Original Hershey Chocolate Factory closing in Hershey, Pennsylvania

[one_voice]

Milton Hershey's chocolate factory, with its iconic double smokestack, is closing soon in downtown Hershey, Pennsylvania.

According to a National Public Radio report, Hershey's chocolate bars will still be made nearby, in a newer facility outside of town that better accommodates modern manufacturing equipment. The company says global competition is the reason the factory will be shuttered, with 500 jobs lost in the process.

According to a National Public Radio report, Hershey's chocolate bars will still be made nearby, in a newer facility outside of town that better accommodates modern manufacturing equipment. The company says global competition is the reason the factory will be shuttered, with 500 jobs lost in the process.


~snip~

For decades, visitors to "America's chocolate center" toured the original factory at the corner of Chocolate and Cocoa avenues along with their visit to Hersheypark.

Today, the factory tours have been replaced by a 10-minute ride at Hershey's Chocolate World that shows the chocolate-making process in a more visitor-friendly environment. But a monorail ride at Hersheypark still passes the original factory, with a voice-over describing it as "the world's largest chocolate factory."

The factory broke ground back in 1903 when the town of Hershey was still called Derry Church. Five years into its operation, the plant gave birth to a candy that Hershey named the Kiss - starting a long tradition of churning out massively popular chocolate products. Hershey now produces over 80 million Kisses every single day.

~snip~

http://www.gadling.com/2010/10/06/original-hershey-chocolate-factory-closing-in-hershey-pennsylva/?icid=main%7Cmain%7Cdl9%7Csec1_lnk3%7C175953

[aquart]

1. Insanity.

[old mark]

2. Most Hershey products are already made in Mexico, and have been since they closed the

plant in Reading, PA. That plant made 5th Avenue, York Peppermint Patties and other Hershey candy products. they permanently laid off hundreds of workers here-in some cases 3 generations of families worked there and all were laid off. The move to Mexico began some years ago, with the higher price of cocoa and the desirer for higher profits. Hershey now uses less cocoa in their chocolate, makes their candies smaller, and charges more - and now makes them all in Mexico.

I have not bought any Hershey products for several years, and never will again.

mark

[Altoid_Cyclist]

3. My wife and I were just discussing this the other day and how Mr. Hershey did things the correct way

The company now wouldn't even be recognizable to him.

Interesting article on the man and the company.



http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/hersheys.asp

[old mark]

6. Workers KNEW they would have long term careers working for Hershey's,

hence the multi generations working at the Reading plant. they gave their workers decent wages and benefits, and you could raise a family and own a house if you worked there. They gave the employees notice, but they are gone now.


mark

added; Link to plant closing story - http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/business/Hershey-Moves-Reading-Jobs-to-Mexico.html

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. sad

[xchrom]

5. Shakes head in sad dismay. Nt

[Sherman A1]

7. Very Sad

:cry:

[Stinky The Clown]

8. In 2007 they announced plans to move some operations to Mexico

02/16/2007 11:16 AM ID: 60296 Permalink
Hershey's Moving to Mexico, Cutting 1,500 Jobs


US chocolate maker Hershey's has announced it will be moving 10% of its operations out of the US and cutting 1,500 jobs from its global work force. The three-year restructuring plan will save Hershey's US$190 million per year.

Spokesperson Kirk Saville didn't give any real details, saying only that "Some (plants) will be expanded, some will be downsized and some will close." The company will be opening a new plant in Mexico under the plan.

Hershey's President Richard H. Lenny said: "We recognize this will involve considerable change over the next three years, and intend to make this transformation of our supply chain as smooth as possible for our employees and customers."

http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=60296

This is another step down that path. Maybe its time to change the town name back to Derry Church?




edit to add link to the 2007 story

[old mark]

12. "..cutting 1500 jobs from its global work force...saving $190 million a year..." nt

[Brickbat]

9. Wait, there's an edit that I need to do:

The Hershey Co. says it needs to close the historic factory, and cut 500 jobs, to remain competitive in the global market keep its profit margin at whatever inflated level the bigwigs think is sustainable for the next six months.

[1monster]

10. I toured that factory many years ago on a fifth grade field trip. The tour took about an hour.

The pervasive scent of chocolate became overwhelming. The general consensus of my fellow classmats after the tour was that we never wanted to smell chocolate again, let alone eat it.

That lasted about fifteen minutes out of Hershey (city) when we began chomping down on the sample packets we were given on the way out of the park.

While my memory may be tainted by the fact that I was a small child and it has been a very long time ago, I remember those large mixing vats full of liquid chocolate. My memory says they were larger than an olympic swimming pool and there were lots of them. I always wanted to redo the tour and also wanted to take my son to see the factory, but they stopped doing those years ago.

Hershey's was a well-respected name in those days. They were reputed to be a great company to work for. But that was in the day that the companies took care of their employees and their employees took care of their employers. It was a partnership that worked for both employers and employees.

Sad that those days are gone. The robber barons rule again and in a way to make the original robber barons look like rank rank amatures.

[bob4460]

11. All brought to you by NAFTA.......

And until we get out of those agreements we will continue the 3rd world slide.