Factory Tours Member Login Return to home page Celebrating American Imagination and Industry!                   Print This Page   Sort by Location   Latitude/Longitude Location List   Appalachian Brewing Company Harrisburg, PA Appalachian Brewing Company (ABC) is a unique large-capacity microbrewery and full-service brewpub. We hand-craft our fine lagers and ales in small batches and nurture them to perfection. Please stop by and visit our really cool brewery! ABC is currently distributing its craft-brewed beers to restaurants and taverns in central Pennsylvania and the greater Baltimore, MD area. A complete list can be found at Distribution. Plans include expansion into the central Mid-Atlantic region. We plan to stay as local as possible in order to best serve our customers....Click here for more details... Asher's Chocolates Souderton, PA Asher's Chocolates has been making fine chocolates and candy confections since 1892. This is the oldest family owned and operated candy manufacturer in the United States. Come watch your favorite chocolate treats being made right before your eyes! Self-guided multimedia tours of our new state-of-the-art facility are open to the public and are fun for all ages. The tours are free and access is available for our physically challenged visitors. Groups of 10 or more, please phone (215) 721-3276 to arrange your visit. After your tour, step back in time and stroll down the street in our old-fashioned Victorian candy store....Click here for more details... Bradley Lifting Coproration York, PA Bradley Lifting Corp. was founded in 1972, progressing from two employees at the Bradley home to the present manufacturing facility and office complex at 1030 Elm Street, in the heart of central Pennsylvania. Prior to that time, Harvey Bradley, our President, left England in 1957 with his wife Win, to accept an engineering position with a steel mill in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. While working in Canada, he became recognized as a leading expert on below-the-hook lifting devices and was hired as Chief Engineer in 1960 by Mansaver Industries of New Haven, Connecticut. Mansaver was acquired by American Chain and Cable Co. and moved to York, Pennsylvania, in 1964, where Mr. Bradley became Sales Manager. In 1972, Bradley resigned to start his own...Click here for more details... Bube's Brewery Mount Joy, PA This 19th century brewery complex with catacombs four stories underground includes three restaurants, brewery, beergarden, museum, art gallery, store, live music, medieval feasts and martini bar in original Victorian hotel barroom....Click here for more details... BWP Bats, LLC Brookville, PA BWP Bats is located in the heartland of Pennsylvania, which is known as the hardwood capital of the world. Only the finest hardwood trees are processed into bats. BWP Bats is a truly unique wooden bat manufacturer. Our location, state of the art manufacturing processes, and strict attention to detail enables us to provide the highest quality of bats available to the marketplace. Our capacities speak for themselves; up to 1500 bats per week can be processed at our facilities. This allows us to offer quick lead times and is followed with dependable delivery. BWP Bats manufactures wooden bats for professionals, adults & youths....Click here for more details... Byers' Choice Christmas Gallery Chalfont, PA A special treat for Caroler enthusiasts is a trip to the Byers' Choice Christmas Gallery, which reopened in September 2000 with expanded displays and attractions. Here you can meander through festive Christmas displays inhabited by hundreds of Carolers and Kindles. You can also watch our artisans handcrafting your favorite figurines from the observation deck, or shop in the Gift Emporium which offers the widest variety of Byers' Choice products anywhere. A special figurine, available for purchase only at the Emporium, is offered as a token of thanks to our visitors....Click here for more details... Columbia Northwest Inc. Mt Pleasant, PA Columbia Northwest Inc., is the manufacturer of the original solid wall, folding camper, proudly celebrating 25 years. The company got its start in the early 1970’s when Ralph Tait, a serial entrepreneur, began making a uniquely designed pop-up camper. He built the original Aliners for friends until the early 1980's, when Ralph’s three sons helped their father grow the hobby into a business. 