Why are so many
food services companies
choosing to do business in
Hazleton, PA?
CAN DO, Inc.
One South Church Street, Suite 200
Hazleton, Pennsylvania 18201-6288
wwww.hazletoncando.com
570-455-1508 or 800-54-CANDO
Location
RAIL
The region is strategically located
near Interstates 80, 81, 84, 380 and 476 with
easy access to other major highways. Greater
Hazleton is located within two hours of New York
City and Philadelphia and just a few hours more to
cities such as Pittsburgh, Boston and Washington,
D.C., putting your company with a 300-mile radius
of 25 percent of the population and total production
of the entire nation.
 New York City . . . . . . . . . 135 miles
 Washington, D.C. . . . . . . 204 miles
 Philadelphia . . . . . . . . . . 110 miles
 Baltimore . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 miles
 Pittsburgh . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 miles
 Harrisburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 miles
 Boston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331 miles
NEPA Food Processing Industry
Relevant Education & Training
Your workforce can keep its edge with short-course,
certificate programs relevant to the food processing
industry from many area colleges and universities.
Partnership
ROAD
SEA
AIR
 Highways
Interstates 80, 81,
84, 380 and 476
 Seaports
Port of New York and
New Jersey
Port of Philadelphia
Port of Wilmington
Port of Baltimore
 Airports
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport (AVP)
Lehigh Valley International (ABE)
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
 Rail
Norfolk Southern
Reading Blue Mountain & Northern
Workforce & Training
Companies with a presence in the Hazleton area
have cited their employees’ work ethic and dedication
as a major reason for their business success. The food processing
industry employs 2,500 people locally, with another 5,000 workers
employed throughout the region. The area still has a large pool of
available employees, many of whom already have exposure to the
food industry and skills needed for positions in food processing.
The proximity of Greater Hazleton to Interstates 80 and 81 provides
access to a population of 684,431 people with a civilian workforce of
342,672 within a 30-mile commuting distance.
Northeast PA Food Processing
Industry Partnership
The Northeast PA Food Processing Industry Partnership is a consortium of food processing
companies throughout the 12 counties of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The partnership was formed in
2007 with the purpose of creating, for the first time, a collaboration of food processing industry partners,
workforce investment agencies, local economic development groups and educational institutions. Their
purpose is to better align regional resources and services to specifically meet the needs of the food
processing industry cluster. The mission of the partnership is to meet the growth and development needs of
food processing companies, the career goals of employees and to attract and retain quality food processing
companies in Northeast PA.
Who already knows?
Regional Food Processing & Distribution Companies
Company
Product
Americold (formerly Versacold)
Refrigerated logistics services
Archer Daniels Midland
Manufacturing of cocoa products
Ateeco Inc
Manufactures frozen pierogies
Bimbo Bakeries
Baked goods
Bimbo Bakeries USA
Bakery food products (dough)
Bimbo Bakeries USA
Bakery food products (cakes)
Cargill Meat Solutions
Retail meat processing facility
Citterio USA Corp
Italian style meat products
Core-Mark
Full-service marketers and distributors of packaged
consumer products
Gertrude Hawk Chocolates
Chocolate & cocoa products
Gonnella Frozen Products, Inc.
Frozen bakery products
Henningsen Cold Storage
Frozen, refrigerated foods
Hershey Foods
Molded chocolate products
Hillshire Brands
Frozen, refrigerated foods
igourmet.com
Online retailer of gourmet foods
Kraft Foods Global Inc.
Food manufacturer
Lee’s Oriental Gourmet Foods
Packaged Asian foods
Lion Brewery
Beverages
Maid-Rite Steak
Frozen portion control meats
McLane Co.
Provides grocery and foodservice supply chain solutions
MIA Products
Manufactures nutritional snack foods and distributes frozen
beverages
Michael Foods
Manufacturer of egg products
Mission Foods
Tortilla manufacturing
Nardone Brothers Baking Co.
Pizza dough bakery
Otis Spunkmeyer
Mfg frozen bakery products
Preferred Meal Systems
Prepackaged frozen food items
Quaker Oats/Gatorade
Beverages
Romark Logistics
Northeast distributor of M&M / Mars candy products
The Topp’s Company
Manufacturer of candy products
Tootsie Roll Industries
Northeast distributor of Tootsie Roll products
US Cold Storage
Refrigerated storage and distribution services
Wise Foods
Snack foods
Yuengling, D G & Son, Inc.
Beer & ale manufacturer
* Companies in bold are located in Greater Hazleton, PA.
Citterio’s local facility is
the largest producer of
prosciutto in the
United States.
The Hershey Company’s
facility in Hazleton creates
around 100 million pounds of
chocolate each year.
Cargill Meats processes
enough meat annually to
make 2.5 billion hamburgers
at its Hazleton plant.
Stroehmann Bakeries LLC
(dba Bimbo Bakeries) makes
240 million buns each year
at its Hazleton plant.
Inside scoop
“Gonnella had a growing base of sales in the eastern United States, so when
we needed additional capacity, we started looking in that part of the country.
Also, about two-thirds of the U.S. population lives east of Ohio, which means
there is great opportunity for continued growth and expansion. One of our
major suppliers is about 45 minutes from the Hazleton area. When it comes
to the Hazleton area itself, the proximity of Interstates 80 and 81 and the very
dedicated labor force were key factors. Being closer to those major highways has made it easier for us to
respond to our customers’ needs faster. It has also allowed our customers to realize savings on freight.
Having our facility in the Hazleton area has lead to operational costs that are lower overall.
We consider the location central and a driving factor in our overall success.”
– Drew Hoben, plant manager
Gonnella Frozen Products
“Our company initially chose Hazleton because of the logistics of
the area and how that would benefit Tootsie Roll in our distribution
operations. The workforce and location have continued to be a
benefit for us. Since we’re near the crossroads of Interstates 80 and
81, trucks entering and leaving our facility can easily access roads to the north, south, east or
west and we have the ability to attract many trucking firms. Compared with other Tootsie
Roll facilities in the United States, we are number one in all measurable categories.”
– Scott Cox, general manager
Tootsie Roll Industries
“Hazleton is an important part of our total U.S. manufacturing
network. Our highly productive employees at Hazleton make some
of our biggest brands and most popular products, helping us to
continue to grow our business here in the United States, Canada and
other parts of the world. It is a key part of our overall chocolate manufacturing capability and we
are very proud of the great work and great products our employees at Hazleton make every day.
Hazleton is also a terrific place to do business. Hazleton also provides a strong pool of candidates
when we have open positions. Each time we look for new employees, the number of applicants
exceeds what we need. The location also is ideal for convenient access to our customers,
suppliers and other Hershey facilities through the local interstate highways that run through
the Hazleton area.”
– Gene Tannler, senior director of manufacturing
The Hershey Company
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