Hershey Opens New, 250,000-Sq.-Ft. Reese Chocolate Processing Plant
Although the move isn’t likely to immediately have an impact on one of the heaviest candy-centric holidays of the year (Easter), The Hershey Co. has gotten into the spirit a bit early — officially opening its new, 250,000-sq.-ft. Reese Chocolate Processing (RCP) plant in Hershey, Pa., with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Apr. 16, 2025. It is the first manufacturing facility to be built in Hershey in more than 30 years, the company said.
Hershey also called the grand opening “the capstone event in Hershey’s multi-year, $1 billion investment strategy that includes not only the new RCP, but also the addition of 13 production lines and the upgrading of 11 existing lines across Hershey’s North American facilities.”
Hershey president and CEO Michele Buck told the crowd, including local media, the plant was “Hershey’s first fully digitally integrated manufacturing facility with high levels of automation, exemplifying the next step in our digital manufacturing road map.”
Increased agility across the Hershey supply chain network has been the goal, and the RCP will support production of Reese’s, Kit Kat and Hershey’s brand products. The RCP took nearly three years to complete, the company noted, and it is located on a site that is part of the existing Reese’s campus. Nearly 100 employees work at the site, with the potential for added positions as the operations scale up.
