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Private company

Regnecentralen

Logo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

Regnecentralen (RC) was the first Danish computer company, founded on 12 October 1955. Through the 1950s and 1960s, they designed a series of computers, originally for their own use, and later to be sold commercially. Descendants of these systems sold well into the 1980s.2 It is headquartered in Denmark.1 It ceased to exist in 1989.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1952Founded1
  • HeadquartersDenmark1

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Regnecentralen (RC) was the first Danish computer company, founded on 12 October 1955. Through the 1950s and 1960s, they designed a series of computers, originally for their own use, and later to be sold commercially. Descendants of these systems sold well into the 1980s. They also developed a series of high-speed paper tape machines, and produced Data General Nova machines under license.2

Products and brands

To support higher throughput at their own service bureau, RC developed several high-speed input/output devices. One of their most popular was the RC 2000 paper tape reader, introduced in 1963. Feeding the tape at 5 meters per second, the 2000 could read 2,000 characters per second (CPS), storing the results in a buffer while the computer periodically read the data back out instead of stopping the tape to wait for the computer to get ready. The machine was later upgraded as the RC 2500, increasing speed to almost 7 meters a second, improving read speed to 2500 CPS. The RC 2000/2500 became a major product for RC during the 1960s, selling 1,500 examples around the world. Several related devices were added to the line, including a high-speed punch and a dedicated data conversion machine that would "massage" data between formats to ease the burden on the host computer.

In 1964 Regnecentralen was taken public. Most of the firm's shares were held by its biggest customers.

From Wikipedia’s article on Regnecentralen, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Timeline

  1. 1989Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1952Founded Founded1

Sources

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