R.I.P. St. Louis Hostess Plant; Most Delicious Field Trip EVER!

[Sherman A1]

Interesting blog post on closing of St. Louis Hostess Plant

It was with a heavy heart (and a sweet tooth of nostalgia) that I read news yesterday of Hostess Brands closing its St. Louis bakery. Apparently the maker of Wonder bread and Twinkies is in bankruptcy (How is that possible? Are we not still a nation of fat asses?!) and has promised to close any bakery where workers honor a labor strike.

That threat proved real on Monday after St. Louis employees refused to cross the picket line. Some 365 local employees of the factory will lose their jobs. And while that is extremely unfortunate for the workers and their families, the fourth-grader in me cannot help but think of the thousands of St. Louis kids with no connection to the bakery other than this: For generations the Hostess plant was the most kick-ass school field trip ever.

I still vividly recall my trip to the plant on North Broadway. I'd spent my entire elementary school career waiting for that moment. Older kids at the bus stop had gloated about it since I was in kindergarten. And now I had arrived. My classmates and I were finally old enough to -- as a friend put it at the time -- "go to the place where Ding Dongs are made."

more at link.

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/gutcheck/2012/11/st_louis_hostess_plant_closes.php

[liberal N proud]

1. Twinkie - the ever lasting cake

[Submariner]

2. Twinkies have been a major food group

since my childhood going to Duncan Yo-Yo contests in front of the penny candy store.

Even though that factory closing, someone, somewhere will be making Twinkies. They have to be. It is part of our heritage like Mom's apple pie.

[madokie]

3. Lets look at the salaries of the top ten in the company

and I'd bet that we'd see why they are in bankruptcy not the stated reasons of health care and retirement cost to the hourly wage earners.

[Recursion]

4. How it's possible: Private Equity buyout

An outfit called Ripplewood decided the company was undervalued (ie, not increasing profit as quickly as it might). So, they borrowed a lot of money, bought up a controlling share of their stock, dumped that debt on the company, and started introducing "efficiencies". Sound familiar? It's the Bain plan that Mittens invented 30 years ago.

However, these guys weren't as good at it as Bain was, and it started crashing before they could unload it.