An extremely rare brown hat version of the Alpine man created for the 1972 Olympics in Germany.
In 1972, the PEZ-Haas Company headquartered in Vienna, Austria and with plants in Vienna and Linz, Austria desired to increase their penetration and their products in the U.S. market. They felt the way to do this was to put a production plant in the United States.
The Company
The PEZ-Haas Company is an old family company dating from pre–World War I. Initial products were products for the kitchen, baking soda, baking powders, mustard, etc. The product line had been expanded to where there were the main importer and wholesaler of many food products, some from the United States, for example Kellogg products, others from Great Britain, others from Sweden. The firm was headed up by a family dynasty, Mr. Edward Haas III, a gentleman currently 85 years of age; his son Edward Haas IV, approximately 55 years of age; and the younger generation just coming into the firm Edward Haas V, who is approximately 24 years of age. Active management consisted of the two elder Haas’s, a business manager, Mr. Ludwig Kollman, and the manager of the U.S. operation, Mr. Curtis Allina. Behind the scenes the wife of Mr. Edward Haas IV, a very astute business manager, played a major role. Both the family and the firm were highly respected members of the Viennese business community.
The Situation
At a meeting in Vienna in August 1972, the two elder Haas’s, Mr. Kollman, and Mr. Allina met with me to discuss their problem. Their predominate export to the United States was a small candy, commonly known as PEZ, which along with a unique dispenser was sold predominantly for children. Sales in the United States of this product in 1972 approximated several million dollars. The company desired to produce this product and the plastic dispensers in the United States and increase their penetration in the U.S. market, as well as producing and importing additional products. In 1972, the company had a warehouse in Long Island City, Long Island, a corporate office in New York City, and utilized public warehouses in the Chicago area and the California area. Because of the access via Kennedy Airport to Vienna, a decision was made that any facility should be in greater New York region. The U.S. executive vice president, Mr. Allina, had recently purchased and refurbished a very nice home in Larchmont, New York, and was reluctant to give that up. As a result, any location had to be within commuting distance of Larchmont, New York.
The Solution
In November 1973, the company constructed a 35,000 sq. ft. facility employing approximately 90 individuals in the town of Orange, Connecticut.
The Problems
The basic problems started out with language. The elder Haas’s while both conversant in English, refused to do business in English and, therefore, it was necessary to work through an interpreter. The second problem was one of understanding. Because of the confusion between language and the metric system, initially we started out looking for a 100,000 sq. ft. building. I might add that this process took several trips to this country by the younger Mr. Haas and Mr. Kollman, as well as several trips back to Vienna, during which a very pleasant working relationship was established. It was only after the PEZ people looked at several potential facilities that the discrepancy between what they said they were looking for and what they were really looking for became apparent. An initial settlement was made on a site owned by a corporation in Norwalk. Everything was in order until a hearing was held by the Planning and Zoning Department in Norwalk, which was reported in the newspaper and headlined to the effect that a foreign company wished to build a plant in Norwalk which would be in an area not serviced by sewers and would pollute Norwalk’s drinking water. The immediate response of the PEZ people to this adverse publicity was to cancel all contractual arrangements for the Norwalk site and look for a new site. Such a site was procured on a handshake in the town of Orange, which was also not serviced by sewers, a fact which is immaterial since only sanitary waste and no processed waste was to be disposed of.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
During our meeting, Boyd (who was ninety years old at the time) left quite an impression on me. He had an incredible memory and recounted stories from nearly forty years earlier like they had recently happened. I initially spoke to him over the phone. I remembered an interview that was conducted with him for a book that was written about PEZ in the early 1990s. It said that Boyd was a resident of Orange in the 1970s. I had recently moved to the area to work for PEZ, so I began to look for him. With phonebook in hand, I started down the list. It wasn’t long until I found the Roger Boyd!
I explained why I was calling and that I had just moved to the area to work for PEZ. I asked if he would be interested in meeting with me and seeing what the company looked like today; after all, he was the man instrumental in bringing PEZ to Connecticut. To my pleasure, he agreed. Boyd arrived at the PEZ offices on the morning of July 20, 2010, driving his own car and looking very enthusiastic. He hopped out of the car, briefcase slung under his arm, and walked briskly across the parking lot. He was a tall man with a firm handshake and did not appear to be anywhere near his ninety years of age.
The author and Roger Boyd at the PEZ offices in Orange, Connecticut, July 20, 2010.
A rare candy tin belonging to Roger Boyd. Consul Haas gave this to Boyd as a gift during a business visit to Europe.
We met and talked for several hours. Boyd brought many of his personal files and photographs from his work with PEZ and offered them to me for the archive. He shared stories of meetings he had with Eduard III and the Haas family. The documents, news clippings and other related material he offered provided more detail of the formation and transition of PEZ from New York to Connecticut. We met again briefly later that year when he found a few more things in his records relating to PEZ that he wanted to share. Unfortunately, his health was declining at this time, and he commented how disappointed he was to be moving from his longtime residence in Orange. I was saddened to hear of his passing the following April. I’m honored to have met Boyd and proud that I can help share a small part of his story.
