Hostess Brands, LLC, a new company and employer under new ownership, announced plans to re-launch its bakery in Columbus, Ga. The company will initially add 200 jobs to the local economy and plans to create a total of more than 300 jobs in the community within the next several years. The baking facility, located at 1969 Victory Drive in Columbus, will resume operations this summer and will produce a full assortment of Hostess’ iconic snack products, including Twinkies, Cup Cakes, HoHos and Ding Dongs.
The investment in the Columbus baking facility is being funded by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC (NYSE: APO) and Metropoulos & Co., which purchased selected Hostess assets out of bankruptcy in April 2013. “Over the past several months, we have invested significantly in Hostess and the Columbus facility we 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,” said Dean Metropoulos, the chairman and chief executive officer of Hostess. “We want to thank the state of Georgia and city of Columbus for their long-standing partnership and support of Hostess, and their commitment to helping us re-open this facility as quickly as possible.”
“The re-opening of the Hostess plant will give a tremendous boost to Columbus and the local economy,” said Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Chris Cummiskey. “Not only will the community benefit from over 300 manufacturing jobs, but Hostess will have access to lower production costs, a workforce training program, and our advanced transportation and logistics network.”
Georgia Quick Start will provide Hostess with customized workforce training assistance to facilitate the re-launch of the Columbus bakery. In addition, the following are involved in this project: the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Georgia EMC, Georgia Department of Labor, Columbus Technical College, Columbus Consolidated Government, Development Authority of Columbus and the Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and they have all helped forward Hostess’ plans to invest more than $20 million into the facility and community.
“This bakery has been a vital part of the Columbus business community for more than 40 years, and we look forward to working with the new owners and management team as they continue to invest in the Hostess brands and in our community,” said Teresa Tomlinson, mayor of Columbus, Georgia.
“Our economic development efforts continue to pay off,” said Jacki Lowe, 2013 Chair of the Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce. “We are committed to fostering an environment that allows for the creation of new jobs and capital investment and the ripple effect it has throughout the Columbus region.”
Hostess Brands, LLC will begin actively recruiting production, sanitation, distribution, maintenance engineering and management positions for the Columbus facility at a job fair on Saturday, April 27.
