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C.A. Pillsbury and Company was
founded in 1872 by Charles Alfred Pillsbury and his uncle John Sargent
Pillsbury. The company was the first in the United States to use steam
rollers for processing grain. The finished product required
transportation, so the Pillsburys assisted in funding railroad
development in Minnesota. In 1889,
Pillsbury and its five mills on the banks of the Mississippi River
were purchased by a British company. The company also tried to
purchase and merge with the Washburn Crosby Company (a precursor of
General Mills), but the strong rivalry prevented any merger from
happening at the time. The Pillsbury family reacquired the company in
1923. The early 1950s brought the acquisition of Ballard & Ballard
Company and the beginning of prepackaged biscuit dough. In 1989, the
British company Grand Metropolitan purchased the food maker. A decade
later, the old rivals merged. However, the baking products division
was sold to International Multifoods Corporation, which was later
acquired by Smucker's.
Pillsbury once claimed to have the
largest grain mill in the world at the Pillsbury "A" Mill overlooking
Saint Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. The
building had two of the most powerful direct-drive waterwheels ever
built, each putting out 1200 horsepower (895 kW). There are now plans
to convert it into a loft-style apartment building.
The Pillsbury Dough Boy was used by the
company for product endorsement during the 1970s and early 1980s, and
provided inspiration for the monster in the Ghostbusters movie. It is
still being used to this day.
source: wikipedia.org |
