The Colossal Wurlitzer Hidden Inside the Carmex Plant

Inside a nondescript Wisconsin factory that produces Carmex lip balm lies an extraordinary secret: the world's largest Wurlitzer theater pipe organ. The personal passion of the founder's grandson, this colossal instrument is played daily, filling the industrial space with music.

Oddities & Curiosities Music Biography & Personal Stories

A Most Unlikely Overture

For millions, it’s a familiar sight: the small, yellow-capped jar of Carmex, a staple of medicine cabinets and coat pockets since Alfred Woelbing first concocted the lip balm on his stovetop in the 1930s. Its production home, a nondescript industrial building in Franklin, Wisconsin, projects the same image of straightforward utility. But listen closely past the hum of the production lines, and you might hear something utterly out of place—the rich, swelling chords of a Wurlitzer theater pipe organ.

The President and the Pipes

This is no ordinary office music system. It is the largest theater organ in the world, and its keeper is Paul Woelbing, the company president and Alfred's grandson. For Woelbing, the organ is the culmination of a lifelong passion that began at age 12 and saw him buy his first instrument at 16. While he now steers the family business, his dedication to this monumental instrument transforms the corporate headquarters into a personal concert hall. The organ isn't a static museum piece; Woelbing plays it nearly every day, a routine that weaves his artistic passion directly into the fabric of his family's industrial legacy.

A Kinetic Sculpture of Sound

The sheer scale of the project is staggering. With more than 8,000 pipes—and still growing—the instrument is not confined to a single room. Its components are strategically distributed throughout the 80,000-square-foot facility, with chambers of pipes nestled among the building's infrastructure. The music from the console, housed in a dedicated studio, is piped through the factory and offices, becoming an ambient soundtrack to the workday. Woelbing has described it as a “giant kinetic sculpture,” an ever-evolving work of art that is as much a part of the building as its steel beams and concrete floors. This integration turns the act of making lip balm into an experience accompanied by the grandeur of a silent film palace.

The Accidental Cathedral

The central question, of course, is why? Why place a cultural treasure of this magnitude inside a cosmetics factory? For Woelbing, the project is an act of preservation. The golden age of the theater organ has long passed, and instruments like this one are rare. By giving it a home and continuously expanding it, he ensures its survival. But it also speaks to a unique philosophy about work and life. The presence of the Wurlitzer is a daily reminder that beauty, passion, and immense artistry can flourish in the most unexpected of environments, proving that a factory can be more than just a place of production—it can also be a cathedral of sound.

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