25 years later, Aliner is still among the lightest, most aerodynamic and fuel efficient recreational vehicles sold worldwide. Their products can be found in the United States, Canada, Australia, Iceland, Japan, Netherlands, and any other place their active owners may take them. ...Click here for more details... Cornwall Iron Furnace Cornwall, PA An iron industry emerged from the abundant mineral deposits like those found at Lebanon County's Cornwall Iron Furnace, a completely preserved mid-19th-century iron making complex that cast cannon barrels used in the American Revolution. The furnace was in operation from 1742 to 1883 and produced a variety of materials and goods, including cannon barrels used by the Continental Army in the American Revolution. So vast was the complex that it became an entity almost to itself: all the raw ingredients necessary for the smelting process were found on the plantation, and artisan shops, stores, schools, churches and village housing sprung up within the complex and around the perimeter. Cornwall Furnace is indeed a unique survivor of the ea...Click here for more details... Cunningham Piano Company Philadelphia, PA Tour one of the largest and oldest piano restoration factories in existence and watch as musical treasures are brought back to life. Patrick J. Cunningham founded Cunningham Piano Company and Factory in 1891. His leadership, commitment to quality, and a great business sense made Cunningham Piano Company one of Philadelphia's most respected piano makers....Click here for more details... Daffin's Candies Farrell, PA Daffin's Candies has gained a national name for its delectable sweet and semi-sweet milk chocolate candy. In addition to offering its regular line of yummy chocolates Daffin's provides gourmet chocolates through its Jean Marie Collection. This scrumptious collection offers unique hand-molded chocolates with extra special insides containing such things as whole nuts, and truffles. But most people don't realize the business has a long family tradition. With nearly 1OO years of experience and three generations in the fine art of candy making - the Daffin's name is renowned in the candy world. Paul "Pete" Daffin got his start in the candy business at an early age. If ever there was a man born to make milk chocolate it was Pete Daffin. "The...Click here for more details... Empire Kosher Poultry Mifflintown, PA Empire Kosher Poultry, Inc., is the only kosher poultry processing plant that permits tours of its facilities. We invite small groups of no more than 10 participants to make an appointment for a personal tour of the high-tech plant operation in Mifflintown, PA....Click here for more details... Family Heir-Loom Weavers Red Lion, PA Our four reproduced coverlets are woven in two halves and hand seamed together just as they were in 1800's.. We offer full, queen, and king sizes and most are available in your choice of the ever popular bird and bush, eagle, house, or railroad patterns. Our coverlets are direct copies of local weavers from long ago. Two unique features of these Jacquard coverlets is the ability to personalize the corner block with a customer's name, anniversary date, birth date, etc...and the ability to use either side....Click here for more details... Gardners Candies Tyrone, PA Gardners Candies was founded in 1897 by a sixteen-year-old boy named James "Pike" Gardner in Tyrone, Pennsylvania. The young entrepreneur operated out of a small store in downtown Tyrone. Pike later added a horse-drawn wagon so that he could transport and sell candy, popcorn and peanuts at local fairs and carnivals. Gardners Candies grew over the years by expanding its product line to satisfy customer needs. Our stellar reputation is built upon quality products at affordable prices and a committment to customer satisfaction. Today, Gardners Candies has 15 retail stores in Pennsylvania. Gardners Candies Stores are beautifully decorated with taste-tempting candies that some have described as "simply out of this world." Gardners creat...Click here for more details... George's Woodcrafts Marietta, PA Here on our farm in western Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, we still make furniture the traditional way...with our hands. Crafted out of solid Walnut, Oak or Cherry, you can select from our standard designs, or bring your sketchbook, and we will custom-tailor your piece just for you! We design, build and even deliver your piece right to your door! Everything we make is solid wood, including neglected areas like drawer bottoms and cabinet backs. Our furniture, from dining room tables to complete office suites is durable, water resistant, and covered with a satin catalysed conversion finish that resists damage and staining. Our furniture is built to last...not just for several years, but for several generations! Our master craftsmen tak...Click here for more details... Harley-Davidson Motor Company (York, PA) York, PA Witness a legend in the making at Harley-Davidson's York Vehicle Operations. The Vaughn L. Beals Tour Center features exhibits that highlight the people, processes and products of York Vehicle Operations. It also includes sit-on bikes, a souvenir shop, theater and children's area. The plant tour begins with a brief movie in the theater and then journeys through various manufacturing and assembly areas on the shop floor. Souvenir shop and Tour Center hours are from 8 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday. Tours may be modified throughout the year due to manufacturing requirements....Click here for more details... Herr's Foods Nottingham, PA At the Herr's Visitor Center you'll enjoy a free, fun-filled morning or afternoon of educational tidbits, technological wizardry, and tasty little morsels you're sure to savor for years to come. You'll learn why one of the keys to a great chipping potato is its specific gravity. You'll see our cheese curls actually enjoy