Open toolbar Home All Products Find Us Our Story Distributors Private Label Contact Us Our Story In 1920 in Tiffin, Ohio, Fred and Ethel Ballreich started their homemade potato chip operation on a dirt floor garage using a copper kettle heated with wood scraps. They were able to produce 14 pounds per day of the famous “marcelled” (meaning wavy) potato chips, which was taken from the popular ladies’ “wavy” hairstyle of the 1920s. Producing only the highest quality potato chips, this small business created large demand that called for additional assistance. Carl Ballreich, Fred’s brother, left the Chevrolet Motor plant in Flint, Michigan, and joined forces along with his wife, Emma. Both couples continued to grow the business, living side by side on Ohio Avenue, and then eventually they built a small factory behind their homes. After WWII, Fred’s sons, Doyle and Nevin, along with Carl’s sons, Owen and Don, and his son-in-law, Robert Reis, joined the business. It was at this time that the plant was incorporated into Ballreich Bros., Inc. Their continued growth called for additional equipment. Sacking machines were added to increase productivity up to 450lbs per day; a new warehouse was built in Defiance, Ohio to better serve that part of the state, an automatic slicer, salter, hopper filler and kettle were installed, and liquid shortening was introduced to replace the solid form. In the 1960s, a hydraulic lift was added and an additional warehouse was built onto the building for added storage. Production began heat-sealing bags of potato chips to better preserve their freshness and speed up the chip making process. As old equipment was replaced, they were able to produce 2,000lbs of potato chips each hour! As the business continued to grow, additional potato chip flavors were introduced and in the 1990s, and the snack line expanded to include party mix, pretzel sticks, pretzel rings, pretzel rods, pork rinds, tortilla chips, cheese popcorn, caramel popcorn with nuts, and triple mix popcorn. Read More Ballreich Snack Food Company 186 Ohio Avenue Tiffin, OH 44883 1 (800) 323-2447 We are committed to making this website compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. We want all of our visitors to be able to access and understand our goods and services. Ballreich Snack Food Company, LLC continuously makes modifications to increase the accessibility and usability of this website, using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as our guidelines. Accessibility and usability are not always possible in every area of the website or for those visitors using assistive technologies and devices. Please be advised that our efforts are ongoing, and we continue to improve our designs based upon your feedback. If you have found an inaccessible area on the site, please be sure to specify the web page and provide us with any other information you may think will help us locate the area. Need Help? In the event a page is not accessible to you, we will work to make a text version of the content available. Please provide us with your contact information (email and/or phone number), the format you require, the web page address and the specific content desired. We welcome your questions about this accessibility statement and comments on how to improve our website's accessibility. Have Feedback? If you have specific questions or concerns about the accessibility of this site or need assistance in using this site, please contact us at: 1-800-323-2447 or chips@ballreich.com. Copyright © Ballreich's 2016-2021. All Rights Reserved. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Cookie Settings Accept All CUSTOMER/CLIENT LOGIN | DCLARK ONLINE TEAM LOGIN