Lathem Celebrates 100th Anniversary, Marking Evolution from Time Clock Manufacturing to Employee Time and Attendance Software Company

ATLANTA, Sept. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- How many companies can say they've been in business 100 years? Atlanta-based Lathem can.

A leading provider of employee time and attendance software and time clocks, Lathem celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, commemorating 100 years of innovation and four generations as a family-owned business.

Lathem has transformed its business from manufacturing employee time clocks and institutional wall clocks to becoming a leading developer of cloud-based employee time and attendance solutions that save small businesses time and money.

The company will celebrate the occasion with a 100th anniversary party on Sat., Sept. 21 at the Georgia Aquarium.

"We are proud to celebrate 100 years in business, a claim not many companies can make. Lathem has survived and thrived due to its innovative technologies, customer-service focus, forward-thinking management, and committed employees, many of whom have been with us for 30, 40 years," said Bill Lathem, CEO, and great-grandson of the company's founder.

Lathem said the average tenure of its employees is 18 years, and many represent two to three generations who still work there.

For Chris Johnson, who has worked for Lathem since 2010 and now is Lathem's scrum master managing R&D projects for the company's PayClock Online software, Lathem is a family affair. Johnson's dad has worked there for 31 years, starting with Lathem's electro-mechanical time clocks and now works in customer support. His great uncle also once worked for the company.

"A lot of my best memories come from here, and I anticipate I'll have a lot more in the future," Johnson said. "It may sound cheesy, but I believe in the company and my team."

Lathem has two locations: its main headquarters at the Cumberland-Cobb Galleria area near SunTrust Park, home to the Atlanta Braves. It also has a 20,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Austell, where it ships employee time clocks to customers throughout the country and abroad.

Once known for electro-mechanical punch clocks and wall clocks, today Lathem is known as the leading provider of cloud-based employee time and attendance solutions for small to midsize businesses. Today's employees include computer engineers and designers, inside sales representatives, quality assurance engineers and technical support agents.

Lathem has a long history spanning four generations. Lathem's great-grandfather, George, and grandfather, Louie Lathem, Sr., started the company in 1919, selling time clocks door to door to local factories. The Lathem business grew and expanded throughout North America with the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, requiring American businesses to keep and report accurate employee time records. It was at that time that the company invested in its own building and started selling its own branded time clocks. Harrison Hooper, father of retired CFO Ann Hooper, developed Lathem's first employee time clock in 1947.

The company has earned industry accolades for biometric advancements such as face recognition for automated employee time and attendance. In the software space, Lathem's PayClock Online software is a go-to solution for companies looking for cloud-based employee time and attendance. Its mobile app enables remote clock in and out.

Lance Whipple, senior vice president, Marketing and Sales, who has been with the company for 25 years and has led many of the innovations, said, "This is a story about a company that was able to adapt from stamping metal and spot welding to transforming into a technology company. We realized we were part of the bigger business process ― we don't just track time, we help employees get paid. That realization aligned us forever with the payroll industry, where providing world-class software solutions was a requirement, not a luxury. Over the decades, we had to make strategic decisions and investments in products, facilities and people. Decisions that were not without risk, but they've proven to help us be successful throughout the last 100 years and beyond."

Whipple added, "We've stood the test of time through our brand recognition, and our ability to create great products that are easy to use and save companies time and money. I expect Lathem to keep on ticking for many years to come."

About Lathem

Celebrating 100 years of innovation, Lathem is the leading provider of reliable and affordable employee time and attendance products for business. Since 1919, Lathem remains a family-owned and operated US company, headquartered in Atlanta. Tens of thousands of businesses use a Lathem solution every day to help manage their business, including cloud-based PayClock Online employee time and attendance solution, Lathem time clocks, and the PayClock mobile app. For more information, visit http://www.lathem.com.

SOURCE Lathem