Wendy’s Growing Hamburger, Chicken Sandwich

    Businesses Require More Buns

 

    by Bryan Salvage on 7/20/00 for www.meatingplace.com

 

    One way to measure the success of hamburger and chicken sandwich

    sales for a quick-service company is to measure the volume of buns

    required to make such sandwiches. Dublin, Ohio-based Wendy's

    International Inc. is doing okay in this department because it is

    expanding its sandwich-bun manufacturing and distribution operations

    due to increasing demand.

 

    The New Bakery Co. of Ohio, a wholly owned subsidiary of the

    company with a manufacturing and distribution facility in Zanesville,

    Oh., already supplies buns for hamburger and chicken sandwiches to

    about 650 company-operated Wendy's restaurants and 2,000

    franchised Wendy's restaurants. Now a new 114,000-square foot plant

    will be built in the East Point Industrial Park in Zanesville, which is

    about five miles from the company's existing bakery.

 

    "The current plant produces about 750 million sandwich buns per year

    and is running at full capacity. We need to expand capacity," said Jack

    Schuessler, chief executive officer and president of Wendy's

    International Inc. "Our bakery operations provide excellent quality and

    consistency for our restaurants.

 

    "From a financial standpoint, the bakery delivers returns on investment

    consistent with our stated goals to improve returns," Schuessler

    added. "It also produces positive cash flow, and we expect the new

    plant to be accretive to earnings."

 

    Construction of the new facility will begin in the fall of 2000. The plant is

    expected to be in operation by late 2001.

 

    The Zanesville location provides efficient distribution to about one half of

    the United States, according to Wendy’s executives. Other approved

    bakeries that provide quality sandwich buns supply Wendy's

    restaurants outside of the distribution range.

 

    "We are very pleased to move forward with this project," said Ronald

    Musick, executive vice president of finance and information technology.

    "Our current plant management will oversee the engineering and

    construction of the new facility as well as operations once the facility

    opens. We have an outstanding work force in Zanesville and the local

    community has been very cooperative and supportive as we expand

    there."