When you think about buying a manufactured product, you will most likely only think of two things: “Does it work for what I need it to?” and “Can I afford it?” However, there is also the “story” of the product, the “brand.” These days, I think a lot of us cynically believe that everything that is made is made in China. It’s a bit depressing, since that means that by buying those products we are getting involved in a story that is not close to home. Nothing against the Chinese, where would we be without some of their wonderful and affordable products after all? But it would be nice to know that there are still essential, innovative, quality products that are part of an ongoing American story. The Presto product line is an example of that; American quality ingenuity dating back over 100 years.
Recapping its entire history here would be too much, but it is interesting to briefly describe where National Presto Industries came from. Founded in 1905 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the company that would become National Presto Industries was already at the forefront. They made a product that makes life in the kitchen faster, easier, safer and more affordable: pressure cookers and canners. Their industry got a boost in 1917 when the USDA determined that pressure canners were the only way to safely package low-acid foods, helping to stop deadly cases of food poisoning.
Most of their products had a more commercial focus until, in 1939, they revolutionized the industry by introducing their “Presto” line of homemade saucepan-style pressure cookers. These pressure cookers make food prep quick, easy, less expensive, and even healthier. Surprisingly, this is still true even today. Compared to a microwave, pressure cooking is often faster and more desirable, given the quality and better taste of the food that results.
However, despite its blessing on the market, National Presto Industries discontinued its pressure cooker production in WWII. This was to aid in the production of the rocket fuses needed for the war effort.
After the war, pressure cooker production expanded with the opening of a second plant in 1953. Once again, this plant was located in the United States: Jackson Mississippi. As production expanded, so did the Presto product line, with innovations including state-of-the-art electric cookers and appliances. Many of these appliances are iconic from the 1950s, bright, stylish, and more efficient. But still, pressure cookers and canners continued to be a top seller.
Since the 1950s, expansion and innovations have kept coming. First with the plant in Alamogordo, New Mexico, opened in 1971, and then with a host of kitchen appliances that make food quicker to prepare and healthier at the same time. Some of Presto’s many innovative products include: the Electric Coffee Maker, Electric Pressure Cooker, SaladShooter, Various Electric Griddles, Healthier Deep Fridges, the More Efficient Hot Air Powered PopCornNow, and more.
To this day, National Presto Industries still embodies innovation, seeking inventors and ideas from the public. However, they also maintain excellence in the products that made them successful – quality pressure cookers made right here in the USA Because they have had such longevity, Presto still supports replacement parts for vintage model pressure cookers. They cover all the lines dating back to WWII, and some even earlier.
It’s good to know that the same product Grandma used to cook faster, healthier, and tastier meals is still available today. They are still as high quality as ever, and they are still manufactured by the same company. So when you think “Do I want quality or affordability?” Know that you can get both with Presto products. Plus, it can be part of an ongoing success story, right here at home.