PEZ closed the deal on land in Orange, Connecticut, and the groundbreaking ceremony to begin construction took place on November 19, 1973. In attendance were the local bankers who provided financing for the project Fred Kenny and Dave Tapley; the town of Orange first selectman Ralph Capecelatro; the builder, Richard Maconi; Orange Economic Board of Development member Roger Boyd; Curtis Allina, the man who would head up this new operation; and Fred Blum, advertising manager for PEZ Candy.
Construction moved quickly throughout the winter of 1973, and the building was complete and operational in early 1975. Candy presses and wrapping machines were brought in from Europe, along with an industrial engineer named Klaus Schultza from Austria. He was in charge of starting up the manufacturing process, positioning the equipment and establishing production procedures. By all accounts, he was a stern man.
The groundbreaking on November 19, 1973. Left to right: Fred Kenny (Union Trust vice-president), Dave Tapley (Union Trust senior vice-president), Ralph Capecelatro (first selectman of Orange), Curt Allina (PEZ Candy vice-president), Fred Blum (PEZ Candy advertising manager), Richard Maconi (builder) and Robert Wendler (architect).
A local newspaper clipping announcing the building of the PEZ factory in Orange, Connecticut, circa 1973.
The steel frame structure of what would become the first and only PEZ Candy factory in the United States, circa 1974.
Left to right: Curt Allina (PEZ USA), Ludwig Kollmann (PEZ International), Richard Maconi (builder) and Roger Boyd (Orange Economic Board of Development), circa early 1973.
Second from left: Curt Allina; middle: Richard Maconi; far right: Eduard (Consul) Haas IV. The other two men are not identified, circa 1974.
Curt Allina, first executive vice-president of PEZ USA, during the construction phase; his office would be at the top corner just to his right.
Documents from Roger Boyd recounted the initial start-up process:
An industrial engineer was sent from Austria for start-up operation
. His management philosophy indicated that at 8:00 am the employees, consisting mainly of women, would take their places, start their jobs in wrapping, packaging, etc., and have no conversation until a break period of 15 minutes at 10:00 am. The philosophy that people could talk while they worked was completely foreign to his concept.
Needless to say, that process of work would quickly change.
As production got underway, business progressed nicely and sales continued to grow. By the middle of the decade, our country was planning and preparing to celebrate the bicentennial, and PEZ was no different. A series of patriotic bicentennial dispensers was planned that included several notable historic figures such as Betsy Ross, Paul Revere and Daniel Boone. Up to this point, the characters that had graced the tops of dispensers were either fanciful PEZ-created originals, licensed characters or cartoon-like depictions of people. This marked the first time real people or representations or real people were used. The trade marketing and advertising of this special event was expanded to included pull-out posters with bright, colorful graphics and special mail-order offers like T-shirts, all celebrating our two hundred years as a nation.
As the United States celebrated the bicentennial in 1976, the XII Winter Olympic Games were held in Innsbruck, Austria, on February 4–15. PEZ created a special, exclusive snowman dispenser for this event. Schneemann (“snowman” in German) was the first official mascot of the Winter Olympic Games. This friendly-looking, humanesque snowman with outstretched arms and a red Tyrolean hat was used on a wide variety of products and tchotchkes. Schneemann was exclusive to the Olympics and is difficult to find today. Examples in pristine condition have sold for several hundred dollars, but watch out for replacement parts. The hat was easily removed and often replaced with a rubber hat from a similar-sized Schneemann keychain that was also sold at the time.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
On February 9, 2016, one of these Olympic snowmen still in the original packaging sold on eBay for $1,410 Euro ($1,592 USD).
In the late 1970s, PEZ introduced two new concepts: dispensers that were made in the United States and dispensers made with rubber heads. Unfortunately, neither lasted very long. On paper, both seemed like wise decisions. Global circumstance had its effect, and despite best efforts, neither project could be made to work. In an effort to save on lead time and cost, dispensers were manufactured briefly in the United States in the mid-1970s to early 1980s. Reddy Plastic in Montpelier, Vermont, was selected to manufacture the dispensers. Reddy had been in business since 1951 and was already manufacturing a number of other plastic items for children and infants. It seemed a natural fit for it to make PEZ dispensers as well. Negotiations between Reddy president Gordon Wilkinson and PEZ Candy, Inc., led to a manufacturing agreement and additional equipment purchased by Reddy to meet the new demand. Reddy manufactured the stem, sleeve, candy buttons and accessories for heads such as hats, beards, mustaches, etc. It is believed some heads were also produced in the Reddy facility. Workers assembled the dispensers on site and then shipped them to the Orange, Connecticut facility for distribution.
Early operations showing the candy press room inside the newly opened Orange, Connecticut factory, circa 1975.
The production line making vending machine refill boxes in the newly opened factory, circa 1975.
A candy wrapping machine in Orange, Connecticut, circa 1975.
