Pillsbury to Close New Jersey and Kansas Production Plants

Effective May 3, the Pillsbury Co. (Minneapolis, MN) will cease production at its plants in Blackwood, NJ, and Lenexa, KS. It will permanently close the two locations by July 2, where production will be shifted to Pillsbury Bakeries and Foodservice plants in Swedesboro, NJ; Vinita, OK and Montreal, Canada.

"After several months of research and analysis, we determined that it is more cost effective to consolidate the manufacturing, transferring the goods manufactured in Lenexa and Blackwood to plants that have excess capacity," said Randal Baker, VP of operations for PB&FS.

The Blackwood and Lenexa plants became Pillsbury facilities in October 1998 with the acquisition of Heinz Bakery Products. The two locations produce frozen, unbaked bread products. Baker said that the plants do not provide the capacity for future growth or expansion and will be sold.

Pillsbury, a subsidiary of Diageo, produces a range of grocery items, frozen foods and refrigerated dough products in North America, Europe, Latin America and the Far East.