with the chocolate manufacturer the hershey company . hershey creamery company type public traded as otc pink hrcr industry ice cream manufacturer founded lancaster county pennsylvania 1894 founders jacob hershey isaac hershey john hershey paris hershey eli hershey headquarters harrisburg pennsylvania u.s. area served northeastern and eastern united states key people george holder president walter holder vice president of manufacturing tom holder vice president of sales and marketing robert campbell controller kimberly hill web developer products ice cream sherbet ice cream cake frozen slab smoothies revenue us 44 800 000 2007 number of employees 450 website hersheyicecream.com hershey s ice cream shop ypsilanti twp . mi an old hershey grocery sign in falmouth pennsylvania . hershey creamery company also known as hershey s ice cream is a creamery that produces hershey s brand ice cream sorbet sherbet and frozen yogurt and other frozen treats such as smoothies and frozen slab style ice cream mixers . founded by jacob hershey and four of his brothers in 1894 all of whom have no relation to milton s. hershey and the chocolate company that he founded also in 1894 it was taken over by the holder family in the 1920s . the company was one of the first to offer consumers pre packaged ice cream pints . in 1998 it modernized its operations to increase efficiency and reduce overhead . with their shared names and cities of origin hershey creamery and hershey company have had a tumultuous relationship marked by multiple lawsuits over trademark issues . in the mid 1990s the companies settled their most recent legal battles out of court with the creamery agreeing to add a disclaimer to its ice cream products to note that it is not affiliated with the hershey company . the family owned business has approximately 450 employees and operates 22 distribution centers in 28 states across the eastern and northeastern united states . it is a publicly traded company with its stocks listed only on pink sheets as the company offers a limited number of shares to potential shareholders . in 2001 the company posted a profit of 4.1 million with sales reaching 91.4 million . contents 1 history 1.1 trademark disputes with hershey company 1.2 other legal issues 2 business model 2.1 financials 2.2 products 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit the hershey brothers jacob isaac john paris and eli founded hershey creamery company in 1894 with the company originally operating out of the hershey family s lancaster county farmhouse . 1 2 the ice cream was packed in metal lined wooden containers that the hershey brothers designed and built . the containers were loaded into trucks with ice packed around them to keep the ice cream fresh and cold . salesmen traveled daily routes to deliver product to customers in the county and in surrounding areas . 3 in the 1920s the company was merged with the holder family s bethlehem based meyer dairy company retaining the hershey name . 3 4 in 1926 with demand for the ice cream exceeding the capacity of the farmhouse the newly merged company constructed its first ice cream plant in harrisburg pennsylvania . 1 2 during the great depression the company became the first ice cream maker to offer its products in pre packaged pints . it began creating new flavors of ice cream which it then sold to other ice cream makers . 3 4 following world war ii the company continued to answer the call for greater convenience in consumer foods and expanded its offerings to include single serve easy to eat items such as popsicles and ice cream sandwiches . in the 1960s the holder family assumed full ownership of the company . 4 as the company grew it split its production operations with the harrisburg location mixing the ice cream and a new facility in lower swatara township used for the actual hardening and packaging of the product . while local orders continued to be delivered in small hershey s ice cream refrigerated trucks the company shifted to transporting most of its ice cream to refrigerated tractor trailer trucks enabling it to stretch its market beyond the state of pennsylvania . 3 it expanded its distribution facilities eventually occupying 22 co owned distribution centers . this enabled the company to ship products out more quickly after orders are received and resulted in less travel time for the products ensuring freshness and quality were maintained . in the summer months the company greatly increased its workforce and leased additional cold storage space to help meet the seasonal orders as the orders were prepared by hand . 3 5 in 1998 operations were modernized and automated when the company purchased 105 acres 0.42 km2 in nearby middletown where it constructed a modern 1.3 million cubic foot warehouse enabling it to boost its efficiency reducing the need to increase its summer workforce and reducing the frequent product loss caused by hand orders and inefficient packing systems . the modernization of its warehouse also improved inventory management order accuracy and has helped the company continue its growth . 5 trademark disputes with hershey company edit hershey creamery has been involved in multiple legal disputes with the similarly named hershey company founded around the same time in lancaster by milton s. hershey no relation to the founding hershey brothers . 4 6 the first troubles came after the hershey creamery began producing chocolate candy and cocoa . milton s. hershey learned of the candies in 1919 and assigned charles ziegler to find instances of confusion and infringement and of unfair competition . 7 ziegler found that in addition to making similar products the packaging used on the chocolates resembled that used by hershey company then called hershey chocolate . investigating complaints from retailers in boston new york binghamton norfolk and richmond ziegler reportedly found that retailers were confusing the two products and sometimes deliberately replacing the higher priced hershey company products with the hershey creamery products . in harrisburg ziegler found a display of hershey creamery hershey kisses which were bite sized chocolate drops similar to the chocolate company s creations . 