm)
February 8first "Coffee with Chuck" session
Aprilfirst USA library sale to University of Arizona in Tuscon
April 26Ross March dies from a heart attack
April 30annual revenues of $14 million (280 employees)
May 18Geac attends first American Banking Association Conference; Geac 6000 introduced with MOS memory
Septemberoffice opened in Netherlands
OctoberGeac hits 34th place in top 100 Canadian computing companies according to Evans Research Corporation
October 24acquired control of Informer, Inc. (by exercising share options) (but sold to Informer Holdings Ltd on 81/April/27)
Decemberfirst installation in South America (signature capture in Venezuela)
Decemberfirst installation of GFS banking product at Edelweiss Credit Union, Vancouver.

1981

February 20Don Bagshaw moves to Los Angeles
April 30annual revenues $23.6 million (365 employees)
May 1110th anniversary slogan = Ten Years of Success
October 5Chuck Williams and a Geac 6000 appear on the CBC National News (30 second interview at CANATECH '81 show)
unknownDual-dual 8000 installed at CPT
unknownGeac forms team for Metro Toronto Computer Hockey League
unknownfirst UK library system installed at the University of Hull

1982

February 19second disaster recovery (fire at CPU Inc.)
Februaryinstallation of first ATM connected to Geac system
SpringVancouver office moves to larger Lake City offices in Burnaby
April 14first UK public library installed (Somerset County)
April 30annual revenues $35M (474 employees)
June 1first Geac In-House Baseball League formed (100 players, 4 teams)
August500 employees world-wide
August25 people moved from Steelcase to 7500 Woodbine Ave
SeptemberGeac Mensa Jogging Club formed
Novemberfirst edition of "The Wizard's Column" in Geaction
unknownInformation Utility project started
unknownGeac 2000 introduced for Pharmacy market

1983

unknownTom Stern wins the Canadian National Bridge Championship
February 2first annual(?) Geac Snooker Tournament
February 21Geac Valleywood office opens (52,000 sq ft)
April 28IPO at $15.75/share raised $17M
April 30annual revenues $48M (profit $3.8M)
May 17Geac shares traded on TSE at $18.50
Junefirst public libraries in continental Europe (Holland - Soest and Venendaal) signed
JulyGeac Flying Club proposed
Augustfirst trans-Atlantic wager placed via GEM (on a cricket match)
Mayfirst Geac-built library terminals (8360/8370) delivered
Junefirst Online Public Catalogue system goes live at NYU (also first LAN customer)
unknownSmithsonian Institute signs a $1.4M contract
unknownUS Army (Europe) signs $4M contract
November 1Winnipeg office opened
NovemberConcept 9000 introduced
Novemberfirst corporate advertising campaign
NovemberHollywood Tower office opened in Bristol
NovemberGeac common shares hit $27 on TSE
December 19acquired Brauch & Neville Associates Limited
unknownacquired Craden Peripherals Corporation

1984

February 4Geac team participates in York University Corporate Challenge
February 28first Geac trade delegation to Australia
April 30annual revenues $60.9M
May 1major reorganization completed, into vertical markets
May 27Geac Vancouver participates in YMCA/Sunlife Corporate Cup
JuneAlexandria (Virgina) office opened
JulyAvco Trust signs $6M contract
JulyGeac Motorsport Club proposed
September 14Stockholm office opened
September 24Geac becomes exclusive Canadian distributor for Gigadisc
Octoberfirst annual(?) Geac Craft Show and Sale
Novemberoffice opened at 205 Riviera Drive (Markham)
November 1ESOP II plan created
November 3Dan Aharoni (Geac Director) dies
DecemberWest Beaver Creek office opened (16,000 sq ft)
December 14first version of Library Terminal Emulator for IBM PC (by WCM)

1985

April 30annual revenues $71.7M
unknownfirst Australian system goes live (CLANN)

1986

unknownGEM interfaced to Envoy 100
unknownacquired 40% of Vista Financial Systems
April 7Bill Beairsto joins the company as president and CEO
April 30annual revenues $65.1M
May 2Expo '86 opens in Vancouver
September 1G.Yak appears in Geaction, apparently for the first time
November 1Geac stock at $2.25
November 7Beairsto resigns
November 14Bob Isserstedt becomes president & Ted Grunau CEO
December 3Geac Canada Ltd. and GCC enters interim receivership
December 5stock hits $0.65

