LETTER TO MR. WILLIAM J. CASEY FROM ROBERT D. GALEY RE: ZIPPO MANUFACTURING COMPANY S FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83M00914R002300050024-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 24
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 11, 2006
• Sequence Number: 24
• Publication Date: March 5, 1982
• Content Type: LETTER

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ROBERT D.GALEY
Presidentand Chief Executive Officer
Mr. William J. Casey
Director of Central Intelligence
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W.
Washington, DC 20500
The Zippo Manufacturing Company of Bradford, Pennsylvania is
celebrating its Fiftieth Anniversary this year. We, the people of
Zippo, cordially invite you to join us on Friday June 4_,_1982, as we
Plans for the day begin with a morning tour of our facilities,
where the famous Zippo windproof lighter and other fine Zippo products
are made. This will be followed by a noon luncheon at the Pennhills
Club where Pennsylvania State officials, local civic leaders and area
business executives will welcome you to Bradford.
As a special gift, in remembrance of this Golden Anniversary,
you will receive a gold replica of the original Zippo lighter introduced
in 1932 by our founder, George G. Blaisdell.
We hope you will be able to join us for the festivities. A
return card is enclosed for your convenience.
Sincerely,
RDG/ lhk
enclosure
i90 c 'H
the original windproof lighter
Annrn\/Pri Fnr Ralaaca 9nnR/nq/11 ? r,iA-RnPSt nnnaIArnno'~ nnnannvA n
 I WILL ATTEND:
The 9:30 a.m. tour at 33 Barbour St.....
The Anniversary Luncheon only ..........
I WILL NOT be able to attend ................
I WILL NEED TRANSPORTATION:
From the Bradford Regional Airport.. - Time
From the Buffalo Airport .................. - Time
other
for any additional information-Phone [phone],
NAME Phone No.
(please print)
BUSINESS REPLY MAIL
No postage stamp necessary if mailed in the United States
POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY
ZIPPO
MANUFACTURING COMPANY
BRADFORD, PENNSYLVANIA 16701
Attn.: Advertising Dept.
FIRST CLASS
Permit No. 46
Bradford, Pa.
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"Build your product with integrity... stand
behind it 100% and success will follow."
George G. Blaisdell
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"Fifty Years and Glowing Stronger!"
It is a rare thing in these days of
planned obsolescence for a product
to grow in appeal as its fifty year old
design remains relatively un-
changed. The Zippo lighter is such a
product. It has become a classic
symbol of American quality, ranking
with the Model-T Ford, the Singer
sewing machine and a few others.
The Zippo Manufacturing Company
was founded in Bradford, Pennsyl-
vania when our father, George G.
Blaisdell, set out to create a "lighter
that works." He guaranteed the new
lighter to "work always or Zippo will
fix it free."
The year was 1932 and in fifty years
the original design has changed
only to improve the product or the
method to manufacture it.
During that half a century, the Zippo
lighter took its stand in American
history, from its beginnings in a
small Pennsylvania garage to the
pockets of servicemen in all corners
of the world.
Zippo is celebrating its Fiftieth
Anniversary with this presentation
of the Zippo Story .. . we invite you
to celebrate with us!
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The 30's
The Empire State Building was
constructed in 1931. This fine
example of American architecture,
in the Art Deco style of the period,
has become a classic symbol of
durability. It was a time of
innovation ... and a time for the
Zippo windproof lighter to be born.
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The Beginning
The Zippo story begins on a muggy
summer night in Bradford, Pennsyl-
vania. It was 1932, during the midst
of the Depression. George G.
Blaisdell, then co-owner of the
Blaisdell Oil Company, met a friend
at the Bradford Country Club, who
was lighting a cigarette with a one
dollar Austrian lighter. It was a
cumbersome looking device with a
removable brass top.
"You're all dressed up," chided
Blaisdell. "Why don't you get a
lighter that looks decent?"
"Well, George," his friend answered,
"it works!"
Blaisdell was impressed and
obtained U.S. distribution rights for
the lighters, but could not sell them
profitably. They were clumsy to use.
Blaisdell set out to design an
attractive lighter that would work;
one that would look good and be
easy to use.
Blaisdell knew his craft. He learned
it as a youth in his father's
machine shop, working fifty-nine
hour weeks at ten cents an hour. He
refashioned the Austrian lighters by
designing a rectangular case that
would fit in the hand. The top was
attached to this case with a hinge,
and the wick was surrounded with a
windhood.
The "attractive lighter that works"
was born. Fascinated by the name of
another recent invention, the zipper,
Blaisdell decided to call his new
lighter "Zippo". Except for
improvements in the flint wheel and
advances in case finishes, Blaisdell's
original design remains basically
unchanged today.