a lot of hot air. You'll enjoy the complicated process and delicious outcome which makes these two tasty tortilla chips well-seasoned hombres. Before your tour is finished, you'll know why a pretzel without a good hydroxide bath would be a lot less crispy and not so brown....Click here for more details... Hershey's Chocolate World Hershey, PA Experience the free chocolate-making tour that includes a free sample. Visit the gift shops, food court and full-service restaurant. Visitors can learn the fascinating process of chocolate-making on CHOCOLATE WORLD®'s simulated factory tour ride. First, guests walk through a tropical jungle where cocoa beans are harvested, then they follow the cocoa bean's journey to a boat dock where beans are loaded onto ships headed for America. From there, visitors climb aboard the tour ride and enter the simulated factory tour. Tours are available continuously throughout the day. Guests receive a free sample of a HERSHEY®'S product at the end of the tour....Click here for more details... Intercourse Canning Company Intercourse, PA Welcome to our little hometown business. Please take a look at what we have to offer. We refer to our canned goods around here as Amish hors d'oeuvres. If you've ever tasted our products you'll certainly agree, they're the best to be found. The Intercourse Canning Company offers products freshly packed by local Amish and Mennonite folk, who work daily to produce various brand jarred goods. Not only are our products the best in the field, they're right at home in your pantry. We've provided a way for you to experience a bit of what Lancaster County, Pennsylvania has to offer the taste buds. You can order products directly from our list of pickled vegetables, relishes, salsas, jams, jellies, pancake mixes, pretzel mixes and much more....Click here for more details... Intercourse Pretzel Factory Intercourse, PA In October of 1995 the Intercourse Pretzel Factory opened its doors, but it was actually an accident... When Cross Keys Village changed to a retail center, an old pretzel company from Lancaster agreed to move their factory to the complex, as an anchor for the property. The building was renovated, but in the meantime, the folks changed their minds! As a theme designer for restaurants, Donna Clark developed themes and then found a tenant for properties. At the Cross Keys Village Center, the product (handmade pretzels) and the concept (a working pretzel factory) were intriguing to Donna, so she decided to start the Pretzel Factory herself! It was something new for Donna, but after five years, she's glad she made the move to open the Interc...Click here for more details... Ken Smith Basses, Ltd. Perkasie, PA Multi-String Electric Bass Pioneer Ken Smith has developed or introduced many of the innovations used on today’s basses which are now industry standards. Some of these include Printed Circuit Board Electronics, Graphite Inlaid Neck, Detented Balance and EQ controls, Low ‘B’ Design .128 and .130, and Taper Core Bass Strings. Ken Smith hand picks the wood for every bass from our in-house lumberyard, which features over 20 species of aged tonewoods. Visitors to the factory are awestruck by what is probably the largest collection and variety of acclimated musical-grade woods in the world. Inspired by the techniques of 16th - 19th Century European stringed instrument makers, Smith Basses are a marriage of Old World Tradition an...Click here for more details... Kitchen Kettle Village Intercourse, PA 1. Cannin' and Jammin' Roll up your sleeves and help us make a batch of apple raspberry jelly. You even get to label your jar and take it home to enjoy. Learn more about the art of canning in Lancaster County. Wednesdays at 3pm. $20 per person. 2. A Taste of Kitchen Kettle Walking Tour Go behind the scenes to get to know the people, taste the food and find out the stories of a jelly business that started in a garage and grew over three generations to a village of 42 shops, restaurants and guest rooms. Fridays at 9:30. $20 per person....Click here for more details... Kreider Farms Manheim, PA Three generations have operated Manheim's Kreider Farms, which offers a 90-minute, high-tech view of farming including a drive down the middle of our Titanic-sized loafing barn, otherwise known as the cow palace and a bird's eye view of the milking merry-go-round. Filled with facts and humor, we please groups of all ages. In fact, our farm tour program will host over 500 busses and cars totaling over 20,000 visitors this year alone. The tour starts at the Country Inn & Suites Hotel at Kreider Farm on Rt. 72 in Manheim. The Country Inn & Suites would be happy to discuss hosting your family or group for an over night stay as well. Take the Kreider Farms Tour and see how old-fashioned dedication to quality milk products harnessed with st...Click here for more details... Mack Truck Macungie, PA Built like a Mack truck" is a descriptive, frequently-used phrase throughout the world! In fact, "Mack truck" is a worldwide symbol synonymous with strength and endurance. If you'd like to see how heavy-duty trucks are made, you've come to the right place! The Macungie Assembly