[wzslider height=”800″ info=”true” lightbox=”true”]
PEZ Visitor Center
35 Prindle Hill Rd
Orange, CT 06477
Phone: 203-298-0201
info@pezcandyinc.com
Hours of Operation
Hours are seasonal and are subject to change at any time.
Monday – Saturday: 10:00am – 6:00pm
Sunday: 12:00 – 5:00pm
Admission Prices
Children under 3 FREE
Children 3-12 $4.00
Regular admission $5.00
Seniors (60+) $4.00
Group (10 or more) $4.00
I recently visited the Pez visitor which is in the same building as the manufacturing facility. The visitor center, (a.k.a. museum), is very professionally organized in a well lighted, bright, large room with a high ceiling. This room also provides two views of the workers making the product. There are numerous t.v. monitors on the walls which play various reels about the history and manufacturing techniques used to make the products.
Please bear in mind that the Pex dispensers themselves were housed behind plexiglass which didn’t allow for the clearest pictures at times. Most of the other items were not obstructed with glass. There was a nice view of the chopper made by Orange County Choppers although it was roped off, once again, preventing a better photograph.
Pez comes from the German word Pfefferminz meaning “peppermint”. They took the P, E and Z from the word.
Timeline:
1927 – Eduard Haas III invents Pez candy as a breath mint and an adult alternative to smoking.
1935 – Pez factory is built in Czechoslavakia to produce candy on a large scale.
1948 – Pez is sold in small pocket sized tins until 1948 when inventor Oscar Uxa designs a mechanical dispensing device.
1948 – The new mechanical dispenser is introduced at the Vienna Trade Fair.
1952 – U.S. operations for Pez begins in New York City. All product is manufactured and imported from Europe for distribution throughout North America. Pez is also awarded their first U.S. patent at this time for their dispensers.
1956 – Pez introduces the “space gun” as a unique dispenser.
1957 – Pez introduces characters on top of the dispenser similar to today’s versions. A witch was their first character head.
1958 – Popeye becomes their first licensed character.
1960 – During the 1960’s stickers and die cuts were added to the dispenser. Also during this era “Pez pals” were introduced with such characters as the Doctor, Policeman, Knight and Sheik. These characters were also portrayed in their comic strips which they would include with each dispenser purchase.
1991 – First ever Pez collector convention is held in Mentor, OH
1993 – Pez makes the cover of Forbes Magazine and their products are also auctioned at Christies.
Todays billions of Pez candies are consumed annually around the globe with a myriad of various dispenser heads. Pez refers to their product as “interactive candy”.
Recent Comments