Utz Brands, Inc., a U.S. manufacturer of branded salty snacks, recently opened its Rice Distribution Center, a brand new, state-of-the-art logistics center located in Hanover, PA. 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.

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 U.S. 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. 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.

Thanks to the collaboration of the Borough of Hanover, Adams County, PennDOT, and the Governor’s Office of Transformation and Opportunity, a new traffic light will be installed at the intersection of High Street and Kindig Lane simultaneous to the opening of the Rice Distribution Center. This will ease congestion on these busy streets surrounding Utz Hanover operations. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is scheduled to attend the invitation-only ribbon-cutting ceremony today, December 5.

Conewago Enterprises, Inc., a family-owned design-build general contractor serving the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond, with headquarters only 2 miles from the new center, was the building partner on the new warehouse facility.

“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,” says Michael W. Rice.

“Our new logistics center reflects our commitment to operational excellence and growth,” says Howard Friedman, CEO of Utz Brands, Inc. “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.”

Utz Quality Foods is on the current Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery “Top 50 Snack & Bakery Companies” list. Click here to view the current “Top 50” rankings.