THOMASVILLE, Ga. — Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO), producer of Nature’s Own, Wonder, Tastykake, Dave’s Killer Bread, and other bakery foods, today announced that it has temporarily stopped production at its bakery in Tucker, Georgia to safeguard the wellness of its 255 team members. The bakery, which produces primarily frozen, non-retail specialty and foodservice bread and bun items, is expected to resume production on or around April 27, 2020.
The company made the decision, out of an abundance of caution, following an increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases at the bakery as well as self-quarantining over the past few days. This increase occurred despite precautionary measures already in place, including wellness and recently-implemented temperature screenings for everyone entering the facility, enhanced daily sanitation and cleaning of commonly used areas and frequently touched surfaces, and required self-quarantining for those having close contact with a confirmed case or otherwise exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19. The bakery is located in DeKalb County, which currently has the third-most confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. The action does not reflect on the quality or safety of the products baked at the facility. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, there is no evidence of food or food packaging being associated with COVID-19 transmission.
Flowers will pay furloughed production employees and ask those employees to shelter-in-place until the bakery resumes production. The bakery will maintain a small crew for sanitation and operation of a cross dock. Those team members will continue to be required to pass wellness and temperature screenings and wear personal protective equipment at all times. The bakery also will maintain its enhanced sanitation schedule.
The company anticipates the closure will have only a limited impact on its ability to service the market as other bakeries in Flowers’ network are expected to to offset most of the lost production in the near term.
About Flowers Foods
Headquartered in Thomasville, Ga., Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO) is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States with 2019 sales of $4.1 billion. Flowers operates bakeries across the country that produce a wide range of bakery products. Among the company’s top brands are Nature’s Own, Dave’s Killer Bread, Wonder, and Tastykake. Learn more at www.flowersfoods.com.
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Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate to current expectations regarding our future financial condition, performance and results of operations and the anticipated impact of COVID-19 on our business, profitability or results of operations and are often identified by the use of words and phrases such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “is likely to,” “is expected to” or “will continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those projected. Other factors that may cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements contained in this release and that may affect the company’s prospects in general include, but are not limited to, (a) the effects of global, political, market, health and other conditions, including the impact of COVID-19 and measures or voluntary actions, including social distancing, shelter-in-place, shutdowns of nonessential or other businesses, such as any of our production or warehouse facilities, and similar measures imposed by governmental or regulatory authorities or undertaken by us in an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19; (b) general economic and business conditions and the competitive conditions in the baked foods industry, including promotional and price competition, (c) changes in consumer demand for our products, including changes in consumer behavior, trends and preferences, including health and whole grain trends, and the movement toward more inexpensive store-branded products, (d) the success of productivity improvements and new product introductions, (e) a significant reduction in business with any of our major customers including a reduction from adverse developments in any of our customer’s business, (f) fluctuations in commodity pricing, (g) energy and raw material costs and availability and hedging and counterparty risk, (h) our ability to fully integrate recent acquisitions into our business, (i) our ability to achieve cash flow from capital expenditures and acquisitions and the availability of new acquisitions that build shareholder value, (j) our ability to successfully implement our business strategies, including those strategies the company has initiated under Project Centennial, which may involve, among other things, the integration of recent acquisitions or the acquisition or disposition of assets at presently targeted values, the deployment of new systems and technology and an enhanced organizational structure, (k) consolidation within the baking industry and related industries, (l) disruptions in our direct-store delivery system, including litigation or an adverse ruling from a court or regulatory or government body that could affect the independent contractor classification of our independent distributors, (m) increasing legal complexity and legal proceedings that we are or may become subject to, (n) product recalls or safety concerns related to our products, and (o) the failure of our information technology systems to perform adequately, including any interruptions, intrusions or security breaches of such systems. The foregoing list of important factors does not include all such factors, nor necessarily present them in order of importance. In addition, you should consult other public disclosures made by the company, including the risk factors included in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and disclosures made in other filings with the SEC and company press releases, for other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected by the company. We caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as they speak only as of the date made and are inherently uncertain. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise or update such statements, except as required by law.
