Chicago company buys Manitowoc breadmaker Natural Ovens
(Published Monday, March 5, 2007 10:31:27 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
Associated Press
MANITOWOC, Wis. - A Chicago baking company has bought Natural Ovens Bakery Inc.
Alpha Baking Company said it had no plans to change the number of employees or product line up, which will continue to be distributed under the Natural Ovens name.
Terms of the deal, announced Friday, were not disclosed.
The Manitowoc bakery, which makes preservative-free, whole grain breads and other baked goods, has about 140 employees working in production. There are about 80 people in sales and distribution operations in Wisconsin and other states.
Alpha Baking has 1,000 employees and sells its products nationwide at stores and restaurants such as Burger King and Applebee's.
"The plant is excellent and we need the growth capacity," Alpha chairman and CEO Michael Marcucci said of Natural Ovens.
Paul Stitt started Natural Ovens in 1976. He and his wife, Barbara Reed, ran day-to-day operations until January 2005, but still remained owners.
The company's products are sold primarily at grocery stores throughout the region, but also at stores in New York and Texas.
The company saw a 12 percent drop in sales from 2005 to last year, said Matt Taylor, CEO of Natural Ovens. He said the company's size hindered sales so they were hopeful the new owners will provide more opportunities and chances to increase production.
"As a smaller operation, it was a struggle for us to economically get our product to market on a large scale," Taylor said. "Being a bigger company, Alpha has more power behind them."
Marcucci said Natural Oven's products will fill a void in its own product line-up. Alpha operates three plants that make products are under brand names like S. Rosen, Mary Ann, Kreamo and Golden Hearth.
