Utz to close factory in Hanover, open new distribution center
Utz Brands announced Friday that the company is taking steps to "streamline its operating structure" with the reduction of facilities, including the closure of the company's oldest factory on Carlisle Street in Hanover.
The Carlisle Street factory, which opened in 1949 as the company's oldest plant, is expected to cease production in the first quarter of 2024, Utz said in a news release. After the production ceases, Utz plans to explore "asset monetization options" for the building.
"No job loss will occur due to the Carlisle Plant closure," the release stated.
The Utz Factory Outlet Store, which is contained within the Carlisle Street plant, will remain open despite the closure, Utz confirmed.
"Utz has no plans to cease its retail store presence in Hanover," a representative from Utz said in an email.
The plant, as the company's oldest, is also the company's lowest volume production facility, the release stated, and primarily serves for kettle chip production, producing the Company’s Utz, Grandma Utz, and Zapp’s brands.
Utz plans to expand its kettle production facilities at other plants, including their Kings Mountain plant, which will absorb the production loss from closing the Carlisle Street plant.
Along with the closure of the Carlisle Street plant, Utz sold a plant in Bluffton, Indiana, to Super-Pufft Snacks USA, Inc., the release said. The company is also listing two plants for sale, one in Louisiana which has been idle since it was damaged in 2021 by Hurricane Ida, and another in Alabama, which closed in June 2023.
After these closures and sales, the company will have 13 active plants remaining across the country, which will absorb the volume from the plant closures, the release said.
New distribution center
Among the announcements by Utz Friday, the company also announced an agreement to build a roughly 650,000-square-foot distribution center in Hanover.
The facility, named the "Northeast Logistics Center," is expected to begin operations in the first quarter of 2025, the release said.
The site of the future facility is on a lot adjacent to the current Utz facilities on Kindig Lane and High Street in Hanover. The proximity to existing facilities will streamline operations and inventory management, according to the release.
The new warehouse facility comes as Utz has "outgrown its existing warehouse network infrastructure in Hanover, Pennsylvania" due to the growth of the company over the last four years, the release said.
Harrison Jones is the Hanover reporter for the Evening Sun. Reach him at hjones@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Hanover Evening Sun: Utz to close factory in Hanover, Pa., open new distribution center