Operations in Macungie, PA, which produces the Mack line of vocational and construction trucks, is open to the public through pre-arranged tours. The tour is one and one-half (1-1/2) miles of walking! Click here for additional information! The "Wheels of Time" exhibit of Mack trucks with models from 1907 to 1973 can be experienced at the Mack Museum, located at 997 Postal Road, Allentown, PA. In addition to trucks, the Museum features many interesting pieces of...Click here for more details... Martin Guitar Company Nazareth, PA The C.F. Martin Company factory tour is a memorable experience for families and business travelers. We take great pride in the guitars and strings we produce. In fact, we're so proud that we open our doors every weekday for a tour at 11 am. It's the best way we know to show our deep commitment to building premium guitars and strings. From the moment you walk into our factory, you'll get a fascinating view of how our world-renowned acoustic guitars and strings are made, and see the innovation and artistry that have shaped the Martin legend throughout its rich history....Click here for more details... Martin's Potato Chips Thomasville, PA Central Pennsylvania is considered by many to be the Snack Capital of the World. Enjoying the benefit of the rich loamy soil, farmers had to find ways to use their excess crops. From the farm kitchen of Harry and Fairy Martin in 1941, a unique potato chip found its way into the homes and hearts of York Countians. Their Business soon outgrew the kitchen. The Martin's built a small factory and expanded their distribution from delivering fresh daily to market stands, to also selling to mom and pop grocery stores. In 1971 Martin's Potato Chips was sold to Ken and Sandy Potter. The Potter's had a dream of expanding the business outside the York area. By 1977 the delivery routes had increased from one to six, covering York, Lancaster, Dauphin...Click here for more details... Naylor Wine Cellars Stewartstown, PA Visit our vineyards and see how our vine reaches perfection....Click here for more details... New Holland North America New Holland, PA Visit the New Holland North America plant in New Holland, PA and watch hay balers being made....Click here for more details... Nissley Vineyards & Winery Estate Bainbridge, PA Nissley Vineyards is a family-owned and operated winery in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. They’ve been growing grapes and producing Nissley wines for over 25 years. Just down a country lane bordered by tended vines and sun-dappled meadows, is a stone-arch winery set near an 18th-century mill and a winding creek. Nissley Vineyards, and its companion Winery Estate is located on 300 acres within the fertile Lancaster Valley viticultural area of western Lancaster County - an area renowned for its rich, well-drained limestone-based soils. The operating winery was built by J. Richard Nissley to reflect the estate's 18th-century heritage. It is airy and bright while retaining a rustic character. The stainless steel tanks, filters and b...Click here for more details... Perrydell Dairy Farm York, PA We are a 3rd generation family dairy farm. We have been bottling our own farm fresh milk since 1963. Vistors are welcome to come tour our farm and processing plant. We offer hand dipped ice cream and fresh produce. Daily lunch specials and friendly sales people to assist you. Watch milking and the bottling process. ...Click here for more details... QVC Studios West Chester, PA Through 25 features along the QVC Studio Tour, guests can learn more about QVC's beginnings, successes and growth into a $3.4 billion preeminent electronic retailer. Visitors can catch a glimpse of the live broadcast from five studio views where monitors feature state-of-the art, pullback cameras in eight different locations within the studio. Visitors can shop at the Studio Store, which features authentic QVC studio park™ gear logo merchandise. Also displayed is an ever-changing selection of on-air and seasonal merchandise, frequently including the Today's Special Value....Click here for more details... Revonah Pretzel Hanover, PA Hand-made pretzel bakery, dough mixing, pretzel twisting (rolling) dip and bake, kiln dry and pack. Outlet store....Click here for more details... Sherm Edwards Candies Trafford, PA Sherm Edwards learned the confectionery trade in the late 1940's when he joined a family business that had been making quality chocolates since the early twentieth century. Sherm ventured out on his own in 1972 with Edwards Candies on the North Side of Pittsburgh. In 1977, Sherm and Dorothy purchased the old McBride Movie Theatre in Trafford, renovated it and opened for business as Sherm Edwards Candies on December 8th, 1978. David came on board in 1983 and opened our second store in Monroeville in 1994, and our third in Plum in 1996. We are, for the most part, a retail business, but we also wholesale and fundraise. Wholesale is about 25% of our business, and our fundraising program is unique in the area. We fundraise with gift certific...Click here for more details... Snyder's of Hanover Hanover, PA A tradition of good taste began in 1909 with