Snack World - August 2012 - (Page 14)

75th Anniversary Mega Merger In early 1960s, the two largest snack companies combine forces, transforming the industry. BY BILL LEVY I n summer 1961, at a small motel in Jackson, MS, the face of the snack food industry changed. A casual observer wouldn’t have suspected that such a monumental agreement was in the making between the four men in that room. In fact, the only document visible was a yellow legal pad in front of Billy Prowell, a financial executive for The Frito Co. Also seated in the room were Fladger Tannery, Frito executive vice-president; Herman Lay, founder and president of H.W. Lay Co.; and William Oliver, Lay’s executive vice-president. The purpose of the meeting: a marriage of the industry’s two largest companies. Not present was Frito founder Elmer Doolin, who had died two Elmer Doolin (left), The Frito Co., and Herman Lay, H.W. Lay Co., founded the two companies that merged in the early 1960s, creating the snack behemoth known today as Frito-Lay. 14 Snack World August 2012 www.sfa.org years earlier of a heart attack at age 56. At the time of his death, Mr. Doolin’s company employed 3,000 people and was racking up more than $50 million in annual sales. The meeting’s participants knew one another well. The Lay Co. had been a longtime licensee of Frito, and Mr. Oliver had worked for Mr. Tannery in the Army Air Force during World War II. They agreed to meet at the out-of-the-way motel to keep the negotiations secret, especially from Sunshine Biscuit, Kansas City, MO, and Fairmont Foods, Omaha, NE. As the 1960s got under way, Sunshine positioned itself to be a dominant force in the snack food business. In 1957, Sunshine merged with Velvet Peanut Products, Inc., the Detroit, MI, maker of Krunchee Potato Chips. Two years later, it purchased Blue Bell Potato Chips, Portland, OR, and Humpty Dumpty in Canada. Fairmont, meanwhile, acquired Kitty Clover Potato Chip Co. in Omaha. http://www.sfa.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Snack World - August 2012

Snack World - August 2012
Table of Contents
Letter from SFA - Please Be Involved
Supplier's Corner - Opportunities Abound
SFA Update - Drought prompts petition for renewable fuels waiver
SFA Update - Potato research yields two promising varieties
SFA Update - Coalition challenges Hours of Service rule in court
Calendar of Events
75th Anniversary - Advocating for Snacks
Snacks for the New Millennium
75th Anniversary - Mega Merger
75th Anniversary - Turbulent Times
Saying farewell to Four Industry Icons
Government Affairs - Left in Limbo
Marketing - The Snack School
New Snacks
Products & Services
Ad Index

Snack World - August 2012