The management of Elsner Engineering Works, Inc. is pleased to announce that 2009 marks the company’s 75th anniversary as a third-generation, family owned and operated business. Elsner was founded on August 4, 1934, by Franz & Johanna Elsner, German immigrants who had only arrived in the USA ten years earlier. Originally located in a broom factory in Hanover, Pennsylvania, Elsner now operates out of its state-of-the-art facility located across town from its original setting.
Known as the “Little Dutchman”, Franz “Frank” Elsner, Sr., began the business repairing equipment and designing special machinery for local manufacturers. The potato chip slicer was the first machine developed by Elsner, followed by extensive work in cigar box machinery. Until Elsner’s entry into designing and manufacturing converting machinery in the mid 1950s, Elsner continued designing and manufacturing special machinery—whose numbers exceed 400. The firm sold its first roll packaging system to convert and package gift wrap rolls in 1955 to the Tuttle Press Company.
Upon Frank, Sr.’s, passing in 1967, the founder’s two sons, Frank, Jr., and Bertram, took over the business. They worked 38 and 43 years, respectively, with the firm—with Frank, Jr., retiring in 1993 and Bertram in 2001. Now under third-generation active management, the founder’s two grandsons, Frank “Rusty”, III, and Bertram, II, operate the business.
To commemorate this occasion, Elsner has several festivities planned throughout the year. These include a celebratory banquet in August, the month of its founding, as well as sponsorship of several local community events. F. Rusty Elsner, President & CEO, states: “Bert and I are proud to be carrying on in the tradition of our grandparents and fathers who labored so intently to build up the business. For 75 years, we have earned a reputation for designing and manufacturing robust, quality equipment and we zealously guard that reputation. We are indebted to those who have gone before us to allow us to carry on such a fine tradition.”
Today, Elsner Engineering Works, Inc., designs and manufactures converting and packaging machinery. Its line of over 50 different rewinding, folding and overwrapping machines is used to convert and package such products as disposable disinfectant baby non-woven wipes, gift wrap paper, aluminum foil and wallpaper. Elsner currently services and supports over 2400 machines worldwide with equipment in service in nearly 60 countries. It received the coveted “E-award” for its International Sales initiatives in 1983 and a subsequent award from the Department of Commerce in 2004 for its sales initiatives in emerging markets.
Package Printing, Second Edition