Flowers Foods plans new bakery

24/10/05 Flowers Foods has announced that it has completed the purchase of property in Newton, N.C., from CHS, Inc. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Flowers plans to renovate the existing 115,200-square-foot facility for a bakery that will produce fresh breads and buns for the Piedmont and mid- Atlantic market. Renovations are expected to begin on the facility this month and the bakery will open with one production line in mid-2006. A second production line will be added later. The company expects to invest approximately $40 million in the bakery over the next three years.

"With the growing demand for our baked foods in our existing market and in new territory we're gaining through expansion, we need more production capacity," said George E. Deese, president and chief executive officer of Flowers Foods. "Newton is strategically located in our market territory to help relieve production pressure. Another benefit is that the facility we acquired is well suited to house a bakery with long, highly efficient production lines."