How sweet it is: Utah candymakers know the recipe for success.

• Author: Smith, Cheryl
• Position: Report on confectioners located in Utah; see related articles on sweet success for Utah candy companies and Snelgrove's Ice Cream

Utahns eat more candy and ice cream than do other Americans, perhaps because of the abundant supply of premium goodies being made here. People who keep records of such trivia say the average Utahn eats more than 22 pounds of chocolates each year - as much as the Swiss. And that spells sweet success for Utah confectioners.

Recession-Proof

Even in recessionary times, Maxfield Candy Co., of Salt Lake City, has seen sales heat up an average of 10 percent each year since the family started making candy in 1947. President and General Manager Neal Maxfield said he hasn't been able to verify the claim that Utahns eat more sweets than do other Americans, but adds, "It's my gut feeling that they do."

Maxfield makes, packages, and ships chocolates to 40 states and to Japan, Mexico, Australia, Taiwan, Puerto Rico, and Canada. Japan is a growing market for the company, which trucks specially packages goodies - as much as 24,000 boxes at a time - to San Francisco for shipping to the Orient. Maxfield's largest customers are retail chains: K-Mart, Smiths, Albertsons, and others.

Vard Maxfield started the company with $6,000 at its present site 45 years ago. Today his sons Neal and Neldon run the sweet shop. Their father is chairman of the board. They're expanded the plant over the years from 2,000 square feet to more than 65,000. In its latest stretch, the company doubled its workspace, staff, and production capacity to meet growing demands.

When the family remodeled the kitchen, they designed it to work as efficiently as possible. Unique among candy kitchen, it is state-of-the-art, with wall-to-wall tile. Corn syrup flows through overhead stainless steel pipes, pouring into 600-gallon copper kettles that are over 40 years old. Against one wall stands a new stainless steel kettle that cost $15,000.

The aroma of warm caramel and sugar, oranges, and mint vary in intensity as you walk from room to room. Once it's cooked "to the exact tenth of a degree," the candy travels systematically, through a 72-yard cooling tunnel, to packaging and shipping, without ever backtracking.

Utah's Willy Wonka

Neal, his brother Neldon, and their 90 employees make about 30,000 pounds of chocolates each day. Neal could be described as the Willy Wonka of Utah's candy industry. Quality, he says, is the key to making it in this business, where customers taste the distinction between fine chocolates and mediocre ones. "My dad started this company with the philosophy that a quality product will endure," said Neal. Candy makers - some have worked at Maxfield for 37 years - make the creamy fillings by hand, in small batches, with real cream and fresh butter. Maxfield makes 50 varieties of chocolates, plus pecan logs. Easter eggs, caramels, fudge, and special-recipe salt water taffy.

Shift of about 30 people efficiently move from one production phase to another, either making candy, rolling out pecan logs, or packaging thousands of boxes of mixed chocolates. After Halloween, Maxfield hires another 140 people to work around the clock to meet the holiday demand. "Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Eastern make one long holiday for us," said Neal. Then comes Mother's Day. "July 4 is usually a quiet holiday around here," he laughs. Spring and summer are the company's hectic taffy seasons.

At the peak of its busy season, Maxfield produces more than one...