Since a chain of fast food restaurants was a new concept in the United States in that era, there was no infrastructure to support the business. Hence, the company established centralized bakeries, meat supply plants, and warehouses to supply itself. It was said that the only thing they did not do themselves was raise the cows and grow their own wheat.
Ingram developed a machine to create previously unheard of paper hats. In 1932 Ingram set up a subsidiary, Paperlynen to make these hats and other paper products used in their own restaurants as well as for many other purposes. In 1955, Paperlynen produced over 42 million paper hats worldwide with more than 25,000 different inscriptions. They also created a subsidiary in 1934 named Porcelain Steel Buildings that manufactured movable, prefabricated steel frame structures with porcelain enamel interior and exterior panels that could be assembled at any White Castle restaurant site, the first known use of this material in a building design.
The company also began publishing an internal employee magazine called the “White Castle Official House Organ,” circa November 1925 (originally named “The Hot Hamburger”). The bulk of the material was contributed by Castle personnel, mostly letters and photographs of workers, promotional announcements, 25-year milestones and retirements, etc., arranged by geographic area. The House Organ was published quarterly at least through the early 1980s, and at some point was renamed “The Slider Times.”
Thus, Ingram’s business savvy resulted not only in White Castle’s success, but also in the popularization of the hamburger.
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