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Sales of the new lighters moved
slowly at first. During his first month
of business, Blaisdell's receipts for
82 lighters totalled $62.15. He had
set up shop in a small room above
the old Rickerson and Pryde garage
on Boylston Street, employing six
people.
Blaisdell explored many ways to
introduce his product to the people.
For instance, through a boyhood
friend who now operated the
Bradford Bus Station, Blaisdell gave
Zippo lighters to the long distance
drivers. The drivers in turn
displayed them to their passengers.
Early Sales Efforts
Blaisdell gave lighters to jewelers
and tobacconists, telling them to
keep the lighters if they could not
sell them. But he discovered that
retailers were hesitant to stock the
product without the support of
advertising. In 1937, with $3,000 of
mostly borrowed money, Blaisdell
ran a full page ad in Esquire
Magazine.
He waited for the response to pour
in, but was soon disappointed.
Looking back, he realized that he
did not have sufficient distribution
to benefit from this type of
advertising.
Between 1934 and 1940, Blaisdell
moved more than 300,000 Zippo
lighters through punchboards.
Popular throughout the United
States in tobacco and confectionery
shops, poolrooms, and cigar stands,
punchboards were a game of
chance. For two cents, a player
could punch any hole on a 1,000 or
2,000 hole board. If the choices
matched the ones on the board, the
player would win a prize. In 1940,
they were ruled illegal.
In 1936, Zippo lighters were given as
prizes in another way. A life insur-
ance company in Iowa ordered 200
engraved lighters to be presented to
its salesmen as contest prizes. At the
same time, Kendall Oil Company in
Bradford ordered 500 engraved
lighters for its customers and
employees.
The door had opened for Blaisdell
into the important specialty
advertising market.
,INV
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Growth and Development
As sales grew, Blaisdell expanded
his operation into the entire second
floor of the Rickerson and Pryde
building, with a new office at 21 Pine
Street. In 1938, the factory and
offices were moved into a former
garage at 36 Barbour Street.
The thirties were a time for change.
From 1932 until 1937, both the
inside and outside cases were made
from square brass tubing. In 1938,
Blaisdell modified the design and
manufacture of the lighters with a
drawn case. The result was a more
modern rounded design that
completely replaced the old
square-cornered model.
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The 40's
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Wartime Production
Ernie Pyle
The Post-War Years
With the onset of World War II, the
United States Government stopped
production of many consumer
products. Rather than discontinue
manufacture of Zippo lighters,
Blaisdell arranged to produce them
for the Post-Exchanges.
Brass was unavailable for non-
military uses, and Zippo lighters
were made of low grade steel. This
gave them a poor finish, so they
were sprayed with black paint, then
baked to a crackle finish. Zippo
lighters of this period can be
identified by their dull black crackle
finish.
Most servicemen owned them since
Zippo's wartime production was
earmarked entirely for the military.
Zippo lighters lit smoking lamps
and campfires in swamps and
jungles, cooked soup in helmets,
and saved lives as signal fires. Some
lighters stopped bullets that might
have proven fatal. One Army pilot
brought his disabled plane to safety
by using a Zippo lighter to
illuminate his darkened instrument
panel.
George Blaisdell became known as
"Mr. Zippo" through the daily
column of famed war correspondent
Ernie Pyle. The two men developed
a warm correspondence that began
with a fan letter from Blaisdell. He
offered to distribute Zippo lighters
through Pyle to deserving service-
men stationed overseas.
About this offer, Pyle remarked, "I
was amazed at the modesty of the
president's letter. He said, 'You
probably know nothing about the
Zippo lighter.' If he only knew how
the soldiers coveted them. They'll
burn in the wind, and pilots say they
are the only kind that will light at
extreme altitudes."
Pyle was said to have written his
shortest war story on a Zippo
lighter. In 1945, while on board the
USS Cabot in the South Pacific, Pyle
was being pressed by a young
officer to reveal the ship's destina-
tion. He borrowed the officer's
lighter, and scratched a single word:
the ship on a Zippo lighter.
"TOKYO."
The announcement of the first
all-out attack on the Japanese
mainland was flashed throughout
Zippo lighters achieved a fame
during World War 11 that was
instrumental to their post-war
growth. It was a time when a hungry
civilian market was buying anything.
Sales of Zippo lighters soared.
In spite of this, Blaisdell halted
shipments in 1946, when he found
the striking wheels not up to his
standards. At that time, he was
buying them from an outside
source.
Blaisdell consulted leading metal-
lurgists, tested numerous types and
combinations of steel, and experi-
mented with a number of
manufacturing operations. Finally,
he and his engineers developed .
what is considered to be the highest
quality striking wheel in the world.
