It all began in the mid 1980's, when keyboards were no longer available for the IBM electronic series (65/85/95). Their main problem was separating. Other typewriter repair shops had attempted unreliable repairs using adhesives, however their failure rate was unacceptable. Screws and locknuts solved the problem and launched Rajan Rebuilding.

However, a business supporting only this component couldn't survive, given the obsolescence of that typewriter series. A way to repair wheelwriter keyboards had to be found. It was abandoned as hopeless. I took up the project on my own, working at the kitchen table for over a year. The perseverance (actually, stubbornness beyond reason) eventually paid off.

Wheelwriter keyboard repair service was first offered locally to metro-Detroit area typewriter repair shops. This way, their performance could be closely monitored, working closely with local technicians. Their help and encouragement through this experimental phase is greatly appreciated.

It was discovered that there were a few depot-level repair facilities in the country that tinkered with them, only making what repairs that could be done without taking the keyboard completely apart. This is the difference between "repair" and "rebuilding". Having found no others actually rebuilding, we dared to place an ad in one of the trade publications. In all fairness, it may be debated that N.E.R.S. may have been doing this at about the same time, based on the repair dates of many of their keyboards that came to us for re-work. However, we never heard of them before, nor them, us.

Shortly after we proved that keyboard rebuilding was possible, competitors jumped in, trying in vain to imitate our process. At first this was worrisome, however, it actually helped. It told the industry that keyboard rebuilding was viable, just because so many large, well known depot repair shops belatedly jumped in. Furthermore, it forced us to make even more industry-standard setting innovations.

We were the first to take the huge and expensive gamble of having the printed circuit membrane layers manufactured. This greatly increased reliability, and left the new competition scrambling to do the same.

The end result is greater reliability and competitive prices for our customers.