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Who is “The Real McCoy” Anyway?

Rumor has it that the phrase “the real McCoy” could have come from a variety of sources. But the origin story we like the most is about Canadian inventor Elijah McCoy and his coveted products which customers understandably only wanted authentic versions of.


If you want something that’s “the real McCoy”, you’re probably looking for “the real deal” or a “genuine article.” But where did this idiom come from? Who is McCoy, and why are they the gold standard for authenticity?

Truth be told, there are many theories about the origins of this phrase ranging from a Scottish poem to a Canadian book, to a Roman radio show. But, we’re going to focus on the one involving the prolific nineteenth-century inventor Elijah McCoy.

A Son of Slaves

Born in Canada in 1843, Elijah McCoy was the son of former slaves George and Emilia McCoy who had fled to the country for their freedom. Following the Civil War, the family then moved to Ypsilanti, MI to restart their lives in the United States. As an adult, Elijah traveled to Scotland to be educated as a mechanical engineer.

Upon completion of his studies, he returned to the US and went to work on the Michigan Central Railroad. As a black man, however, he all-too-commonly faced discrimination in his field and was hired as a train fireman despite his engineering training.

A Reputation on the Railroads

Elijah did not let his setbacks stop his genius creativity, however, and quickly began inventing products that would make train maintenance easier and more effective. He received his first patent for an automatic oiling device that allowed locomotive engines to be lubricated while still running instead of stopping as previously required.

This revolutionary device significantly improved efficiency, therefore saving train operators precious time and money. Elijah’s reputation for creating quality products quickly grew, and to avoid receiving cheap substitutes, users of heavy machinery were said to have asked for “the real McCoy.”

A Plethora of Patents

Elijah continued inventing through the remainder of his life, ultimately earning over 50 patents for his designs. He was eventually inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2001.

Facing racism and systemic hardships as a black man from the beginning, it is truly inspiring how Elijah McCoy was able to establish a long, successful career for himself. And it is even more incredible that his name has continued to be a recognizable part of the English lexicon over a century later.

We at Custom Powder Systems love to see engineers who come from all types of backgrounds create great things. If we can help you invent something, let us know!


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Accidental Invention: Corn Flakes

Corn Flakes – the best-selling breakfast cereal in the United States. You know them. You love them. But do you know how they were created? Check out this article to learn the surprising story behind the accidental invention of this iconic Kellogg’s product.


As with many notable inventions, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes were created partially by accident. Though the product may not be what the Kellogg brothers were intending to make at the time, their stroke of culinary luck led to the advent of The Kellogg Company and America’s best-selling breakfast cereal.

The Kellogg Brothers’ Battle Creek Sanitarium 

Before the Kellogg name was associated with cereal and snacks, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and his brother Will Kieth (WK) Kellogg were well-known as the operators of the Battle Creek Sanitarium. This so-called “health spa” catered to helping clients tend to a variety of ailments. Treatments included hot and cold water baths, hydro-therapy, electric-current therapy, light therapy, as well as exercise and massage regimens.

The basis of these treatments was inspired by the brothers’ commitment to their faith in the Seventh Day Adventist fundamentalist church. One of the main principles of the religion entailed maintaining the purity of one’s bodily temple. For the Kellogg’s, this meant adhering to a strict “healthy” diet including lots of water and vegetables and discluding substances like alcohol and caffeine.

Bland is Best and Easy to Digest

To support their ideal diets, the brothers started concocting different healthful foods that they and their patients could eat regularly. The goal was to avoid fat, grease, salt, and spices and focus on simple ingredients that were good for the digestive system. So, Dr. John began experimenting by mixing and baking flour, oats, and cornmeal.

As the legend goes, it was during one of these afternoons of cooking that the Kellogg brothers were called away from their kitchen in the midst of mixing a batch of wheat-based cereal and later returned to see that the dough had fermented. When they rolled the dough into thin sheets and baked it, they were positively surprised to find that it turned into perfect crispy and tasty flakes. Over the years, WK continued experimenting with the recipe and eventually found that corn created even more delicious and crunchy flakes than wheat.

