Utz Brands bolsters operations with Rice Distribution Center

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Utz Brands bolsters operations with Rice Distribution Center

5 Dec 2024

Annie Hollon

Annie Hollon is a journalist, copywriter and social media strategist from the Dallas, Texas area. She found a love for magazine writing during her time at the University of Alabama where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, double majoring in public relations and English. Beyond writing, you can find her expanding her library, attempting to teach herself the guitar and trying new hobbies.

HANOVER, PA — Utz Brands, a major US salty snacks manufacturer, announced the opening of the Rice Distribution Center, a new logistics hub located in Hanover, PA. The center is named after the grandson of Utz founders Bill and Salie Utz, Michael W. Rice, who recently retired after more than 50 years with the company.

“It’s been an honor to be part of the Utz journey over the last 50-plus years,” Rice said. “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.”

The 650,000-square-foot center will serve as the logistics core for inventory storage, consolidation and distribution for Utz’ US facilities. The Rice Distribution Center features 73 dock doors, 375 trailer parking spots and an advanced warehouse management system. Utz estimates that the facility will process 2.3 million pallets and 1.1 billion pounds of product per year.

“Our new logistics center reflects our commitment to operational excellence and growth,” said Howard Friedman, CEO 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.”

To ease traffic on the street surrounding the Hanover logistics center, the Borough of Hanover, Adams County, PennDOT, and the Governor’s Office of Transformation and Opportunity collaborated to install a new traffic light at the intersection of High Street and Kindig Lane in tandem with the opening of the facility.

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