1987

April 30annual revenues $64M
MayGlobe & Mail Report on Business Mag "Excellence Is Not Enough"
June 8Helix Investments comes to the rescue with $20M
SeptemberSteve Sadler joins the company as CFO
October 15Geac comes out of receivership
October 19"Black Monday" on the stock markets
DecemberNeil Mackay joins company as president

1988

Januaryacquired Citicorp Information Resources
unknownrevised logo and corporate colour adopted
unknownHosers trivia team formed to play NTN Showdown
February 11George Hoicka dies
Marchfirst employee to retire is Dil German (73 years old)
April 30annual revenues $68.5M
July"The Power of Performance" adopted as company slogan
October 3Geac is awarded 1988 Canada Export Award

1989

February 14Stefan R. Bothe joins the company as president and CEO
April 30annual revenues $74.8M
JuneAllstate office opened
June 5acquired Advanced Libraries & Information Inc (ALLI) and their ADVANCE library system
June 21geac.com registered on the Internet
November 13first Turbo 8000 installed (at INCOLSA)
unknownS.O.S. (System Optimization Services) introduced by Library Div.

1990

April 30annual revenues $72.7M
JulyGeac Amsterdam office damaged by terrorist bomb next door (Geac 9000 survives unscathed)
unknownIFS 2000 package released in UK
August 1Stephen J. Sadler appointed president and CEO
September 18acquired Jonas & Erickson Software Technology (J&E)
September 26acquired Fact International Limited
SeptemberLynne Beckett crowned "Miss Markham Fair 1990"

1991

May 1120th Anniversary contest = 20/20 Vision: Libraries of Tomorrow
JulyGeac celebrates its 20 Anniversary with a memorable bash at Summer ALA in Atlanta held at the High Museum.

1992

June 1acquired assets of Albion Computing Pty. Ltd.
November 30acquired assets of McDonnell Douglas Information Systems Canada, Inc.
November 30acquired CLSI, Inc. (USA, UK, France, Netherlands and Canada)

1993

February 26acquired Mentat Computer Systems Pty. Limited (Australia)
February 28acquired Concord Management Systems, Inc.
March 31acquired Computer Library Services International Pty. Ltd. & Aldis Pty. Ltd.
April 30acquired NBI Canada, Inc.
April 30acquired MAI United Kingdom Limited and Tekserv Computer Services Limited
June 30acquired Claymore Systems Group (957024 Ontario Inc.)
June 30acquired assets of New Tech Hospitality Systems Ltd. (Australia)
August 4acquired ECI Computer, Inc.
August 8acquired assets of ComPro (Nisus)
September 28acquired Datamark International Limited (NZ) & Dmark International Pty. Limited. (Aust.)
November 5acquired assets of Convergent Solution Pty. Ltd.

1994

January 31acquired assets of Hotel Computer Systems Limited. (New Zealand)
January 31acquired assets of Hotel Systems Pty. Limited (Australia)
April 5Geac Markham goes live on the Internet
April 30annual revenues of $152.2M
June 30acquired Collier-Jackson Inc. from Compuserve
September 12ADVANCE support centralized in Markham
November 1acquired assets of Fasfax Corporation
December 28acquired Odis

1995

March 31acquired assets of Alternative Management Systems Inc.
August 31acquired Software Shop Systems, Inc.

1996

January 3acquired Control Transaction Corporation
February 6acquired assets of OCS Technologies, Inc.
May 1025th Anniversary celebrated
June 3acquired Perc Technical Services
June 3acquired Tranti Systems
July 8Steve Sadler announces his resignation as CEO, but joins board of directors
Julystock price drops to $16
August 1William Nelson announced as new CEO and Chairman
August 19acquired Pro-Mation
August 28acquired LIBRA's Signature Division
November 1acquired Dun and Bradstreet Software Services, Inc. for US $191.25 million

1997

January 31purchased FGH Decision Support Systems Pty Ltd.
January 31acquired assets of Comp-Tech Incorporated
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Publication Year:1998
Type of Material:Article
Language English
Issue:May 20, 1998
Place of Publication:Scarborough, ON Canada
Subject: Library automation -- historical development
Online access:http://www.catnap.com/~wcm/geactime.html
Record Number:9026
Last Update:2012-12-29 13:06:47
Date Created:0000-00-00 00:00:00
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