A natural gas problem a few weeks ago sidelined production in Pennsylvania, so chips made in Fitchburg were temporarily sold in Utz’s hometown. The Fitchburg plant is small compared to Utz’s main manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania. Last month, it cooked more than 1.6 million pounds of chips. The Wachusett plant receives more than 1 million pounds of potatoes in a typical week.
“We picked up a couple smaller accounts that Wachusett was in that Utz wasn’t in, and vice-versa, we’ve been able to piggyback on some of our Utz relationships and get Wachusett those accounts as well,” Mr. Utz also started growing its New England footprint. With the ability to make its chips here, Utz, meanwhile, saved on the cost of trucking products 400 miles from Hanover, Pa., to Massachusetts. Serving Size 0.66 c Amount per serving Calories 160 Daily Value Total Fat 11 g 17. Krysiak, who has been with Wachusett, and now Utz, for 25 years, said the acquisition was good for Wachusett employees, who gained more hours as a result. The aging owners of Wachusett, looking to pass the company on to another caretaker, worked out a deal with Utz, which also happens to be family-run. Looking to expand here, in 2011 it approached the Krysiak family, which owned Wachusett Potato Chip. Canister Shoestring Potato Sticks Made from Fresh Potatoes, Crispy, Crunchy Snacks in Resealable Container, Cholesterol Free, Trans-Fat Free, Gluten-Free Snacks. Utz entered the New England market in 2004. Potato chips, according to IBISWorld, account for 27 percent of the $30 billion snack food industry. Frito-Lay boasts such popular brands as Lay’s, Fritos, Cheetos, Doritos and Tostitos. It competes with some of the country’s biggest food corporations, including Frito-Lay North America, a division of PepsiCo Inc., which represents 46 percent of the snack food industry, according to research from IBISWorld. Utz, which makes an array of snack foods other than chips, sells its products from Maine to South Carolina and west to Ohio. Chips produced in Fitchburg are first trucked to Sterling, then to retail locations throughout New England and New York. The chip maker has also leased a 60,000-square-foot distribution center in Sterling, employing 33 people there. The Wachusett label carries a similar variety - as well as a distinctive ketchup-flavored chip (which, despite the “artificially flavored” disclaimer, really does taste like ketchup). Those products include chips flavored with sour cream and onion, honey barbecue, salt and vinegar and other seasonings. “We’re actually making 17 branded Utz products here,” said Barry J. The Wachusett plant now makes a whole lot more than its namesake. Hanover, Pa.,-based Utz has doubled the workforce at the Water Street facility, to 67, and added a second shift. in October 2011, it’s been happening much more frequently at this former-jailhouse-turned-chip-factory. It’s a rapid process, one that can produce 3,200 pounds of potato chips every hour. In seven minutes, a hard raw potato is washed, peeled, sliced, fried, salted, seasoned and bagged into America’s favorite snack.
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