7 after cease and desist letters failed to resolve the problem milton hershey filed suit in 1921 in the united states district court for the middle district of pennsylvania for trademark infringement . 7 in 1926 a district judged partially sided with hershey chocolate and prohibited the creamery from using the name hershey s in connection with manufacture advertisement distribution or sale of among other things chocolate cocoa chocolate confections and chocolate or cocoa products . in 1958 the creamery registered for and was granted the hershey s trademark for use with ice cream and butter products . seven years later the company filed suit in united states district court for the southern district of new york against hershey company and consolidated foods corporation after learning the companies were planning to partner to make a line of hershey s branded ice cream bars . hershey creamery alleged trademark infringement unfair competition false designation of origin false descriptions and false representations to which hershey chocolate responded with a counterclaim questioning the validity of the trademark claiming it was fraudulently obtained . the companies settled out of court the following year with the creamery agreeing to drop butter from its trademark and fix a filing error with it and allowing hershey company to release the licensed bars within certain guidelines . hershey company also agreed not to challenge the creamery s hershey s trademark for use on ice cream again . shortly after this hershey creamery expanded its trademark to include other ice cream products ice cream ice milk sherbet water ice and frozen confections in which ice cream ice milk sherbet or water ice is a component . in 1989 the creamery expanded its products to include frozen yogurt and filed for a new trademark for this new line of products . upon learning of the registration request the hershey company then named hershey foods demanded the company cease production of the products claiming it violated hershey company s trademarks . the creamery dropped its application but continued releasing the products so in may 1990 hershey company filed suit in the middle district court of pennsylvania seeking a legal injunction to stop hershey creamery from producing and marketing its hershey s branded frozen yogurt as well as to attempt to stop the company from using the hershey s trademark outside of its traditional thirteen state trading area and to demand that the company include a disclaimer disavowing its relation to hershey company on all of its products . hershey creamery counter sued in the new york south district court concerned that hershey company demands reneged on the 1967 settlement and requested the pennsylvania court actions be transferred to the new york court as that was where the settlement was originally handled . the request was denied and the court instead blocked the hershey creamery s suit in new york . the creamery appealed but this was denied . after three years in court the two companies again settled with hershey creamery agreeing to put a disclaimer on all of its products corporate website and in promotional materials and press releases . 8 on their website the disclaimer simply notes not affiliated with hershey s chocolate . 9 other legal issues edit in november 2008 hershey creamery company became the first company in the nation to be prosecuted and fined for failing to implement a risk management program rmp as required by the clean air act . the charges were brought by the environmental protection agency epa which stated that the company failed to develop the required plans with regard to its storage and use of anhydrous ammonia which is a regulated substance . in the charges the epa noted that the creamery twice certified that it had developed the rmp plan once in 1999 and again in 2004 . later inspection showed that the certifications were false and on december 7 2006 the epa issued a civil compliance order against the company ordering the company to come into compliance . hershey creamery complied and in april 2007 submitted the appropriate rmps which were confirmed to be in place through subsequent inspection . the case was heard at the federal middle district court of pennsylvania with hershey creamery pleading guilty to the charges ; it was subsequently fined 100 000 and given a year probation . 10 business model edit hershey creamery is a family operated business with each new generation raised to assume roles within the company hierarchy upon graduation of high school . as of 2009 update george holder is its president while his younger brothers walter and tom are vice president of manufacturing and vice president of sales and marketing respectively . 4 the company has approximately 450 employees . 11 the company operates 22 distribution centers which serve some 22 000 clients in 28 states across the eastern united states with florida illinois and the carolinas being its newest market areas after its 2005 expansion . 5 8 12 since 1996 management has focused on the company s main distribution center rather than expansion outside of existing footprint . in 2003 it shifted its focus to moving its operations from the harrisburg area which is flood prone and landlocked to the lower swatara area . it opened a distribution center there in 1998 and plans to shift its headquarters and production facilities there over the next five to ten years . unlike other ice cream makers hershey creamery maintains ownership over its delivery trucks distribution centers and warehouses a practice the holder family feels is important to maintaining the traditions of the private conservative company . 8 sales are primarily derived from branded ice cream parlors quick serve restaurants and the distribution of its pre packaged items to convenience stores food service operators such as schools hospitals prisons military installations