An artist’s rendering of the bicentennial series counter display and dispenser concepts, circa mid-1970s.
A promotional poster advertising the new bicentennial series, circa mid-1970s.
Artwork found on the back of the packaging for the Olympic snowman dispenser, circa 1976.
In theory, dispensers could be made, shipped and received faster coming from Vermont than they could shipping from Austria or Hong Kong, reducing cost and increasing response time. During this time, some of the more unusual color variations were introduced, like those found on the rare color ponies (green, purple and yellow heads). There were also a number of “Made in USA” stems produced in colors not previously found on dispensers that were imported. Today, “Made in USA” dispensers are of special interest for collectors and command a premium just because of the markings. In the late 1970s, a good part of Reddy’s other business slowly started to disappear. Products it had made for years started shifting to manufacturing facilities outside the United States. By 1982, the company was out of business.
The rubber heads were created in an effort to simplify the production process and increase response time in filling orders. It was thought a large number of dispenser bases could be warehoused and ready to accommodate whatever character line was requested by the retailer. A generic cap was developed for the top of the dispenser base that had a post and ball. The inside of the rubber head had a hole that acted as the receiver, and any choice of heads could easily be snapped into place.
On average, a single machine can wrap 360 candy rolls of candy per minute.
It was thought these rubber heads would lower cost and increase efficiency. The heads could be manufactured in Hong Kong and ship in smaller boxes, reducing cargo space. The stems could be manufactured in the United States and assembled specifically per order received. This would lessen or reduce the need to have a large number of finished goods on hand that were just sitting waiting to be sold.
In 1979, the second oil crisis occurred in the United States due in large part to decreased oil production as a result of the Iranian revolution. The price of crude oil more than doubled, and long lines at the gas station appeared once again. Since crude oil is the principal raw material in the production of synthetic rubber, this meant that the cost to produce these rubber heads was now going to be prohibitive.
An industry trade show, circa late 1970s. Notice the floor shipper Eerie Specter dispensers in the center of the photo.
Rare Disney soft head dispensers never sold at retail, circa late 1970s. Left to right: Dumbo, Donald Duck, Captain Hook, Goofy, Pluto and Mickey Mouse.
Before the program ended, there were three different series of rubber heads created:
• Superheroes (Batman, Batgirl, Wonder Woman, Joker and Penguin)
• Erie Specters (Air Spirit, Diabolic, Spook, Vamp, Zombie and Scarewolf). These were the only two series that made it to retail distribution.
• Disney characters (Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Dumbo, Captain Hook, Pluto and Goofy). The Disney series was never sold at retail. Examples known today have all come from former employees, causing the prices for the few known to reach into the thousands of dollars each for these dispensers.
Some rumors have suggested Disney did not approve the likenesses of these characters and the line was dropped for lack of approval. Although this is possible, it was likely not the case. Mary Poppins was rejected a few years earlier in 1973 for this reason.
The plastic caps with the post and ball were intended for rubber-headed dispensers. The only plastic head dispenser that can be found that uses this cap to attach the head is the crocodile that was introduced in 1976—perhaps a method PEZ was considering on a much wider scale.
In 1979, two of the rarest dispensers were added to the line: pear and pineapple. Both are humanesque dispensers, with facial features that would be part of the “crazy fruit” line joining the orange dispenser first introduced in 1975. The pear, wearing a green visor with a bright red stem, featured a printed face consisting of two eyes and a wide smile. The pineapple wore a pair of white sunglasses and can be found with a short or tall green leafy top. There is a tiny nub that the bridge of the sunglasses should rest on; the nub is delicate and is often broken on examples. Examples of the pear have sold for almost $1,000, and pineapples, when found, have sold for as much as $3,000. This is a big difference from the orange, which can be found with relative ease and generally sells in collector circles for about $150. The pear and pineapple are both difficult to find in comparison to the orange, and no one can say for sure why. Paperwork found indicates there were ten thousand of each of
these dispensers ordered in 1979, but two of the three are difficult to find at best.
Purchase orders dated 1979 showing that ten thousand of the pear and pineapple were ordered. No one can say for sure why they are so rare today.
The only known example of the lemon dispenser.
Paperwork found in the PEZ archive lists a “Tropical Fruit” series that includes pineapple, orange, half-coconut and banana. There is no mention of the pear (which was actually made) or any evidence indicating the half-coconut or banana was ever produced. Years later, at a collector convention in Stamford, Connecticut, a previously unseen dispenser was unveiled for the first time. A lemon came from the collection of a former employee. The dispenser was fully functioning and appeared to be a production piece, not a lone handmade sample. The yellow, lemon-shaped head had a pair of tiny green transparent glasses on the end of its “nose” and a small, round blue hat with a white bow on top. Handwritten markings on the internal sleeve were consistent with other markings found on early known prototypes. Experts were on hand to examine and authenticate the dispenser, and it remained on display for the duration of the show. Today, the dispenser resides in a private collection and is the only one known to exist.
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