From a single kettle beside the Middleswarth family home in Beavertown, Pennsylvania, Bob Middleswarth built a potato-chip company that has been making Middleswarth Potato Chips since 1942. Ira Middleswarth & Son, Inc. remains family-operated from its Middleburg plant, where about 90 employees produce roughly 3,400 pounds of chips an hour. Known locally as Middleswarth Potato Chips, the company distributes throughout Pennsylvania and ships its snacks around the world.
Dieffenbach's Potato Chips, IncWhat began with Mark Dieffenbach frying potato chips on his kitchen stove in Berks County in 1964 has grown into a Pennsylvania snack maker producing kettle-cooked chips and other snacks. Still guided by the Dieffenbach family’s recipe across three generations, the company operates a 106,000-square-foot facility capable of processing more than 15 million pounds of potatoes annually. Its Uglies® brand gives cosmetically imperfect potatoes a second life while supporting hunger relief, with 10% of proceeds donated to VivaKids.WOMELSDORF, PA
Gibble's SnacksBorn from a 1950s farmers’ market stand, Gibble’s Foods grew around a home-style potato chip made from the Gibble family’s own recipe. The Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, brand has made snacks for more than fifty years, continuing production in a facility built behind the family home.WOMELSDORF, PA
Jones Potato Chip CompanyFamily made in Mansfield since 1945, Jones Potato Chip Company produces wavy potato chips and potato sticks for its own brand as well as private-label and co-packed snack lines. Founded by Frederick W. Jones, the company helped introduce “marcelled” wavy chips to the Mansfield area and added potato sticks in 2007. Today its snacks reach at least 40 states, while the family-run organization continues to operate from its current site and has cut facility waste by 75 percent through recycling and reuse.MANSFIELD, OH
Mikesell'sSince 1910, Dayton-based Mikesell’s has made and distributed potato chips and other snack foods, beginning with founder Daniel W. Mikesell’s dried beef and sausage business before adding its distinctive Saratoga Chips. Still privately held and headquartered in Dayton, the company distributes across the Midwest while continuing to cook its chips in premium oil and develop new flavors, including its signature Puffcorn Delites.DAYTON, OH