Frank Amato of Italy meets a Frenchman manufacturing metal spiral-coil binding and binding books in France for the European market.

Mr. Amato works out a deal to become the exclusive U.S. rep for metal spiral-coil binding, and in the height of the depression, founds Spiral Binding Company, Inc., America's first mechanical bindery, in New York City in 1932. Both the news industry and the education market are two of the lightest hit industries during the depression, which enables Spiral to enjoy success during a tumultuous period in American history.

Gregg Shorthand Systems becomes Spiral's first big client. The company hires Spiral to bind their stenographer notebooks in metal spiral-coil, enabling them to open 360 degrees, rather than being bound with tape and/or glue like most legal pads of paper are bound today.

Western Pad and Tablet (now Mead) becomes another of Spiral's big clients, who hires Spiral to bind their school notebooks. Today Mead still binds their books in the same metal spiral-coil.

Spiral continually opens trade binderies throughout the U.S. and has as many as 10 binderies coast-to-coast from NY to San Francisco.

Double-O® Wire Binding (enabling books to lie flat) and Plastic Comb Binding (enabling more color choices) hit the U.S. market. Spiral is in neither business.

38,627,481 spiral-bound books are completed by Spiral Binding.

Western Pad and Tablet (Mead) no longer uses Spiral to bind their books; they gain more control of the process by binding their own books. However, Mead has no equipment to do this, and contracts Spiral to build binding machines for them. Spiral's Equipment Division is thus born.

The Equipment Division creates machines for trade businesses using Double-O® Wire and other bindings, and enables Spiral to enter these markets for the first time.

George Roth is hired as a salesperson making $25/week.