Tasty Baking Company, makers of the Tastykake snack line, on May 4 marked the official grand opening of the company’s new, modernized, LEED-registered (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) bakery at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Upon approval from the U.S. Green Building Council, the new, 345,000-square-foot home of Tastykake will be the world’s largest “green” bakery, featuring energy-efficient HVAC, water conservation, the use of recycled building materials and day-light harvesting, among other environmentally efficient components.
The transition away from its 88-year-old, six-story Hunting Park baking facility at 2801 Hunting Park Avenue in the Allegheny West area of the city to its new, LEED-registered bakery follows the move of Tasty Baking Company’s corporate headquarters to a LEED Gold Certified building at the Philadelphia Navy Yard Corporate Center in April 2009.
“The opening of the new bakery – and its place as the greenest bakery in the world – is the successful culmination of our manufacturing strategy to transform the brand,” said Charles P. Pizzi, president and chief executive officer of Tasty Baking Company.
“From our esteemed Board of Directors; to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and City of Philadelphia; to Liberty Property/Synterra; Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC); the Binswanger Corporation; and the bank group, led by Citizens Bank, the opening of our new bakery is truly a shared accomplishment,” continued Pizzi.
The one-story facility features new, highly automated baking equipment and a “straight line flow” from production to packaging to warehouse that provides exceptional capacity for future product and packaging innovation as well as more efficient baking of Tastykake’s famed product lines – including Krimpets, Kandy Kakes, pies, cookie bars and cupcakes. Currently five of seven production lines are operating in the new bakery.
“This new bakery is the hallmark of Tastykake’s transformation and we anticipate that the opportunity for innovation, flexibility and efficiency it brings will ultimately drive increased value for our shareholders,” said Autumn Bayles, senior vice president of strategic operations.
Tastykake’s new bakery and its corporate headquarters were developed by Liberty Property/Synterra LP, a joint venture between Liberty Property Trust and Synterra Partners. William Hankowsky, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Liberty Property Trust/Synterra, offered his perspective on the completion of this project, saying, “A project such as this – one which wholly captures the imagination and inspires complete teamwork – comes along only once in a great while. We have greatly enjoyed working in partnership with Tastykake, its vendors and Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation to find new ways to incorporate sustainable approaches and technologies as we together developed the world’s ‘greenest’ bakery.”
“While the grand opening event for the new Tastykake bakery signals the completion of this important capital improvement project, truly it marks the beginning of a new chapter in the corporate history of the brand,” said Pizzi. “As a company, we believe we are well-prepared and poised to seize this moment and build upon the momentum of this successful project.”
About Tasty Baking Company
Tasty Baking Company, founded in 1914 and headquartered in Philadelphia, is one of the country’s leading bakers of snack cakes, pies, cookies and donuts, with manufacturing facilities in Philadelphia and Oxford, Pa. Tasty Baking Company offers more than 100 products under the Tastykake brand name.
