Source: Blog – Alliance for American Manufacturing

Photos courtesy Zippo Manufacturing Company

The trustworthy lighter that went into battle with U.S. soldiers in World War II is made in Bradford, Pennsylvania.

There are many things that we quickly associate with American pop culture. Here are a few of them: Baseball, apple pie, blue jeans, the Statue of Liberty, and Zippo lighters.

Yes, Zippo lighters have become a notable part of Americana since George G. Blaisdell founded the Zippo Manufacturing Company in Bradford, Penn. in 1932. Production of the rectangular, chrome-finished igniters began a year later, with a handful of employees making about 10 or 20 per day.

But the Zippo lighter became permanently embedded in our nation’s culture when American soldiers began carrying them during World War II.

“Making lighters for World War II is what really put us on the map, because we ceased production for civilian consumption during WW II and dedicated the entirety of our production be put in the hands of U.S. soldiers around the world,” said Zippo Vice President of Marketing Brent Tyler. “That really changed the complexion of the company because now people all over the world were seeing Zippo lighters, and it really started to build up our global fandom.

“Nearly every soldier carried one in battle. There’s an entire series of ads that we ran back during that time proudly claiming that we are not going to sell to civilians. All of our production was going toward our soldiers.”

The standard Zippo lighter is windproof and easy to use with one hand. This convenience was desperately needed by soldiers who were given packs of Lucky Strike or Camel cigarettes in their rations. When the soldiers returned home, most of America got a glimpse of the simple but efficient lighter and Zippo returned to production for the masses.

“They are all manufactured here, and we are closing in on the making of roughly 700 million lighters,” said Tyler. “We will make anywhere between 10- and 15 million lighters per year based on demand. We can make 70- to 75,000 a day.”

Despite the decline in tobacco use in the United States, Zippo has been able to capitalize by exporting to foreign markets in recent years.

“If you think about China, Southeast Asia and India, those are all developing markets with large populations and they are still consumers of tobacco products,” said Tyler. “We’ve stayed strong as a company by being aggressive and going after those new markets.

“Domestically, with the recent changes in attitudes around cannabis and the state legalization of cannabis, we’ve certainly latched onto that consumer as a potential growth for our company.”

Somewhat related to the subject of cannabis are the many custom designs Zippo manufactures for anything or anyone including Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia.

“We’ve done the Dead, Kiss, the Who, Elvis Presley, you name it,” said Tyler.

During the 1970s, 80s and 90s, Zippo lighters held aloft by fans would light up dark concert halls as patrons showed their appreciation for the show and let the performers know that they wanted an encore. That expression of communicating with talent has been replaced today by the lights of concert-goers’ cell phones.

But Zippo lighters remain popular today in the U.S. entertainment and music industries. A reporter interviewing filmmaker Quentin Tarantino spotted a collectible Elvis Presley Zippo displayed in his home, and Tyler said many other movie stars and musicians are known to carry a Zippo.

“We get information from some companies we work with to get product placement that a lot of A-list celebrities after the filming of a movie they always seem to take the Zippo lighters with them,” said Tyler, “Frank Sinatra was buried with his Zippo lighter and a role of dimes so he could make a phone call in the afterlife.”

Zippo started out as a family business and remains so today. The great-grandson of founder Blaisdell, George B. Duke, is Zippo’s principal owner and CEO.

Zippo does make other products that are sourced from overseas, but its original lighter is still entirely manufactured at its Bradford factory. The lighters are made from brass that is chrome plated. The holes in the lighter’s “chimney” are what keeps the flame alive because they allow oxygen in to fuel the flame.

Zippo lighters last a lifetime, and since they are refillable with fuel there is no waste that is typically found with disposable plastic lighters that clog up our landfills.

Most Americans, including those who have never smoked tobacco, are familiar with the look and sound of a Zippo lighter. When the top is opened prior to striking the flint, the Zippo creates a distinctive sound that is now known around the world.

“Our legal team was able to trademark that iconic click of a Zippo lighter, so we own that,” said Tyler. “We’ve also trademarked the shape of the Zippo lighter as well, so nobody without breaking the law can make a lighter that looks like a Zippo.”

Zippo employs 515 employees at its manufacturing facility, in a small Pennsylvania town about 5 miles south of the New York border. On the factory site is also the Zippo / Case Museum where curious customers and serious collectors can learn more about the iconic product and shop for new lighters.

Zippo collecting is immensely popular in the collector’s world of American-made products. The museum hosts more than 100,000 visitors and collectors annually. In addition to the thousands of uniquely designed lighters, there are also lighters on display that take you through the Zippo years of rock and roll, its contributions to the American effort in World War II and its use in thousands of movies and television shows.

The Zippo 1950s Town & Country models are a unique find for collectors.

“The Town & County series is probably one of our most sought-after product offerings,” said Tyler. “It was a process by which we etched out a cavity on the front of the lighter and they were hand-painted by employees here in Bradford. They were done individually. They are some of our most sought-after and collectible items today. We stopped doing that process, which even makes them more sought after.”

Another popular selling point for Zippo is its lifetime guarantee.

“The windproof is certainly a product feature that we hang our hat on, and another one is that they carry a lifetime guarantee,” said Tyler. “Whether your lighter is three days old or three decades old, if you send it back to us, we will put it in first-class mechanical condition.”

While most Zippo lighters sell from between $20 and $40 today there are exceptions that include a custom-made 18-carat gold lighter. That jet-set class Zippo sells for $35,000.

“We have decorated them with almost anything you can imagine,” said Tyler. “Whatever lifestyle you are into, whether you ride a Harley Davidson motorcycle or you’re a fan of the Steelers or you like skulls or gambling, we’ve done it. “A Zippo lighter is a sensory experience. You can hear the click, you can smell the fuel, you can see the heat. It has this perfect weight heft to them that is kind of indescribable. They are just super cool.”

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