Even today, the operations
concerning the knurling of the flint
wheel are a company secret.
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The 50's
The Juke Box, a uniquely American
invention, brought popular music
into a vast number of public places
... It brought joy to the masses.
From Sinatra to Elvis, it spanned
the decade with style and possessed
a distinctly American personality: . .
and Zippo's personality was glowing
stronger than ever.
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Growth and Development
The Product
The Sales Force
Building Projects
The fifties were a time of rapid
development and growth through-
out the United States. Advance-
ments were made in all fields, and
Zippo lighter manufacturing was
no exception.
A new etching procedure was
developed. It saved time and
money, and allowed for more
detailed work to be engraved into
the lighters.
From 1939 to 1950, Zippo's sales
representation consisted of two
cigar salesmen who sold the lighters
as a sideline. The two men covered
vast areas, one travelling from
Denver to Pittsburgh and Saulte Ste.
Marie to Arkansas, and the other
selling from Richmond to Key West
and west to El Paso, Texas. They
dealt mainly with tobacco whole-
salers.
In 1950, Blaisdell organized his own
sales force. District Managers were
responsible for specific areas of the
country. They were not restricted to
tobacco wholesalers, and were free
to call on jewelry, drug store, and
grocery wholesalers, among others.
Closer to home, a number of building
projects were undertaken to
accommodate Zippo's increased sales
and production. A new building
incorporating the chrome plating and
fabricating plant, was completed on
Congress Street in 1954.
Across the Canadian border, in
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Zippo opened
a small plant in 1950 that is still a
growing operation.
In 1955 corporate offices were built
adjoining the Barbour Street factory.
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The 60's
Landing on the moon was a giant
leap for mankind out of the 1960's
and into the future. This singular
achievement is a landmark in
American technology and dedica-
tion. It expanded our horizons
inspiring us to greater heights ...
and Zippo was inspired to design
the all new slim lighter.
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Manufacturing Zippo Lighters
The improved technology of the 60's
was a part of Zippo's progress. The
Congress Street complex grew
through a series of additions to
become the primary location for the
fabrication and assembly of Zippo
products. Here the numerous steps
in the manufacture of the Zippo
lighter are seen as they progress to a
completely finished product.
The inside units are formed from
.018 inch strips of stainless steel
strip stock, fed through punching
and forming presses, then welded.
Stainless steel plates with brass flint
tubes are pressed into the formed
inside units and soldered into place
with the aid of induction heating in
an automatic conveyorized ma-
chine.
Stainless steel chimneys are buffed
to a brilliant finish on an automatic
buffing machine. The inside units
are then sent to final assembly,
which includes riveting in the spark
wheel and cam spring, inserting the
wick and the cotton and flint spring
assembly. Quality control checks
follow all stages of production.
The cases for Zippo lighters are
formed from .027 inch brass strip
stock fed automatically into a
blanking and forming press. The
Zippo trademark is stamped in each
lighter base and case parts are
trimmed and notched. Lighter case
tops are attached to bottoms with
nickel-silver hinges which are spot
welded into position.
After the cases are assembled, they
are buffed to a high polish while
passing through conveyorized
buffing machines. If a brush finish is
desired, the sides pass through a
series of Carborundum abrasive
belts. The cases are then sent to the
plating department where they are
nickel and chromium plated on
an automatic plating machine
which has 36 stations. The solution
tanks used in this process vary in
length according to the time cycle
specified for each solution.
The lighters then go to the Barbour
Street factory where some of them
undergo an extra process. Acrylic
chips are adhered to some models
while others are engraved with
specific designs. Lighters destined
to become advertising specialties
are etched with a company
trademark or message and then
color-filled. Lighters then go to the
fit-up department where the cases
and inside units are put together.
The last stop in the process is
packaging, where lighters get a final
cleaning and inspection before
being put into boxes for shipment all
over the world.
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Product Diversification
and the Zippo Guarantee
In 1962, after 28 years of making
only lighters, Zippo cautiously took
its first step towards diversification.
It came out with a six-foot flexible
steel pocket rule. The success of this
product led Zippo to expand its line
to include a pocket knife, a money
clip knife, a key holder, a magnifier,
a pillbox, an all-purpose knife, a
letter opener, a greenskeeper, a
card set and a golf ball. All of these
products can be imprinted with
trademarks or messages and like
Zippo lighters, are guaranteed to
"work always or Zippo fixes them
free." (Even the golf ball is guaran-
teed playable for 180 holes.) The
guarantee, established by George
Blaisdell, is the foundation upon
which the success of this company
is built.
Thu tighter or any Zippo. when retuned to our factory,
uott be put in firet