Kingsbridge Stella D’oro factory to close

By Kate Pastor

Stella D’oro Biscuit Co. has entered into an agreement with Lance Inc., a North Carolina –based company, to sell the brand as well as some manufacturing equipment and inventory.
According to PRNewswire, which releases company statements, the companies plan to close on the purchase early in the fourth quarter, which spans from October to December.
For weeks, rumors have been circulating among workers at Stella D’oro’s factory in Kingsbridge that a sale was imminent. Today at 7 a.m., workers on the factory floor were read an announcement from Lance Inc. telling them that operations will be moved to its Ashland, Ohio bakery.
Lance Inc. produces snack foods and has manufacturing facilities in several states. According to Mike Filippou, a shop steward for Local 50 of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union and a mechanic in the factory, Lance Inc. does not use union labor. He said the sale meant the factory’s workers will soon all be out of a job.