Hostess Brands to resume operations at bakery facility in Georgia

Hostess Brands, a new company and employer under new ownership, has announced plans to resume operations at its bakery facility in Columbus, Georgia, US.

Initially, the company will create about 200 jobs and plans to add more than 300 jobs over the next several years.

The baking facility, located at 1969 Victory Drive in Columbus, is expected to resume operations in mid-2013.

The plant will produce a wide range of Hostess snack products including Twinkies, Cup Cakes, HoHos and Ding Dongs.

The investment in the Columbus baking plant is being funded by affiliates of Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos & Co., which acquired selected Hostess assets out of bankruptcy this month.

Hostess sold the Twinkies, Ho Hos, Ding Dongs and Donettes snack cakes brands to private equity firms Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos in a deal valued at $410m.

Hostess chairman and CEO Dean Metropoulos said over the past several months, the company has invested significantly in Hostess and the Columbus facility it acquired.

"We are focused on re-introducing the Hostess brands and bringing the company’s high quality and beloved snack products back to American consumers," Metropoulos added.

Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Chris Cummiskey said the re-opening of the Hostess plant in Columbus will boost the local economy.

"Not only will the community benefit from over 300 manufacturing jobs, but Hostess will have access to lower production costs, a workforce training programme, and our advanced transportation and logistics network," Cummiskey added.

Georgia Quick Start, a State of Georgia incentive designed to attract new industries, will provide Hostess with customised workforce training assistance to support the re-launch of the Columbus bakery.

Hostess, headquartered in Dallas, Texas and Kansas City, Missouri, is a baked sweet goods manufacturer with brands including Twinkies, Cup Cakes, HoHos, Ding Dongs, Mini Muffins, Donnets, Zingers and Suzy Q’s.

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Image: The Georgia facility, which is expected to resume operations in mid-2013, will produce a wide range of Hostess snack products. Photo courtesy of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.