H.J. Heinz: A Biography

I had no idea how accomplished of an industrialist H.J. Heinz was before I read this book. He operated in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He worked tirelessly to establish a reputation for high quality products, when others didn't bother to invest the effort. This is why he insisted that Heinz products be sold in more expensive, clear glass bottles when competing sauces were sold in cheaper, brown or green glass bottles. He established a brand that individuals could count on for quality when most foodstuffs were sold out of unmarked boxes and barrels. He embraced automation and new technologies when others hesitated to make investments in electrifying factories or automatic bottle-making equipment. He designed factories in clever ways that cut costs, such as using gravity-driven can packing machines. He innovated the packaged food business by embracing solderless canning on a massive scale--allowing products to be canned with greater speed and with less risk of contamination. I even enjoyed reading about the catchy things he did to raise brand awareness, such as driving around in a ketchup-red electric vehicle with the Heinz logo on it when few vehicles existed and erecting large, Heinz signs at prominent hot spots such as the Atlantic City shore.Overall, this book is a very informative biography of an incredible person who is so rarely profiled. The author also has a background in operations management and manufacturing, so he went into a level of detail that I crave that most books often don't go into. But he kept it around 300 pages so the detail is never too overwhelming. And he repeats himself often. This helps when the level of detail was previously overwhelming, but sometimes it is a tad annoying.

A good history of mass market food production along with the quality, integrity, and self confidence of the maker.

Looks like a good read. Am very interested in reading about the leaders in the food industry after watching "The Food That Built America" on the History channel.

Since I struggled with depression in the past, I found the piece about Heinz's struggle with it encouraging. Also, the general details of his life as outlined in this book are good at best. The book reads like your average essay written by a college student trying to embark on a great project. I feel that Heinz was a man of achievement, who understood the meaning of responsibility and contributing to the greater good. Thus, we need a better biographer to write this man's story in a way that would encourage the modern executive, to see h/her work as necessary for the good of society.

I rarely review books however I had great anticipation for this book because as a Founder/CEO of companies, I am always learning; and as a publisher I noticed basic editing mistakes and unnecessary repetitions. Basic, basic editing errors, hopefully these errors will be corrected in next edition, if there is next edition because H J Heinz story is a great story.

Great Bio I loved reading this book it’s a great read from the beginning all the way till the end.

This is a well researched book on Heinz and accentuates his business failings and successes. For example, he misunderstood the cash-flow complexities of holding large inventories which he avoided later in his career. I enjoyed these descriptions and compared them to my own business planning. Heinz was very thoughtful of what is appropriate in a capitalistic society and how to avoid abusing employees.Although there is a significant amount of editorial errors and repeated material, overall the book was really helpful toward my own business plans and enjoyable to read. I can recommend this book to others who are looking for great ideas and a history of American capitalism.

This is the second time I have read this book. The first time I read it I was taking a college course under the author. He makes things interesting throughout the book. A much better biography than most that I have read.I like how he incorporated information on other up and coming businessmen from the same time to help show how Heinz leadership compared. I am not sure that there was anything that I didn't like about the book.I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about the business that is Heinz and/or business.

Interesting book