Chicago snack maker buys plant in Arkansas

SEARCY, Ark. -- With no room to expand its Chicago bakery, a snack-maker said Thursday it would open a new production line in an old Maytag plant at Searcy and hire 250 people to make toaster pastries and granola bars.

Schulze and Burch Biscuit Co. selected the 500,000-square-foot facility in Searcy over sites in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.

"Our growing toaster pastry and granola bar business demanded additional manufacturing capacity," chief executive Kevin M. Boyle said. "Our Chicago facility did not have the available room to put in new lines. To better serve our customer base, we decided to expand into the south central region."

Boyle said the baker, founded in 1923, had been looking at Arkansas since 2007.

Pastries could begin leaving the plant in a matter of weeks.

"The arrival of Schulze & Burch in Searcy shows that Arkansas continues to be a desired destination for food-manufacturing companies," Gov. Mike Beebe said. "As word spreads and more industries visit our State, we expect this kind of positive result to repeat itself."

Northeast Arkansas is home to several frozen foods production lines.

Maytag closed its dryer plant at Searcy in December 2006.