About Us
Winston Industries’ relationship with KFC dates back to 1967 when founder Winston Shelton, then a development engineer at General Electric, worked on a project for KFC to measure frying temperatures in their home canners. While working on the project, Winston became intrigued by KFC’s kitchen challenges and had the opportunity to meet Colonel Harland Sanders. Winston admired the Colonel’s business savvy and recognized an opportunity to improve KFC’s frying process.
Subsequently, he soon had an opportunity to meet Colonel Harland Sanders. Winston’s company was working on a pressure fryer for Mies Filter Products. Carl Mies brought the Colonel to the small shop to see it.
Winston designed a pressure fryer to improve consistency and safety in frying, especially for KFC’s part-time employees. At the time, KFC used a large, inconsistent $16,000 cooker that required frequent handling of hot shortening. Winston’s design featured a gravity filter and a collector-based fryer that reduced the need for frequent filtering.
During development, Winston faced a financial crisis when a bank employee stole company funds. Desperate, he sought Colonel Sanders’ help. The Colonel supported Winston, securing a $50,000 loan and helping him get the fryer into production.
The new Collectramatic fryer was approved by KFC Canada and quickly replaced existing fryers in nearly 600 outlets. Despite opposition in the U.S., the fryer gained traction with franchisees, leading to a gentlemen’s agreement with KFC president Dick Beeson, who confirmed the fryer’s taste equivalency to the old pots but didn’t officially approve it. It later emerged that KFC couldn’t approve the fryer due to a contract with the Hart Biscuit Company, which owned the rights to the original KFC cooker. When Heublein acquired KFC, they resolved the issue, and the Collectramatic fryer was officially approved.
Over the next three decades, more than 26,000 Collectramatic fryers were sold to KFC, and Winston Industries continued to grow. In 1984, the company changed its name to Winston Industries, reflecting its expanded product line. Today, Winston Industries remains committed to the principles of innovation, hard work, and integrity inspired by Colonel Sanders.
