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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Hostess Brands To Reopen And Expand Emporia, Kansas Bakery Facility

04/29/2013
Hostess Brands LLC, a company under new ownership, plans to reopen and expand its bakery in Emporia, Kansas, creating more than 300 jobs during the next several years. The baking facility, located at 1525 Industrial Road, will resume operations this summer and will produce a full assortment of Hostess’ snack products, including iconic brands such as; Twinkies, Cupcakes, HoHos, and Ding Dongs.

The investment in the Emporia baking facility is being funded by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC and Metropoulos and Company, which purchased selected Hostess assets out of bankruptcy in April 2013, the company said.

“I am delighted with the progress we have made upgrading the Emporia facility since we acquired Hostess,” said Dean Metropoulos, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hostess. “We have expanded the bakery’s capacity significantly, which will result in meaningful job growth in the Emporia community and ultimately help us achieve our goal of bringing Hostess products back to the shelves for our customers as quickly as possible. The state of Kansas and city of Emporia have been extremely helpful throughout the redevelopment process, and we want to thank them for their assistance with this project in particular and for their long-standing support of Hostess.”

“I am thrilled that the re-launch of the Emporia factory will result in the creation of hundreds of jobs,” said Kansas Commerce Secretary Pat George. “Kansas has created an attractive business environment that helps companies invest in the state and hire a significant number of Kansas workers.”

“The city is delighted that the new owners of Hostess Brands are resuming production at the Emporia plant,” said Mayor Bobbi Mlynar, who helped lead the cooperative effort to keep the local plant open. “Making the best snack cakes in the world is something that Emporia-area workers know how to do well and are eager to resume doing. The plant has been a major employer here for almost 50 years, providing significant support to our economy, as well as being a good corporate citizen in our community. We look forward to the same type of relationship with the new owners.”

“The Emporia community is excited to officially welcome back Hostess Brands,” said Chair Jon Geitz of the Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas and vice-mayor of the city of Emporia. “The RDA in collaboration with community leaders worked diligently over the past 15 months to ensure a positive outcome after the bankruptcy was announced. Once again, Emporia has earned its reputation as a community that speaks with one voice.”

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