Frito - Lay, Inc. ( Now Pepsico )

Beautifully engraved RARE SPECIMEN certificate from the Frito - Lay, Inc. This historic document was printed by the Security-Columbian Banknote Company in 1961 and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of an allegorical woman holding the company logo with a farming scene in the background. This item has the printed signatures of the Company’s President and Secretary. This is the first time we have had this certificate for sale.
Certificate Vignette The Story of Frito-Lay, Inc. from company Press Information In September of 1932, a young Texan in San Antonio named Elmer Doolin took an unknown, new food product, and with imagination, ingenuity and perseverance, started an entirely new industry in America. This new product was FRITOS® brand Corn Chips. That same year another young man started his small enterprising business in Nashville, Tennessee. His name was Herman W. Lay, and he used his 1929 Model A as a delivery truck to distribute potato chips made by an Atlanta, Georgia firm. Curiously - or perhaps coincidentally - both men needed and borrowed about $100 each to start their respective businesses. From the beginning, both companies were built on the same basic business philosophy: `Make the best product possible; sell it at a fair profit; and make service a fundamental part of doing business. The Frito Company Mr. Doolin stopped for lunch in a small San Antonio cafe and while waiting for his 5¢ sandwich, he noticed a plain package of corn chips on the counter. His decision to spend another 5¢ for this package was one which changed the course of his life. Inside he found a tasty product made from corn masa or dough, which was used for centuries as bread by the Mexicans of the Southwest. Mr. Doolin's ice cream business was caught in the middle of a price war, and he was looking for another investment. In 1938, he sought out the maker of the corn chips and found a buisnessman who was eager to sell the recipe and move to Mexico. For $100, which he had to borrow, Mr. Doolin bought the recipe and 19 retail accounts plus the manufacturing equipment - an old converted hand-operated potato ricer. The first manufacturing plant for FRITOS® brand Corn Chips was the kitchen of Mr. Doolin's mother, Mrs. Daisy Dean Doolin. Production capacity was about 10 pounds per hour, with total sales running from $8 to $10 a day. Profits sometimes amounted to as much as $2 a day. Mr. Doolin cooked FRITOS® Corn Chips at night and sold them by day from his Model T Ford. As sales increased, production problems arose. To increase output, he developed a press that was more efficient than the potato ricer - although it had to be hand struck with a hammer to cut strips of corn dough. Later, through company efforts, a modern press was developed and cooking and packaging equipment were improved. The Frito Company expanded. In 1933, the headquarters was moved from San Antonio to Dallas because Mr. Doolin saw distribution advantages and the city's future role as the business center of the Southwest. After the move, Mr. Doolin began opening new accounts and expanding existing routes. One trip to St. Louis required that he work as a night cook in a restaurant because he could not afford to pay himself a salary. The Lay Company At the same time Mr. Doolin was expanding his business from Dallas, Mr. Lay was establishing the foundation for his organization in Nashville, Tennessee. Mr. Lay began his business by selling potato chips from an old touring car. By 1934, with six snack food routes, he was on his way to becoming a major distributor for an Atlanta potato chip manufacturer. In 1938, the Atlanta manufacturer developed problems that threatened Mr. Lay's major source for potato chips and snack foods. Financial arrangements were made by Mr. Lay through business associates and friends for him to buy the company and change its name to H.W. Lay & Company. Because employees from both companies were committed to carrying out the basic philosophy established by their founders, business prospered. New plants were opened and distribution systems were enlarged. Profits were put back into the businesses in order to expand. H.W. Lay & Company became one of the largest snack and convenience food companies in the Southeast, its primary product being LAY'S® brand Potato Chips. The Frito Company held a similar position in the Southwest with its primary product, FRITOS® Corn Chips. FIRST FRANCHISES LEAD TO FRITO-LAY, INC. Business expansion was delayed by World War II and rationing until 1945, when The Frito Company granted H.W. Lay & Company one of the first exclusive franchises to manufacture and distribute FRITOS® Corn Chips in the Southeast. As the two companies worked toward national distribution, a close business affiliation developed which eventually resulted in a merger. The Frito Company continued to grow at a fast pace. Before Elmer Doolin died in 1959, he saw FRITOS® Corn Chips become one of America's most popular foods, and The Frito Company established itself as the leader in the snack food industry. Meanwhile, H.W. Lay & Company was establishing a strong, profitable business in the Southeast with potato chips. Demand for snack foods was strong and the company expanded to meet consumer needs. By 1961, facilities were acquired for the national distribution of ROLD GOLD® brand Pretzels. In September, 1961, just 29 years after the founding of both companies, The Frito Company and H.W. Lay & Company merged to become Frito-Lay, Inc. In February 1965, the Board of Directors for Frito-Lay, Inc. and the Pepsi-Cola Company announced a plan for the merger of the major beverage company with the snack foods company. The merger was approved on June 8 by the shareholders of both companies. As a result, a new company called PepsiCo, Inc. was formed, with Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola becoming separate operating divisions.