MODESTO — Those Sara Lee rolls and hot dog and hamburger buns sold at the grocery store have been made right here in Modesto for the past few months. In fact, Flowers Baking Co. of Modesto produces every Sara Lee roll and bun sold in California. Its nearly 100 employees can produce 800 buns per minute and are working three shifts a day to meet demand.
Now, Flowers Baking Co. is working to add a second production line, which is expected to open in February. The expansion eventually could double the number of Flowers employees at its Mariposa Avenue bakery and help its parent company, Georgia-based Flowers Foods, continue to make inroads in California.
“We’re excited about bringing Flowers Baking Co. into California and our brands that have been very successful to give consumers another option with bread and roll products,” Flowers Baking Co. of Modesto President Tom Wilson said.
Flowers Foods is the second-largest baker in the United States, with 45 bakeries in 15 states and sales of more than $3 billion, according to Keith Hancock, the firm’s managing director of communications. The Modesto plant is its only California bakery, though some of its products sold in California are produced at two Arizona bakeries.
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