A Spoonful of Sugar Makes the Sales go Up

The creation of this flaked cereal occurred alongside the booming of the Industrial Revolution – a time where individuals became busier and needed quicker and easier-to-eat breakfast options. The Kellogg brothers seized this timely opportunity and began to mass-market their product in 1906. Conflict arose, however, when WK started adding sugar to the cereal to make it more palatable, though Dr. John was avidly opposed.

To settle the dispute, WK purchased the rights to use the Kellogg name from his brother after a long legal battle and subsequently founded The Kellogg Cereal Company. The product soon came to boast several “firsts” in the cereal world, including offering the “Funny Jungleland Moving Pictures Booklet” as a prize to encourage sales, and introducing Cornelius (Corny) Rooster as a mascot. Though the Corn Flakes we know today aren’t exactly the health food they were initially designed to be, their success as one of the most iconic and best-selling cereals in the US proves that they were an invention the breakfast world is certainly thankful for.

As the Kellogg brothers discovered, you never know when or how your next great innovation will come to life. If you have an idea you’d like to explore, contact us to let us know how we can help (even if you end up creating something you didn’t expect).


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The Amazing Engineering That Gave Us Raisinets

What do you get when you combine American raisins, sweet chocolate, and the right equipment to polish? One of our favorite treats: Raisinets.

One specific grape, a method of polishing, and the right kind of chocolate are just a few of the key components in making Raisinets. Let’s grab a handful of this sweet treat and chew on some fascinating information.

It Takes a Special Raisin

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While raisins can be made from dried grapes that are purple, blue, or yellow, it’s the pale green Thompson Grapes that are the choice for Raisinets. Thompsons are known in most of the world as sultana grapes and were brought west from the Ottoman Empire by William Thompson.

Today, nearly a third of the grapes and an astounding 97% of raisins in California are Thompson Grapes. 5.1 billion of those raisins end up in Raisinets. And that’s not a typo: 5.1 BILLION!

Give Thanks to the Blumenthal Boys

Calvin Coolidge was president, Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic, and Philadelphia’s Blumenthal Brothers Chocolate Company created Raisinets all in the same year. As movie-going grew in the 1930’s and 40’s, so did the popularity of these magical chocolate covered raisins.

But the Blumenthal company wasn’t just a one-trick-pony. They also gave us Sno-Caps, Goobers, and Chunky bars. Legal troubles in the 60’s and 70’s led to eventual bankruptcy for BBCC, but Raisinets survived. The brand was sold to a few different companies, including Nestle who eventually sold their confections to Ferrero for $2.8 billion.

Your Raisinets Are Polished 

The early incarnations of Raisinets were made in small mixing and polishing pans. It would take about 90 minutes to coat and another 60 minutes to polish the candies just to get about 350 pounds of product. While 350 pounds seems like a substantial amount, it’s not nearly enough to quench our craving for these shiny, chocolate covered raisins.

Today, a typical batch of Raisinets is 2,500 pounds, equivalent to about one-million pieces. In the last 24 hours, 21 million new Raisinets were coated and polished.

Bob Luebbe, President of Custom Powder Systems, recalls when Nestle owned the product, and an unexpected problem came with increased production. “The Raisinets were in a 4-foot container and were getting stuck together under their own weight,” Luebbe explained. “The solution we found was to slow-tumble the product so they would separate without crumbling the chocolate.”

On to Hollywood and Holidays

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Is there such a thing as a Raisinets holiday? You better believe it. Mark your calendars for next March 24, celebrate “National Chocolate Covered Raisin Day,” and give thanks to whoever comes up with those holidays.

And, if Raisinets are known for anything, it’s likely being a movie theater treat. Each year the candy continues to rank as a favorite at cinemas, and many praise the surprising taste-combo of popcorn and Raisinets.

Are Raisinets the first treat you go for at the movie theater?

At Custom Powder Systems, we love learning (and chocolate), and are standing by to build the equipment you need when you’re ready to create your dream product. Contact us here to let us know how we can help.


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Mechanical Hands A Brief History of the Mixer

Mechanical Hands: A Brief History of the Mixer

From the dawn of time, society has continuously looked for ways to improve the efficiency of how we complete tasks. While our own hands can be incredible tools, we can benefit from the use of additional machines. An example of this can be seen in the task of mixing—evenly blending large batches of ingredients is no simple task for manpower alone.

