For the next twenty years the business grew with the family as Fred and Carl's children became involved in the daily operations. By 1940 it became apparent that mechanization was the only answer to meeting production demands. Conveyers and machinery were added to the plant allowing them to make 450 pounds of potato chips from 1,500 pounds of potatoes daily. But each change, no matter how subtle, took into consideration that there would be absolutely no compromise in the quality and consistency of the chips for the sake of speed and increased production. Inc. Fifty years later the business is still family run under the direction of Don Ballreich, Tom Ballreich and Andy Miller.
Loyalty is so great on the part of the workers that few leave.
Far from making chips by hand in a copper kettle, now the entire process is considerably more mechanized. Today it takes only eighteen minutes to go from raw potato to bag in an absolutely spotless environment. P roducing Ballreich's potato chips is very straight forward. Trucks carrying 40-50,000 pounds of Norchip, Snowden or Atlanta potatoes arrive at the plant from as far away as North Dakota or as close as fields here in northwestern Ohio. The potatoes are unloaded by conveyer and transported mechanically through the washing, peeling and slicing cycles.