On August 22, 1943, two special railway cars arrived in San Jose, Calif., carrying IBMers who were to operate the company's first West Coast manufacturing facility: a card plant (located in the former Temple Laundry) at Sixteenth and St. John Streets. In that pioneering contingent from IBM's Endicott and Washington plants were 92 IBMers and family members, plus 13 single women who had replaced men in war service. An additional nine locally-hired employees were on the roster when the plant was dedicated by Thomas J. Watson, Sr., on September 10, 1943. In July 1960, punched card manufacturing was moved from San Jose to a new facility in Campbell, Calif.
From that small card plant starting with 52 employees, IBM grew in the San Jose area to include a research and manufacturing center at Monterey and Cottle Roads, a card plant in Campbell, a large branch office, the Almaden Research Center and more than 3,000 employees.