A Mixing Machine

In 1873, Paul Freyburger successfully filed a patent in Germany for a “mixing and kneading machine with two elliptic stirring discs.” This came from the realization that many industries experience a similar challenge while creating their products because their own arms and hands can only do so much when it comes to mixing ingredients together.

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Freyburger recognized a need and saw an opportunity that would benefit not only himself and his productions, but many other companies and individuals as well.

While the mixer was (and still is) heavily used in the food industry, Freyburger wrote the patent in a way that includes possibilities for use in a wide array of industries. He uses terms like, “various substances” and “materials.”

Adding new Innovators to the Mix

Freyburger’s invention attracted a fellow German who loved the idea and wanted to make a run with it. Freyburger ultimately sold the world rights to his patented invention to Paul Pfleiderer, who then headed off to London to pair up with Hermann Werner. The duo went into business together and started producing and distributing the universal mixer to the masses. Thus, Werner Pfleiderer Ltd. was formed.

Freyburger’s Influence Carries On

So what happened to Freyburger? Most historians believe that his influence faded. But our research says otherwise.

In 1876, another patent was filed for “Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles.” This time, though, it was not in Germany. Patent No. 180,568 was filed in the United States of America by none other than Paul Freyburger.

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In the years following, Werner Pfleiderer Ltd. soon moved to selling their mixers in America. We can give credit to Paul Freyburger, Paul Pfleiderer, and Hermann Werner for the early development of designs that inspired our own blenders here at Custom Powder Systems.

We want to be your Freyburger. We long to help you solve problems you didn’t even know you had. We have a deep passion for innovation and are continuously looking for ways to make lives easier and complete tasks more efficiently.

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When Bubble Wrap was Wallpaper

As the 3D craze hit movies like The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder, inventors Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes were banking on all of us living in homes with 3D wallpaper. Their company, Sealed Air Corporation, was formed to make a wall covering made of two sheets of plastic laminate with air bubbles trapped between. Unfortunately, interior decorators never quite saw the appeal, and 3D wallpaper didn’t catch on.

Let’s find another use. Fast.

Like all inventors, Fielding and Chavannes adapted. If people weren’t going to use their creation inside, maybe there’s use outside. It worked. For a short period, their lightweight and clear creation was used as insulation for greenhouses. But the pair realized the market for bubbly greenhouses was limited. However, as a packing material…this invention was golden.

Bubble Wrap® is the signature brand sold by Sealed Air Corporation, and it revolutionized shipping. It meant items could be shipped in smaller, lighter-weight packaging, and it was remarkably reliable. People could now ship things with a high degree of confidence that they would make it to their destination.

We Sell Air

The simple idea of capturing air in such a way that it would give enough to not be rigid, but firm enough to offer tough protection, blossomed into a wide industry that changed the way things were packaged forever. Today, the people who brought you Bubble Wrap® are now behind the sealed plastic on a wheel of cheese. They make ostomy bags used in hospitals. They make packaging designed to keep food cold. And they’ve developed machines that many companies use to automate packing and shipping. 

What’s So Fun About That Pop?

Dr. Kathleen Dillon, psychology professor emerita at Western New England College studied this very thing in the 90s. Her theory was that popping Bubble Wrap® is similar to carrying a smooth-surfaced stone. This practice is still done in much of Asia and is often called a “worry stone” or a “fingering piece.” Having something for your hands and fingers to do, as Catholics do with the beads of the Rosary, appears to produce a calming effect. Dr. Dillon conducted a study that demonstrated students who got to pop two sheets of Bubble Wrap® felt calmer, more awake, and more alert than those who didn’t.

While Bubble Wrap® is a trademark of a product specifically made by Sealed Air, it is quickly joining a list of brands whose name has become genericized by the public, much like ChapStick, Kleenex, and Yo-Yo.

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10 Great Gratitude Quotes

10 Great Gratitude Quotes

This week, we celebrate Thanksgiving in the US, where it has been an… unusual… year. In some ways, our world feels larger, and in other it feels smaller. Whether you’re a client, vendor, or partner here in the States, or you’re among those we count as friends around the world, we are more thankful for you than ever.

