Big Delivery Wagon, The (1951)

when grandma was a bride a familiar sight were these gleaming white wagons drawn by jet black horses delivering the new processed food products that made the number 57 famous fascinating is the story of these Fame draft horses for which buyers scoured the country noted for their appearance breeding and care they were quartered in probably the world's first air-conditioned stables on floors of cork and asphalt with daily rub downs by electric grooming devices some people call this a lot of folderol but even then mr. HJ himself felt that distribution should rank right along with manufacturing and should be of an equally high standard it just happened that his standards were unusually high you see before Heinz much of a housewives food was largely season not only seasonal but hard to get far from where it was grown it was not enough that the little brick house at Sharpsburg PA grew into the big kitchen that spread from coast to coast the founder and his men realized it was equally important to put the foods where any housewife anytime could reach out and get them so just as the processing plants were located in the best growing areas distribution centers were next established in all parts of the country where they would best serve the customers let's see how the system works take any of the famous 57 varieties all right take catch up this housewife did we knew she was going to more than a year ago oh we didn't know her name but we did know that approximately so many shoppers including hotels restaurants and institutions in every community in the United States would buy so many millions of bottles of Heinz ketchup this year this survey was made by the business research department they told planning and distribution who in turn told manufacturing how much was needed Manufacturing figured out how many of those special pedigreed tomatoes to plant through their contract farmers all summer factory man kept check on the growing crop to make sure the quality and quantity would be right comes the harvest and they know they will have the right amount to fill the demand of course these right luscious beauties fairly bursting with vitamins will go into other things besides ketchup appetizing juice nourishing soups and delicious sauce to combine with spaghetti baked beans and other products including strain baby foods but let's stick to catch up as our typical example the big pack in this line begins in mid or late summer the new year sales start simultaneously that means the last of the previous pack must be just leaving the grocery shelves that's a ruling principle of this amazing system a continuous flow of as many products as possible from the processing plant to the warehouses to the grocery shelves to mrs. housewives kitchen something like this take one small section of the map the produce comes into the plant is processed and moves out to the proper warehouses from the warehouse to the food stores in its territory or to hotels and restaurants and from the stores to the surrounding homes repeat that in all parts of the country with 57 different varieties and the varieties within varieties adding up to at least twice that number and you begin to get some idea why this gigantic system is the pattern of national distribution in America the harvest is brought in at its peak of ripeness and processed within a few hours that means while still at its flavorful best the finished product goes directly from the packaging line to waiting trucks which start them toward the designated warehouses there's room at the plants to store only a small part of the food they process here is a typical branch warehouse one of some 70 spotted around the country among them are these at New York Milwaukee st. Paul Chicago Oakland California jacksonville florida dallas and los angeles to picture only a few goods from the various processing plants arrive by truck by rail and at this as well as many of the others by ship and here comes a load of our ketchup we saw leaving the bottling line such a short time ago though completely modern and commodious you can see that here again there is room only for goods in transit not more than a few weeks supply can be kept on hand of most kinds even if that it takes a lot of floor space to how so many popular items here we see stacks of oven baked beans put up to your choice next to stack after stack of all kinds of soups 21 ingredients in vegetable soup alone they come from many different states and even a foreign country and nearby the larger sized packages of the same taste tempting varieties that go to hotels restaurants and institutions here are all sorts of pickles sweet mixed gherkins and fresh cucumber pickle [Music] sparkling vinegars white cider malt and tarragon wonderful spaghetti and macaroni full flavor jellies of choices fruits apple grape berry quince and others those popular baby foods strain fruits vegetables meat products even desserts as well as junior foods in the same wide and tempting selection all through the day the cases come in to be loaded for delivery to the stores in some of the larger warehouses the local delivery trucks are loaded at night so that they can be on their way first thing in the morning when the store is open these are the glistening white motor trucks that replace the gleaming white delivery wagons of days gone by but they too are kept and span as clean and wholesome as the food they transport so the trucks deliver the goods to the stores in their territory the last stop before the consumers kitchens to make it easy for mrs. housewife to reach out and pick any of these cans jars or bottles of nourishing mouth-watering foods a specially trained company representative is also on hand regularly to assist his friend the grocer as well as the restaurant operator with his inventory and display what his main job is to keep that stock rotating to see to it that the amounts delivered are in perfect timing to maintain that unbroken flow from the big kitchen to Milady's kitchen it does look appetizing doesn't it this one of the 57 we took for our example pines is the world's largest producer of ketchup even the shape of the bottle is their invention designed to expose as little as possible to the air when opened of course we could have taken any other product for instance vinegar we could just as easily have traced its flow from the arrival at the plant of these mountains of lush go in russet and flame red apples the movement of their tangy juice to and from the vinegar house in specially constructed wooden tank cars till it too can be bottled boxed and delivered here clear sparkling and aromatic and uniform whether you're a housewife in Portland Oregon or a bulk user in Miami Florida you know that every bottle every gallon every cast you buy is always the same or we might have taken pickles one of the most eaten canned vegetables in America and so on through all the 57 why have we shown you all this because we hope the next time you see any of these products of which we are so proud that they will rouse in you a mental picture or two well three if that's all right with you so the next time you see a canner say hines cream of tomato soup you will see through and back of the famous label baskets of those garden ripe aristocrats of tomatoes to be brought together with rich sweet cream in stainless steel kettles under the loving care of famous chefs who know exactly when to say that's it that is one of the pictures we'd like you to see when you pick up this can another is the great network of the national distribution system that maintains for you that flow of freshness for which these foods are famous and last but not least the third picture we hope you see is its ultimate use for which all that's gone before was planned the moment the soup itself appears on your table steaming redolent and inviting or in a canapes oven baked beans we want you to see sun-swept vistas of these and other vegetables ripening in the country's richest soil as well as the vision of their crowning appearance on your table all honey brown succulent and tempting or among the baby foods strain vegetables soups and fruits an enticing nutritious serving like this and isn't that a dainty dish to set before the king of you household or the next time you drop in at your favorite lunch room for a snack you know what the sight of that familiar miniature soup kitchen will call to your mind whether it be soup or beans or spaghetti you will see not only the satisfying quick energy food but behind it the big kitchen that prepared it at its peak of perfection and equally important the big delivery wagon that rushed it to you at its peak of freshness two big reasons why we in America are the best fed people on earth [Music]