Introduction

This site deals with anything related to popcorn machines or popcorn poppers made by Manley Inc. from the 1940s through the 1990s.  As well as the predecessor company, Burch Manufacturing that made popcorn machines and peanut roasters.  Specifically the goal of this site is to preserve information related to these machines and the company that made them.  An additional goal is to provide information to help keep these machines running.

Brief History of Manley

The  company originated in 1921 or 1922 when Julian Burch started making popcorn machines under the name--Burch Manufacturing Company.  Shortly thereafter Charles T. Manley joined Julian Burch.  Burch then left and started a new company, which is still operating today--Star Manufacturing.

Charles T. Manley continued to use the Burch Manufacturing name until 1940.  According to Manley Inc records from the 1950s, the name changed from Burch Manufacturing to Manley on September 18, 1940.  According to an article in Boxoffice Magazine from January 4, 1941 Burch announced the name change to Manley, Inc. for the popcorn machine including new models.  Their supplies (popcorn, seasoning, cartons, bags, etc.) were continued under the name of Burch Manufacturing Company for a short period of time.

Around the end of WWII, Manley Inc purchased a building at 1920 Wyandotte, Kansas City, Missouri.  Before this, they used a building at 1906 Wyandotte.  The ID tags on their popcorn machine use both addresses.  This is one way to identify the age of the machine based on the address on the ID tag.

According to Missouri State records, Charles T. Manley and Charles G. Manley were listed as the Registered Agents for the following Missouri Corporations:

Note: *application notes previous names of Burch Manufacturing and Sales, Co., & Burch Manufacturing Company.

Addresses Used

Cantrell International, a division of A. C. Horn, purchased the Manley, Inc. Food Machinery Division in 1993 (A.C. Horn & Company).

Markets Served

Manley produced a wide variety of models serving a wide variety of markets.  In the 1940s and 1950s one of their markets was movie theaters.  In 1947 they held 70% of the movie theater market.  For the theater market the upright or cabinet style popper were preferred.

They also marketed to schools for use in stadiums.  In the 1950s they provided a complete line of products for the concession stand include soda machines, hot dog rollers, counters, and grills.  The products for these markets tended to overlap, with console style popcorn popper being somewhat more popular.

At some point in time, they developed industrial popcorn machines for the packaged popcorn.  The model 315 was developed for making Carmel corn.  Many of these machines are still being used today.  AC Horn acquired the Manley industrial line.  Their model 320 appears to be an updated version of the model 315.