In the coming weeks as well as in 2021, we hope we can demonstrate our gratitude by giving more than we receive, by helping in ways over and above what’s expected, and in always remembering one thing above all else:

Custom Powder Systems isn’t in the containment business. We may provide solutions to containment problems, but we are in the relationship business.

To keep things light this week, in addition to our latest podcast episode featuring Lynn Aurelius, we thought we’d share these ten great quotes about gratitude suitable for copying, pasting, and sharing.

Thanks for sharing your business and friendship with us.


quote from Naomi Williams

Quote from John Wooden

quote from Ralph Blum

Quote from Albert Schweitzer

Quote from Willie Nelson

Quote from Oprah Winfrey

Quote from Christine Northup

Quote from Harold Kushner

Quote from Marian Wright Edelman

Quote from Ralph Marston

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends!

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Grandmother Vivian’s School Bell

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Vivian Burnett was the picture of a proper lady.

Born at the tail end of the 19th century in Kansas, she was no wilting flower. While a curse word never crossed her lips, you always knew where you stood. Family called her a yellow-dog Democrat and a fierce fighter for education. Kids in town knew her as Mrs. Burnett, teacher at the Cadmus two-room schoolhouse.

When it was time to go to school, Mrs. Burnett would ring a reverberating brass bell. She kept that bell until she passed away, but that would not be the last time it rang.

Vivian Burnett’s granddaughter is our very own Denise McIntosh, and Grandmother’s school bell still rings at Custom Powder Systems. “When we started the company,” Denise says, “we realized there was no way for everyone in the building to know when the team sold an order. So, I looked around at home and found Grandmother’s bell and said ‘That’s it!’”

Cadmus, Kansas is not easy to find on a map. It’s in an unincorporated section of Linn County and has never had a post office. Mrs. Burnett took on the responsibility of teaching students from first through fourth grade in just one room. She continued teaching into her seventies.

 “Her bark was worse than her bite, but you certainly knew if you were crossing the line,” recalls Denise.

Even though Custom Powder Systems is known internationally, at its heart it’s always a family company.

Many on the team have been there since the beginning, and as with any family, when one person gets good news, it’s great news for everyone.

“Every week we talk as a group about upcoming projects, so everyone knows what’s in the pipeline. As soon as we ring that bell, people from all the other departments start showing up on the sales side excitedly saying ‘which one was it!?!’” 

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The tradition is that the person who gets a new customer or project is given the honor of ringing Grandmother Vivian’s School Bell. If the salesperson isn’t in the office, they are to designate an honorary bell ringer to spread the good news.

Denise recalls “years ago when we got a major order from China, it was such a big deal we had a parade around the office ringing the bell!” Even though the bell is now used to signify good news in the company, Denise hasn’t forgotten its origins. “It’s like we get to carry a little piece of those people in our lives who were special, you know? Grandmother lived until she was 96, never spent a day in the hospital, and made pecan rolls and cobblers people still talk about to this day.”

One Christmas morning, Vivian got up to watch the birds as she did each day. She sat and talked about the birds with her great-grandson, went back to lay down, and passed away quietly. “We all surmised that she knew she was going anyway, and asking the family to travel twice in the winter would be just too much,” remembers Denise (with a wink).

Today, Grandmother Vivian’s memory rings on each time a new order is placed.

However, for the Custom Powder family, hearing it means so much more than just “making a sale.” It’s a reminder of our values, principles, and commitment to treating each other the way Mrs. Burnett expected from her students.

We hope we have the chance to get an A+ on an assignment from you.

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CPS President Bob Luebbe Celebrating Responsibly

Does this ring any bells for you? What can we create for you today?

Click here for our contact form, or call (417) 868-8002

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Another Engineer Obsess—err, Hobby: Squirrel Defenses

Here at Custom Powder Systems, we’re always on the lookout for creative applications of practical absurdity. Because we’re so often faced with constraints (space, time, budget, gravity, etc.) in the projects our clients bring us, we try to hire engineers who look at problems outside of work with the same obsessiveness intensity as they do the projects for work.

Now, Mark Rober is always welcome to come join the team here in Springfield, but let’s just say we’re not holding our breath. After working for both NASA and Apple, Mark decided to apply his obsessiveness intensity for creative applications of practical absurdity to fending off squirrels in his backyard. We watched. We stood. We applauded.