Snyder's founder Harry V. Warehime. The man affectionately known as "Gramp Harry," started the Hanover Pretzel Company with a single recipe, Hanover Olde Tyme Pretzels....Click here for more details... Straub Brewery St. Marys, PA Straub beer has been handcrafted since 1872. They begin with fresh, spring-fed mountain water from the Laurel Run Reservoir, which lies along the Eastern Continental Divide. As the water runs into the brewery, it is mixed with cornflakes and malted barley. This mixture is heated, producing a sweet golden syrup called wort, which is slowly drawn through a copper vessel slot or grant, where they visually inspect the beer for clarity and color. Next they add hops and transfer the wort to the brew kettle, where it is boiled for two hours. The heated product is held for a short time in a separate vessel, then cooled as it passes through the Cold Plate Cooler at the rate of one barrel per minute. The fermenting process begins with the ad...Click here for more details... Sturgis Pretzel House Factory Lititz, PA The Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery is located in historic Lititz, Pennsylvania in the middle of beautiful Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Visitors can tour the original pretzel bakery, get a hands-on lesson in pretzel twisting, observe our bakers twisting sourdough soft pretzels by hand, and shop for delicious treats and souvenirs in our bakery store. As the story goes, in 1850, Julius Sturgis was a bread baker in Lititz, Lancaster County. One day, a hobo hopped from a train about a half block from the stone building and followed his nose to the bread bakery. He was looking for a job and something to eat. Sturgis couldn’t offer the man a job, but he extended his hospitality and invited the hobo to sit down at the family dinner table. In excha...Click here for more details... Sun & Earth, Inc. King of Prussia, PA Sun & Earth is a 20-year old socially and environmentally-responsible natural cleaning products developer, manufacturer, and distributor based in King of Prussia, PA. The company distributes a full-line of natural cleaners through its retail partners (both brick and mortar AND online). Customers who want the convenience of at-home delivery or who are unable to purchase from their favorite, local grocery store are able to buy direct from http://www.sunandearth.com/. Local residents, or those working nearby, are also able to purchase Sun & Earth products directly from the plant. What: Sun & Earth offers fun-filled, educational, interactive factory tours FREE to the general public and public/private organizations. The one hour visit is full...Click here for more details... Susquehanna Glass Columbia, PA Barware, stemware, and crystal gift items since 1910. See glass hand cutting demonstrations....Click here for more details... The Crayola FACTORY Easton, PA Everyone can be creative and learn to think "outside the lines" at The Crayola FACTORY Tour, a unique family discovery center. Roll up your sleeves and jump into all the learning and fun this self-guided attraction has to offer kids of every age....Click here for more details... Tour-Ed Mine Tarentum, PA The Tour-Ed Mine and Museum shows authentic mining tools and methods, from the 1850's through to the most advanced mining techniques and machines of today. All of the guides at the mine are experienced miners. These guides give live demonstrations of the various types of mining equipment to give visitors a sense of what it was and is like to work in a coal mine. Guides take visitors into the mine in groups of 25 or fewer. This ensures everyone can see the guide's demonstrations. All visitors wear a mine hard hat for protection. A light jacket is suggested, because the mine's temperature averages 52 to 55 degrees year-round. Visitors are also given a brief presentation by the guides on the various types of hats, lamps, and rescue gea...Click here for more details... Troegs Brewing Company Harrisburg, PA Troeg's welcomes all visitors to tour this small family-owned, award-winning brewery. Underage visitors are welcome with adult supervision....Click here for more details... US Mint (Philadelphia, PA) Philadelphia, PA Tours of students and youth groups (grades kindergarten through 12), and organized military and veteran groups may be arranged through the Office of Exhibits and Public Services at the Philadelphia Mint at (215) 408-0112, by appointment only. Two weeks advance notice is required for scheduling and security purposes....Click here for more details... Utz Snacks Hanover, PA Utz Quality Foods, Inc. was started in 1921 by Bill and Salie Utz in Hanover, Pennsylvania. Bill Utz, dissatisfied with the quality of potato chips being produced at the time, believed so strongly in the marketability of a wholesome quality chip that he quit his job and risked it all to begin producing the couple's own brand of potato chips. Under the brand name of "Hanover Home Brand Potato Chips", Salie used her knowledge of good Pennsylvania Dutch cooking to make the chips in a small summer house behind their home on McAllister Street. The hand operated equipment she used made about 50 pounds