That Company Sold Necco Again in September to the Ohio based Spangler Candy Company

Workers sort NECCO Wafers at the New England Confectionery Co. in Revere, Mass. The Ohio-based Spangler Candy Company made the winning bid for NECCO, which filed for defalcation in early April. Scott Eisen/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Scott Eisen/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Workers sort NECCO Wafers at the New England Confectionery Co. in Revere, Mass. The Ohio-based Spangler Candy Visitor fabricated the winning bid for NECCO, which filed for bankruptcy in early on April.

Scott Eisen/Bloomberg via Getty Images

NECCOmaniacs, take middle!

The broke New England Confectionery Co., primarily known for its chalky carbohydrate wafers and Valentine's Twenty-four hour period candy conversation hearts, received an $18.83 million winning bid from Ohio-based Spangler Candy Company, maker of Dum Dum lollipops and Circus Peanuts, at a federal bankruptcy auction in Boston on Wed.

And while the time to come of NECCO processed is notwithstanding uncertain, the bargain may keep the company's products — which as well include Mary Janes, the Sky Bar and Processed Buttons — on the shelves a little while longer.

That's good news for fans of the 171-yr-old Massachusetts candy maker, which traces its roots dorsum to 1847, when Oliver Chase, an immigrant from England, invented a lozenge cutter (the first American candy car, according to NECCO). He and his brother, Silas, then founded Chase and Co., which became the New England Confectionery Co. after a merger in 1901.

NECCO claims to be the country'due south oldest continuously operating candy company. Civil State of war soldiers carried NECCO wafers. During WWII, the U.S. government bought them in bulk and shipped them off to soldiers, because the candy didn't melt and was able to survive ship without breaking. In the 1930s, Richard Byrd, an American navy admiral and polar explorer, took more than two tons of NECCO wafers with him for his two-year trek in Antarctica.

A processed company so entrenched in American history triggered somewhat of a panic when the news broke that information technology might shut shop. As NPR reported in April, NECCO fans hoarded every bit much of the processed as they could, causing sales to spike.

"We're selling a lot," said Jon Prince, who runs the online retailer Candyfavorites.com, during the rush. One caller wanted to buy his whole inventory, but Prince was limiting sales. "And the person really started to weep and they said they couldn't imagine a world without their NECCO wafers," Prince said.

And 23-yr-old Katie Samuels offered a candy wholesaler her 2003 Honda Accord for its entire stock of NECCO, Morning time Edition's Noel King reported. The wholesaler declined, simply Samuels got her processed anyway — past charging information technology to her credit card.

Though not everyone is a fan of the mode the wafers gustatory modality — they are often described equally having a chalky, antacid-like flavor — some people love them for other reasons.

Every bit NPR reported last calendar month, Spencer Ordway, who runs an overnight camp in Maine, said he stocked upwards because campers employ the wafers as currency to play games and buy prizes at the finish-of-summertime carnival.

"I had so many alumni and current staff contacting me ... maxim, 'What are we going to do? How tin can we save enough NECCO wafers to cover u.s.a. for years to come?'" Ordway said.

And many people on social media take remarked that the wafers make fantabulous shingles for the roofs of gingerbread houses.

Aside from the wafers, the company's Sweethearts are a Valentine'southward Day staple, bearing a choice of virtually eighty messages, from the classics "BE MINE" and "Buss ME" to more modernistic phrases, such as "Electronic mail ME" and "CHILL OUT."

The beleaguered candy maker, which will however operate out of Revere, Mass., for now, has recently faced other difficulties: In a letter of the alphabet dated May 15, the FDA detailed unsanitary conditions throughout the plant, saying that inspectors had found rodent droppings "too numerous to count" as well as dingy equipment and piece of work spaces.

And layoffs of up to 400 people were expected if a buyer was not found.

The winning bidder, Spangler Processed Company, which was likewise founded by a pair of brothers, has been family owned and operated since 1906. Its current CEO, Kirkland B. Vashaw, is a 4th-generation family member.

Mike McGee, CEO of NECCO, told the Boston Herald, "We started equally a family-endemic candy company. We're thrilled to piece of work with a fourth-generation candy company that's going to bring some new stewardship to our brand. We'll piece of work really hard to make sure nosotros get a successful transition."

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Source: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/05/24/614140906/saved-in-the-necco-time-bankrupt-candy-company-sold-at-federal-auction

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