If you or someone you know—and if you know an engineer, you know someone—has an interesting obsession hobby, we’d love to hear about it… and who knows… we may also like to offer that misfit rebel a job.

We like the crazy ones.

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Another Engineer Obsess—err, Hobby: Pinball Machines

When engineers aren’t “engineering,” you’ll often find them building, tinkering, and inventing. Most engineers spend their days within a structured framework, but they’re always on the hunt for a creative outlet. Today, we profile Scott Heffern, Senior Vice-President of Products, about his after-hours obsession: Pinball Machines.

At Custom Powder Systems, we call upon our engineers to create simple solutions to complex problems, and Scott is one of our best. Since the beginning of CPS in 2005, he’s had a hand in many of our engineering developments, including aseptic isolation, bin/blend systems, and integrated process systems.  But earlier this year we saw Scott at the Texas Pinball Festival grinning from ear-to-ear as he walked among over 400 pinball machines.

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Scott’s obsession with pinball began when he was about eight. His family would head to Minnesota to go fishing, but he was more interested in staying back at the lodge mastering the games. 

As the years went on, it was obvious his passion was more than just child’s play. He had the opportunity to purchase some arcade games and discovered his mechanical skills were perfectly suited for restoring old games. “I like the restoration as much as playing…probably even more,” Scott said.

While pinball has existed in some form since the 1700s, the contemporary version we know started its climb in the 1940s when flippers, bumpers, and electrification were introduced. The popularity reached a zenith in the 60s and 70s when pinball was such a national obsession that The Who wrote an entire rock-opera, giving us the hit song Pinball Wizard. As computerized games grew in popularity in the 1990s, the pinball industry was reduced to just one manufacturing company, but in the last decade, a resurgence has breathed new life into pinball.     

At the Texas Pinball Festival, Scott isn’t just there as an attendee. He often brings his own restorations for others to try out and occasionally purchase. Like many hobbies, this isn’t a money-maker for Scott. Seeing others get the same pleasure from pinball he did as a kid is payment enough. 

“They’re just starry-eyed. [People say], ‘I played this back in 1953!’”  But there’s more than just nostalgia happening here. It quickly becomes a family event as kids enjoy the games just as much as their parents.

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This wide range of engineering talent is what makes Scott Heffern a key part of Custom Powder Systems:  “My strength at work is the mechanical design of our equipment.” When it comes to pinball machines, Scott tells us, “The mechanisms and the toys that are on them really fascinate me.”  

When one of our customers encounters a new problem, we turn to Scott and his team to use their skills, experience, and personal passions to come up with a creative way to solve it… and sometimes knowing a little something about flippers, bumpers, or springs is the solution that’s needed!

Scott Heffern, Engineer at Custom Powder Systems, Pinball Machine Lover

CPS Hug Your Cat

CPS Celebrates National Hug Your Cat Day

There is a long-standing tradition between engineers and their love of cats. Maybe it’s a fascination with how they always seem to land on their feet. With June 4th being National Hug Your Cat Day, it’s the ideal time to celebrate cats, engineers, and the relationship that they have together.

Our company’s President, Mac McIntosh, is awfully fond of his own feline friend, Jessie, and he’s not alone. “An Engineer’s Guide to Cats” is a tongue-in-cheek take on explaining why cats get the love that they do.

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“Mac” and his beloved feline friend Jessie.

If you happen to be a cat lover (and really, who isn’t, at least to some degree?) then there are some resources that you’ll need.

The first comes from Mac Delaney. Engineering for Cats: Improve the Life of Your Pet Through 10 Ingenious Projects is an entertaining look at problem-solving life with Fluffy.

Adafruit has an entire blog category dedicated to Cats of Engineering. Whether it’s helping to solder together a circuit board, or working with an Arduino controller, the collection is sure to remind you of your ideal working partner’s vital role.

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Finally, All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome does an awesome job of explaining AS behaviors through the lens of a cat’s actions. Whether it’s sensitive hearing, scampering from one place to another, or a particular habit when it comes to eating, our furry friends can help us understand our human friends a little bit better.

So on this National Hug Your Cat Day, make sure to take time to do just that. And then thank them for spending hours with you while you work on your next passion project. They’re family too, after all.