of chips per hour. Bill delivered the chips to independent stores and farmers' markets in the Hanover and Baltimore area. Demand for the chip...Click here for more details... Victory Brewing Company Downingtown, PA Victory Brewing Company, located in Downingtown, PA was started in 1996. Their brewmaster was trained in Germany and their brews soon achieved Grand Champion ratings in the U.S. Beer Tasting Championship, 2002-2005. Their brewhouse has expanded to a Rolec 50 barrel operation. This local brewery now distributes in states across the country. They sponsor many events, have a retail store and a restaurant with live music. Visit and tour the brewery and taste the many great Victory beers along the way. ...Click here for more details... Wendell August Forge (Exton, PA) Exton, PA The decades old tradition of handcrafted artistry, craftsmanship, and innovation established throughout the rich history of Wendell August Forge continues with our retail store and workshop in Main Street at Exton, located at the intersection of Route 30 and Route 100 in Exton, PA. Situated in the historic Ashbridge barn, guests are invited into the workshop to watch our skilled artisans handcraft the finest metal giftware made in America today. You will witness first hand how each piece of Wendell August metal giftware goes through an exacting process and is created one-at-a-time, by hand. Inside the workshop, aspiring craftsmen young and old alike can take a turn at being an artisan in our interactive hand hammering room. The gift...Click here for more details... Wendell August Forge (PA) Grove City, PA A visit to Wendell August is an experience you won’t soon forget. Since 1923, Wendell August has pioneered the artistry of creating unique hand-hammered metal giftware. Today, Grove City is home to the nation’s oldest and largest forge still in operation. Guests to our facility can watch as skilled artisans and craftsmen create one-of-a-kind metal giftware in aluminum, solid bronze, copper, fine pewter and sterling silver. Once inside our gift shoppe, our friendly associates will assist you with the well over 1,000 different gift giving items created in our workshop. Our unique line of Christmas ornaments and plates, serving pieces, home and desk accessories and jewelry are all showcased on beautiful antique display pieces. Our enchanting g...Click here for more details... Wilbur Chocolate Lititz, PA Milton Hershey wasn’t the only entrepreneur to make it rich selling chocolates in Lancaster County, PA. Wilbur Chocolates have been in Lititz, PA since 1913. Founded in Philadelphia in 1865, Wilbur produced mostly molasses candies & hard candies at the time, eventually venturing into chocolate. The company did well and by 1913, Wilbur officials decided to locate additional production facilities in Lititz. Today, Cargill, one of the largest private companies in the United States, owns Wilbur Chocolate Co. The aroma of freshly made chocolates wafts through Lititz providing an olfactory treat to the already picturesque town. Wilbur Chocolate is famous for its bite-sized chocolate dollop with a signature curlicue on top, known as Wilbu...Click here for more details... Wolfgang Candy York, PA Founded in 1921, Wolfgang Candy is one of the oldest family-owned and managed candy companies in the United States. Four generations of Wolfgangs have added their expertise to manufacturing millions of pounds of seasonal candies for schools, clubs, churches, associations, and other groups. The Wolfgang Pledge: Only the finest ingredients are used in making our Wolfgang Candy! Our Visitor Center and Museum features illustrations of old-time American candy craftsmen. You’ll see many special display cases filled with wooden sugar molds, glass candy jars, and many other priceless antiques. You’ll also see a video of the Wolfgang candy-making process ... along with a complete history of the Wolfgang family who made their candy making dream co...Click here for more details... Yuengling Brewery (Pottsville, Pa) Pottsville, PA Tour America's oldest brewery, established in 1829. Visitors observe various facets of the production process and sample finished product at tour's end. (Root beer for the kids)....Click here for more details... Zippo Visitior Center Bradford, PA Zippo Manufacturing Company, maker of the world famous windproof lighter with the lifetime guarantee, celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2007. Based in Bradford, Pennsylvania and distributed in more than 152 countries worldwide, Zippo is synonymous with American made quality and craftsmanship. HISTORY Zippo was founded in Bradford, Pennsylvania in 1932 when George G. Blaisdell decided to create a lighter that would look good and be easy to use. Blaisdell obtained the rights for an Austrian windproof lighter with a removable top, and re-designed it to his own specifications. He made the case rectangular and attached the lid to the bottom with a welded hinge, then surrounded the wick with a chimney. Blaisdell called his new lighter “Z...Click here for more details... Return to home page    Page last updated: 11/20/2009 For site problems or suggestions: webmaster