Rosenberger’s Dairy, known in the Lehigh Valley for its milk and other products, has been acquired by a New Jersey dairy and food distributor that plans to cease bottling and production activities at Rosenberger’s Montgomery County facility.
A spokeswoman for the new owner, Balford Farms of Burlington, said Wednesday that the company planned to continue operating Rosenberger’s warehouse and distribution depots in Hatfield and elsewhere in Pennsylvania.
Consumers familiar with the Rosenberger’s brand, whether it’s on milk bottles or other products, won’t see any change, company representatives said.
“There will be a seamless transition,” said Lynn Bohan, spokeswoman with HP Hood LLC of Lynnfield, Mass., which sold Rosenberger’s on Monday to Balford Farms. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
What is changing is that manufacturing at Rosenberger’s plant is ceasing and will be shifted to other plants. While Balford is expected to absorb employees, especially in the warehouse and distribution end, it was unclear what would happen to the production workers.
A Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification, or WARN notice, filed with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry indicated 362 workers were being laid off at Rosenberger’s facilities in Hatfield, Levittown, Bucks County, and in York County. However, Balford spokeswoman Monica Massey said the notice was solely a government requirement because of the ownership change.
She said Balford plans to rehire at least 100 employees in its warehouse and distribution operation in Hatfield, and more workers are expected to be brought back to “additional facilities.”
In a letter sent last month to the Labor Department, a Philadelphia law firm representing Rosenberger’s cited higher operating costs for the decision to close the plant. It also said “some” employees might be eligible to apply for employment with Balford Farms.
Rosenberger’s had been sold in 2002 to Crowley Foods of Binghamton, N.Y. The original Rosenberger’s Dairy was founded by William F. Rosenberger and his son, Raymond, in 1925. It grew from a single farm to more than 60 in the Delaware Valley.
The company has sold its milk, juice, lemonade and other drinks to supermarkets, small stores, schools and restaurants.
The Reporter newspaper of Lansdale reported in September that Rosenberger’s Dairy Wagon, a Hatfield restaurant with a menu that included sandwiches, soups and Rosenberger’s own dairy products, had closed in anticipation of the sale.
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