The Exhibitor (1961)

ElectriCooker Plan Offers Popcorn Machines Gratis As part of an extensive merchandising plan, the ElectriCooker division of General Foods Corporation, furnishes without charge, their Air-Popt Popcorn Machine and Caramel Corn Machine to theatres approved for participation in the program. Said to be the first and only machine of its kind on the market, the Kernel-Fresh AirPopt popcorn machine uses a stream of hot air to pop corn, whereas conventional pop¬ pers employ vegetable oil. % To operate the machine, an attendant throws a starting switch that begins the automatic feeding of raw corn into a glass popping tube inside a transparent glass dome on top of the machine. A stream of hot air rapidly heats and pops each kernel of corn uniformly while keeping it suspended inside the tube. After each kernel pops, the hot air forces it out of the top of the tube and down onto a revolving tray where it is automatically sea¬ soned with oil and salt. The popcorn then drops into a glass-enclosed display cabinet where it is stored until needed. Every 15 minutes, the machine shuts off the flow of raw corn into the popping tube. After all popcorn has been ejected from the tube, the machine completes a reject cycle that clears the tube of any unpopped kernels and channels them into a small container. Imme¬ diately a new supply of corn automatically flows into the popping tube to begin another cycle of uninterrupted corn popping. The Kernel-Fresh Air-Popt machine uses a special hybrid corn developed exclusively for popping in hot air. Popcorn breeding officials at Purdue and Iowa State universities work¬ ed with ElectriCooker in developing the spe¬ cial corn. By using hot air for popping, rather than vegetable oil, the Air-Popt machine is said to eliminate carbon build-up and oil deposits on the apparatus, while the constantly moving hot air prevents corn kernel fragments from burn¬ ing onto parts. ElectriCooker says hot air popping also eliminates unpleasant odors, sometimes asso¬ ciated with popping in oil, because the air is recirculated within the machine, and only a small portion escapes. They say the Air-Popt machine may be op¬ erated for long periods without close super¬ vision, permitting a single operator to wait on a greater number of customers than would a conventional popcorn machine. The machine heats up in about ten minutes, which is, according to a report from the manu¬ facturer, one-third the time usually required to prepare most conventional poppers. It also contains a fan-blown dryer to re-crisp pop¬ corn under humid conditions. The ElectriCooker machine, which is a counter model, is only 36 inches long, 30 inches wide and measures 52 inches to the top of the glass dome. The caramel corn machine, part of ElectriCooker’s new Kernel-Fresh Caramel Corn de¬ partment, produces regular buttered caramel corn, caramel corn with peanuts, Kokonut Puff (blend of redskin peanuts, coconut and caramel corn) and Pecan Puff (blend of coco¬ nut, pecans, almonds and caramel corn), by an exclusive push-button process. Operated by an electric motor, the machine uses a hot air system to heat a General Foodsdeveloped dry caramel mix with popped corn in a rotating drum. The hot air melts the cara¬ mel mix into a smooth candy glaze, and each kernel of corn is coated uniformly. When the process is completed, the top of the drum lifts up automatically, and the bottom tilts the caramel corn onto a stainless steel tray for the customer. ElectriCooker says their caramel corn ma¬ chine eliminates the hand labor required in the old-fashioned method of preparing caramel corn in a kettle. With ElectriCooker’s KernelFresh process, they state, the operator has only to load the mix and popped corn into the machine and add butter and other desired in¬ gredients when the corn is adequately glazed. Although customers often prefer to wait while the operator cooks a new batch of cara¬ mel corn, the products are displayed in bulk in a case for customers in a hurry as well as to attract new customers. “The innovation of using hot air to heat the caramel mix, combined with the tumbling ac¬ tion of the rotating drum, permits the corn to be more uniformly coated and eliminates stickiness,” says ElectriCooker General Man¬ ager Paul Shepard. “Moreover, this process produces a crisper, lighter and better flavored caramel corn for customers.” Under the merchandising plan developed by ElectriCooker, they will furnish, without charge, the Air-Popt Popcorn and Caramel Corn machines, including the necessary dis¬ play cabinet distinctly marked with the Ker¬ nel-Fresh trademark. According to their terms, when an AirPopt Popcorn Department is to be installed, the equipment is shipped prepaid to the store and an ElectriCooker representative makes the installation. The company says their representative “will We’ll be making your in-a-car speakers in1970 whatever happened to the many companies making them in 1955? Nothing is quite so costly as purchasing speakers that won’t stand nigged use and conditions. But it’s even worse to find out that parts and repair service are no longer obtainable. This is no exaggeration. In the past ten years about 30 companies that once made speakers have eithergone out of business or have ceased to manu¬ facture speakers. That’s why we’d suggest that the next time you buy speakers, better talk to the old reliable, Ballantyne, a solid manufacturer of theatre, sound and projection equipment since 1932. for full information write allantyne BALLANTYNE INSTRUMENTS AND ELECTRONICS, INC. A DIVISION OF ABC VENDING CORPORATION 1712 JACKSON ST. OMAHA 2, NEBRASKA Norelco PROJECTION EQUIPMENT Available from leading theatre supply dealers NORTH AMERICAN PHILIPS COMPANY, INC. Motion Picture Equipment Division 100 East 42nd St., New York 17, N. Y. BRIGHTER LIGHT LONGER BURNING SHARPER PICTURE free Test Samples iiififTTiTTjirTnntimr <mac*te CARBONS INC., BOONTON, N. J. uiUiiiiiie a itiuit • STEADIER LIGHT • LESS ATTENTION • PERFECT COLOR BALANCE Free Carbon Chart December 13, 1961 PHYSICAL THEATRE • EXTRA PROFITS DEPARTMENT of MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR PE1 I