The Slinky, the simple steel coil that has captivated generations of children, is still being made in the same Pennsylvania factory where it has been produced for decades.
The toy is manufactured in Hollidaysburg, Blair County, using machines that date back nearly 80 years. “The original 11 machines that he made back in 1945 are the same 11 machines for the metal slinkys… and that’s impressive that nobody can recreate,” said Rebekah James Morris, daughter of inventor Richard James.
General manager of the plant, Paul Luther, said the factory produces about 3 million Slinkys each year. The wire used to make them comes from York, Pennsylvania, while the workers who operate the machines are based in Hollidaysburg, just south of Altoona. “From the start of the wire going into the machine until it cuts it off. And they’re in a row, all lined up, and they put them onto a belt, and they feed them into a box machine, which we box them up,” he said…