The Warrell Corporation

The Warrell Corporation is a confectionery manufacturing company based in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.

History

The company was established in 1965 by Lincoln Warrell, originally named Pennsylvania Dutch Candies.[1]

In 2000, Pennsylvania Dutch Candies, Katherine Beecher Candies and Melster Candies were brought together under the new Warrell Corporation name and the company opened a new 200,000 sq ft manufacturing facility.[2] Melster was originally acquired in 1982 but was sold in 2004 to Colorado-based Impact Confections.[3]

With more than 300 employees, the company's main manufacturing facilities are located at the township of Lower Allen, Cumberland County.[1] A significant portion of the company's business involves contract manufacturing for other confectioners,[4] specifically high-quantity chocolate and caramel enrobing.[5] In addition to contract manufacturing, the company focuses on maintaining non-seasonal products to ensure year-round financial stability.[1][4]

Lincoln Warrell has continued as the company's Chairman and CEO. In 2001, Warrell was inducted into the National Confectionery Sales Association's Candy Hall of Fame.[6] He was previously a Director and Vice-President of the National Confectioners Association. In 2005, he was awarded Candy Industry Magazine's Kettle Award.[7] The company's current President, Patrick Huffman, has since been nominated for the same award several times.

Warrell Corporation Brands

Pennsylvania Dutch Candies remains a Warrell Corporation brand. They make candies such as Sanded Candy Drops, chocolate-covered pretzels, stick candy, nuts, and dried fruits, and peanut brittle.

In 2010, the company began contract-manufacturing Bonomo's Turkish Taffy.[8] The company was the only manufacturer with equipment capable of making the certified-kosher confectionery.

In 2009, the company acquired the Classic Caramel Co., which had been based in Pennsylvania until its closure in 2008. The company was restarted and renamed the The Warrell Classic Co. and continues to make the 30 different types of caramel original distributed under the Classic Caramel brand.[9] The company reopened the Classic Caramel Co. manufacturing facility in York, Pennsylvania.[10]

In early 2013, the company announced that it had sold three of its brands to the Texas-based Atkinson Candy Company. Warrell is to continue manufacturing Slo Poke, Black Cow and Sophie Mae candies in Pennsylvania, though longer-term manufacturing arrangements have not been finalised.[11]

Politics

In 2013, Warrell Corp. representatives announced the company would be supporting Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey's bill to "end sugar market controls and subsidies". Representatives of The Hershey Company have announced they would also be supporting the legislation.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Warrell Corp. aims to grow its nonseasonal confectionery-making operations by Natalie Maneval (Central Penn Business Journal, 30 July 2012)
  2. ↑ New Name, Plant For Warrell Corp. (Professional Candy Buyer, 1 November 2000)
  3. ↑ Melster Candies leaving longtime Cambridge facility for Janesville by Jim Leute (The Janesville Gazette, 9 November 2010)
  4. 1 2 Co-packer's Broad Operational Footprint Helps it Cater to Customer Demands, Trends by Bob Sperber (Food Processing magazine, 11 October 2011)
  5. ↑ Pure as the driven chocolate (Food Engineering Magazine, 1 June 2005)
  6. ↑ Lincoln A. Warrell: Inducted into the Candy Hall of Fame in 2001 (National Confectionery Sales Association)
  7. ↑ Linc'ed to leadership: Candy Industry's 59th Kettle Award recipient, Lincoln Warrell, chairman of the Warrell Corp. by Bernard Pacyniak (Candy Industry Magazine, 1 August 2004) [archive]
  8. ↑ Bonomo's Turkish Taffy returns by Scott Cendrowski (CNNMoney.com, 27 October 2010)
  9. ↑ The Warrell Corp. acquires Classic Caramel (Candy Industry Magazine, 6 May 2009)
  10. ↑ Classic Caramel returns to York as The Warrell Classic Company by Brent Burkey (York Daily Record, 30 July 2009)
  11. ↑ Atkinson Candy Acquires Slo Poke, Black Cow, Sophie Mae Brands (Vending Marketwatch, 30 January 2013)
  12. ↑ Midstate candymakers back Sen. Pat Toomey's sugar bills by Jim T. Ryan (Central Penn Business Journal, 15 February 2013)

External links

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