Goodbye, Twinkies: Hostess shutting down

[thelakelander]

The closing will put 18,500 out of work, including 200 at the Jacksonville plant.

RVING, Texas (AP) — Hostess, the maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, is going out of business, closing plants, laying off its 18,500 workers and putting its brands up for sale.

The Irving, Texas, company said a nationwide worker strike crippled its ability to make and deliver its products. Its brands also include Ding Dongs, Ho Ho’s and Dolly Madison.

Hostess had warned employees that it would file a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to unwind its business and sell assets if plant operations didn’t return to normal levels by Thursday evening. The privately held company filed for Chapter 11 protection in January, its second trip through bankruptcy court in less than a decade.

full article: http://jacksonville.com/entertainment/food-and-dining/2012-11-16/story/goodbye-twinkies-hostess-shutting-down

[cline]

While Hostess might be shutting down there is a very good likelihood that some other company will purchase the "Twinkie" name and continue to produce them.  Chances are you will still be able to get Twinkies.

[Dog Walker]

Who in the world eats that crap anyway?  No taste but sweet fat.  Good riddance!

[Dog Walker]

Gee thanks, Stephen.  That takes care of me eating any lunch today. (shudder!)

[thelakelander]

Btw, they produce more than Twinkies. Brands produced by Hostess:

Baker's Inn
Beefsteak
Blue Ribbon
Bread du Jour
Butternut Breads
Colombo
Cotton’s
Di Carlo
Drake's
Dolly Madison
Dutch Hearth
Eddy’s
Good Hearth
Holsom
Home Pride
Hostess
J.J. Nissen
Merita
Millbrook
Mrs. Cubbison’s
Nature's Pride
Parisian
Standish Farms
Sweetheart
Toscana
Wonder Bread

I believe the plant of Busch Drive was constructed to replace the old Merita Bread bakery in the Springfield Warehouse District.

[Dog Walker]

I can remember touring that old Springfield Merita plant as a kid on some sort of school field trip.  The smell was wonderful.

[bill]

Unions killing more jobs

[Dapperdan]

I think Hostess was in trouble before this. The union says Hostess execs got 200% raises and they were being asked to take pay cuts. Hostess is saying it is all the Unions fault. I beleive there is truth in both. I am sure the executives and board will get some nice money no matter what. The common employee gets squat. Maybe the union could have taken the paycuts and waited to fight their battle when times were better.

[Doctor_K]

Not all of their stuff was bad for you:

Nature's Pride:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature%27s_Pride

Launched in February 2009, Nature’s Pride bread is the first completely all natural line of bread to be available across the country.[1]

The brand offers a number of bread products including Nature’s Pride hearty wide pan and traditional sandwich bread varieties and Nature’s Pride Premium Harvest buns and rolls.[2]

All Nature’s Pride’s products are baked using 100% natural ingredients and contain no artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, trans fats or high fructose corn syrup.[3]

[thelakelander]

Although the Springfield plant has been demolished, Hostess still operates the 11th & Market site as a fleet maintenance center.  I guess that's getting shut down too.

[JayBird]

Fault was mutual I believe, the executives gave themselves 80% raises last year and the unions wanted more money for their pockets.  In defense of the executives, when the current CEO, Gregory Rayburn (who was really hired 9 days before as the man in charge of restructuring the company only for the then-CEO to walk out the door) came on board he lowered top executives pay to $1 for 2012 fiscal year.  I understand and respect the unions efforts to fight for pension benefits (after all, when you give 20-30 years of your life to a company you really do deserve something back) but now they have no job.

Chances are a white knight will step in and purchase company assets, hopefully along with most of the employees.  I remember back in 2007/2008 there was a Mexican bakery company that fought very hard for Hostess.  I am sure they are crunching numbers today.

Being only 32 myself, very idea of pensions for my generation are unheard of.  Even the idea of unions is becoming antiquated.  I guess Twinkies really do have an expiration date.

[chipwich]

What a sad day for 'Merica!

This ordeal is sure to jeopardize the supply of Zingers made by Dolly Madison Bakery.

In all fairness like cline stated, it is all but certain the compandy and/or its brands will just get bought out by a larger rival like Kraft or Nestle, etc. for pennies on the dollar.  Take away any disdain for Twinkies, Zingers, etc.; brands like Merita, Wonderbread, Blue Ribon, and Eddy's are much too valuable to left for dead.

[Dapperdan]

I doubt they will use any of the old workers though. They will move all processing to existing plants and use current workers.

[KenFSU]

its made with bleached, sugared suet as the creme filling.  Ever heard of suet?  Wonder why they don't spell it 'cream'?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suet

Really fun, if horrifying book, if anyone is interested in learning more:

Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated Into What America Eats

Like most Americans, Steve Ettlinger eats processed foods. And, like most consumers, he often reads the ingredients label—without a clue as to what most of it means. So, when his young daughter asked, “Daddy, what’s polysorbate 60?” while eating ice cream bars at the beach on a hot summer day, he was at a loss—and determined to find out.

In this fascinating exploration into the curious world of packaged foods, Twinkie, Deconstructed takes us from phosphate mines in Idaho to corn fields in Iowa, from gypsum mines in Oklahoma to oil fields in China, to demystify some of America’s most common processed food ingredients—where they come from, how they are made, how they are used—and why. Beginning at the source (hint: they’re often more closely linked to rocks and petroleum than any of the four food groups), Ettlinger reveals how each Twinkie ingredient goes through the process of being crushed, baked, fermented, refined, and/or reacted into a totally unrecognizable goo or powder with a strange name—all for the sake of creating a simple snack cake.

An insightful, entertaining exploration of modern food industry, if you’ve ever wondered what you’re eating when you consume foods containing mono and diglycerides or calcium sulfate (the latter, a food-grade equivalent of plaster of Paris), this book is for you.

Purchase: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1594630186/interactiveda872-20

A blurb from one of the reviews:

Five ingredients come from rocks.

This got my attention. However, it only got worse when I discovered that the ingredients come from phosphate mines in Idaho, gypsum mines in Oklahoma, and oil fields in China.

The Twinkie, which was created during the Depression, contains thirty-nine ingredients. One of those ingredients is a preservative, sorbic acid. Sorbic acid is an ingredient I see on many packages, and I have never thought twice about it. But author Steve Ettlinger did. He found that sorbic acid is actually derived from natural gas.

If that isn’t shocking enough, he goes on to talk about other ingredients like cellulose gum, Polysorbate 60, and calcium sulfate. Apparently, these ingredients are also used in sheet rock, shampoo, and rocket fuel. No wonder Twinkies make kids run around like crazy and have even been used as a defense for murder!

Mr Ettlinger also found that the vitamins, artificial colors, and flavorings in Twinkies come from petroleum.

I started to wonder how this tasty treat made from gas and rocks can be so light and airy. In comes Mr. Ettlinger again. Apparently, it’s limestone that makes Twinkies light.

[Charles Hunter]

But the Twinkies already made will last for eons, so if the White Knight comes along fairly soon there should be no disruption in supply.