Lake Forest, IL 3/7/12 The Popcorn Factory which is located off of Bradley Road right at the Lake Forest Libertyville border, has been making and selling gourmet snack gifts since 1979. A happy birthday tin filled with buttered, cheesy and caramel corn wait to be covered, boxed and shipped. | Rob Dicker~Sun-Times Media

Lake Forest, IL 3/7/12 The Popcorn Factory which is located off of Bradley Road right at the Lake Forest Libertyville border, has been making and selling gourmet snack gifts since 1979. Maria Guzman, left, tops off the machine filled signature three-flavor tin and then passes it along. | Rob Dicker~Sun-Times Media

Lake Forest, IL 3/7/12 The Popcorn Factory which is located off of Bradley Road right at the Lake Forest Libertyville border, has been making and selling gourmet snack gifts since 1979. Marty Dennis, Director of Operations at The Popcorn Factory walks through the warehouse section of their two-building facility. | Rob Dicker~Sun-Times Media

Lake Forest, IL 3/7/12 The Popcorn Factory which is located off of Bradley Road right at the Lake Forest Libertyville border, has been making and selling gourmet snack gifts since 1979. Huge bags of freshly popped and flavored popcorn await packaging. | Rob Dicker~Sun-Times Media

Lake Forest, IL 3/7/12 The Popcorn Factory which is located off of Bradley Road right at the Lake Forest Libertyville border, has been making and selling gourmet snack gifts since 1979. Assembly Supervisor Gloria Melgoza ties a ribbon on a Smiley Face Tower which is filled with flavored popcorn, candies, nuts and other treats. | Rob Dicker~Sun-Times Media

A shipping box travels down a conveyor belt past the Smiley Face Towers. | Rob Dicker~Sun-Times Media

Shipping boxes start to line a football field long conveyor belt that leads to the loading dock. During their peak season, from Thanksgiving to Christmas, they will ship between 50,000 and 60,000 packages a day. | Rob Dicker~Sun-Times Media

Lake Forest, IL 3/7/12 The Popcorn Factory which is located off of Bradley Road right at the Lake Forest Libertyville border, has been making and selling gourmet snack gifts since 1979. Air-popped corn meets up a molten caramel to make carmel corn, one of the factory's top sellers. | Rob Dicker~Sun-Times Media

Lake Forest, IL 3/7/12 The Popcorn Factory which is located off of Bradley Road right at the Lake Forest Libertyville border, has been making and selling gourmet snack gifts since 1979. Hector Arroyo moves small bags a cheese flavored popcorn into a holding bin. | Rob Dicker~Sun-Times Media

With the caramel cured onto the popcorn, a cork-screw tumbler pours the confection onto a belt. | Rob Dicker~Sun-Times Media