Utz Brands, a leading U.S. manufacturer of branded salty snacks, is pleased to announce the opening of the Rice Distribution Center—a brand new, state-of-the-art logistics center located in Hanover, Pennsylvania. The logistics center is named in honor of Michael W. Rice, the grandson of Bill and Salie Utz, who recently retired after over 50 years of service with Utz.
“Our new logistics center reflects our commitment to operational excellence and growth,” said Howard Friedman, Chief Executive Officer of Utz Brands. “The facility expands capacity, enhances efficiency, and streamlines operations for our customers, and we are proud to honor Mike Rice’s extraordinary legacy through it. A sincere thanks to the state of Pennsylvania and our many local agencies for their help and support in bringing this vision to life in a way that alleviates traffic flow and congestion in our community.”
As a press release detailed, the 650,000-square-foot center will serve as the primary logistics hub for inventory storage, consolidation, and distribution for Utz facilities located across the United States. The center boasts 73 dock doors and 375 trailer parking spots and will utilize advanced warehouse management system functionality.
To put the size of this building into context, it could house approximately 11 football fields, 9 Boeing 747s, and 46.8 million Utz Cheese Ball “barrels” inside its four walls, the release stated. Additionally, Utz estimates that this facility will touch 2.3 million pallets of product and 1.1 billion pounds of product per year, which amounts to an estimated 18 billion snack food servings.
“It’s been an honor to be part of the Utz journey over the last 50+ years. This new logistics center represents the Company’s historic values of reinvestment, growth, hard work, and putting our customers first. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together, and I know this facility will help drive even greater success in the future,” said Michael W. Rice.
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