Tyson Foods will shut down a granola bar processing plant it operates in Rome, Ga., in the coming months, according to local news reports. The facility came to Tyson as part of the Hillshire Brands acquisition in 2014, and has been producing Nature Valley granola bars in recent years, said one news outlet.
Tyson said in a statement that the Rome facility is a single-customer operation that is no longer sustainable for the company to maintain. There was no official indication on how many employees would lose their jobs, nor did the news outlets report on the official closure date. The facility has been in operation for more than 50 years, opening in 1972 as Coosa Baking Co.
The Rome facility eventually landed in the hands of Sara Lee Corp. and then Hillshire Brands. Hillshire was acquired by Tyson for $8.5 billion more than a decade ago. The Rome facility has manufactured various baked goods in its lifetime, including cookies, pies, macaroons and wafers, before transitioning into a granola bar facility in the early 2000s, the report noted.
About the Author
Andy Hanacek
Senior Editor
Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.