The factory opened at
9:30 and since both of us were taught that “if you’re on time, you are late”,
we had to wait about 20 minutes for the doors to open. But that turned out to be a good thing
because we were able to see the trucks bringing in the potatoes for today’s
production.
The doors opened
promptly at 9:30 and I was disappointed to see a sign that said no cameras or
video without permission.
There was a very nice
(talkative) woman that was trying to get the introductory video going. She was never able to get it working so we
moved along hoping it would be working by the time we finished the tour. There was probably a lot of good information
on the video but we never did get to see it.
The showroom floor had
some interesting displays. This is the “famous
gold can.”
Apparently you would
buy the can full of potato chips then return it for the factory to re-use.
The founders were Bill
and Salie Utz. In 1921 they began producing Hanover Home Brand Potato Chips in Hanover, PA, in their
kitchen, cooking about 50 pounds of chips an hour. They sold their fresh chips to small local
grocers and markets. In 1947 the name was changed to the Utz Potato Chip Company.
Today Utz is the
largest independent, privately held snack brand in the US. They produce over 3 million pounds of snacks
per week (about half of which are potato chips).
We were ready to start
our tour (The Chip Trip) and again came to a sign that said “no cameras or video without
permission.” So, I asked for
permission. I was told “Sure. Take all the pictures you want.” I’m glad I asked!
This facility is
600,000 square feet. It was 50,000 square feet when it opened in 1975. In 1982 it was expanded to 300,000. In 1985 it was expanded again. In 1987 the Tour Gallery was opened. In 1997 the World Distribution Center was built at this same location. There are many other plants around the country.
There are plenty of
windows in the observation gallery that looked down on the production
process. There was a push-to-talk audio
program that was supposed to guide us through every step.
The potatoes are taken
from the delivery trucks and are washed before going through the peeler.
It takes 40 pounds of
potatoes to make one pound of chips.
After being peeled
they go to the slicer.
This machine started
acting up and whole, peeled, potatoes started flying out of the machine! You can see several of them on the floor.
From the slicer
directly into the fryer. They are fried
for 2 1/2 minutes at 340 degrees.
4,000 pounds of potatoes per hour
are fried.
The chips are fried in
cottonseed oil then salt is applied.
Dark chips are not
over fried, they lack the sugar content.
They are pulled off the line.
Chips cool while
heading to packaging.
About 60 employees
work in production and they change jobs every 30 minutes.
This machine was still
being programmed for a “new item”.
Every box was being
inspected. They must have been having
problems because there were a lot of packages removed.
.
.
The potato peels are
sold to pig farmers. The raw potatoes
that could not be used and the cooked potatoes that couldn’t be used (such as
those packages rejected from the newly programmed machine) are sold to cattle
farmers.
The tour ended at the
warehouse with chips ready to be shipped out.
This is not a 24/7
operation. Production ends by 4:00 pm
and the workers start cleaning and disinfecting the machines. The oil is cooled and checked for reuse.
I would highly
recommend this tour. Even with the video
and some of the audio not working it didn’t distract from the fun of seeing the
complete journey of a potato chip!
We did get a free
sample after our tour. Their motto is “If
they were any fresher you’d have to pick you own."
There is an outlet
store down the road a little ways. So we
headed over there.
Outlet store in the 1947 plant.
1st modern day Utz plant built in 1949,
expanded in 1953, 1956, and 1958.
We bought a few items.
I will say that I will
never, ever be able to have the
Butterfinger Covered Pretzels in my house again. Yep - they are that good!
I didn't find a magnet to buy but if there was one - this factory tour is certainly magnet worthy!
I didn't find a magnet to buy but if there was one - this factory tour is certainly magnet worthy!
Wow, that was interesting! Amazing how many pounds of potatoes it takes to make a pound of chips.
ReplyDeleteI love dark chocolate covered pretzels - I can imagine that adding butterfinger would be really good!
When you realize how light a potato chip is you can understand why it would take so many to make a pound.
DeleteDar chocolate is my favorite chocolate.
I have never heard of the Utz brand. I will look next time I am in a store. Is it mostly midwest/eastern popularity?
ReplyDeleteYou're going to have to head east.
DeleteWe bought Utz brand for the first time last May while visiting Maryland. They were gooooood. I will Mark that tour also. Looks great.
ReplyDeleteWe don't remember them from our 2011 summer, but we're seeing them all over this time!
Delete