History of Caille Brothers Company

During the first two decades of the 20th century the "big three" of the slot machine industry were the Mills Novelty Company, the Caille Brothers and the Watling Manufacturing Company (analogous to the automobile industry's Ford, General Motors and Chrysler Companies of the 1950s, in that order respectively). Caille was located in Detroit, while Mills and Watling were virtually next door to each other in Chicago.

Caille was one of the first major manufacturers of slot machines and held the reputation of being the "Rolls Royce" of the floor machines. Caille was organized in the late 1800s under different corporate names and became a major and solidified company by the turn of the century.

The incredible growth of the Mills Novelty Company in Chicago brought Arthur Caille to join with older brother Adolph to create the Caille Brothers Company of Detroit, the only other slot machine producer of the period that gave Mills Novelty anywhere near a run of their money. In the process the Mills and Caille families became close friends as a matter of mutual respect and understanding, a fact that would lead to an astonishing sharing of trade secrets and competitive advantages in the years ahead. The formation of the Caille Brothers Company led to the acquisition and formation of a bewildering number of other companies in coin machines, all of which came under the Caille aegis.

Caille was at that time the second largest producer, up to the time of Arthur Caille's death, caused by a heart attack immediately after his honeymoon, in 1916, at the age of 48.

Adolph, the surviving brother, sold the business to Fuller Johnson in 1932. A few years later he reentered the slot field with his son to form A.C. Novelty to build a revolutionary 7-coin slot. Three years and $250,000 later the MULTI-BELL was ready to be marketed. Shortly after its introduction in 1937, Adolph died, with his son continuing production for a couple of years before selling out to Buckley. Back To Caille