utz disambiguation . this article has multiple issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . april 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . august 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message utz quality foods inc. product type snack foods owner michael w. rice country us introduced 1921 previous owners william and salie utz 1921 francis x. rice 1968 website http www.utzsnacks.com utz quality foods inc. ts 1 based in hanover pennsylvania is the largest independent privately held snack brand in the united states . 2 the company was founded in 1921 and distributes a variety of potato chips and other snack foods throughout the united states . contents 1 history 1.1 early years 1.2 post war years and expansion 1.3 modern era 1.4 sponsorship 2 products 3 distribution 4 in popular culture 5 see also 6 references 7 external links history edit early years edit utz quality foods began in 1921 as hanover home brand potato chips when william and salie utz began making potato chips out of their home in hanover pennsylvania 3 with an initial investment of 300 . the hand operated equipment used at the time produced approximately 50 pounds of potato chips per hour . after salie cooked the chips bill delivered them to local grocery stores and farmers markets in the hanover and baltimore maryland areas . success soon allowed bill and salie to move operations to a small cement building in the family s backyard . in 1938 production was boosted with the purchase of an automatic fryer capable of producing 300 pounds of chips per hour . post war years and expansion edit in 1938 francis xavier f.x. rice joined the utz company after marrying arlene utz william and salie utz s daughter . in 1949 post war success allowed the company to build a new production facility on 10 acres 40 000 m2 in hanover . f.x. rice became president of the company in 1968 after the death of salie utz in 1965 and bill utz three years later . the 1970s began with the 50th anniversary celebration of the company and saw the purchase of two more hanover based production facilities . f.x. rice retired in 1978 . the rices son michael w. rice succeeded f.x. as company president while arlene utz rice remained as the company s board chairperson . utz s largest production facility and home of its current administrative headquarters was completed in 1983 . modern era edit in the late 1980s sales of utz pretzels began growing by 20 percent annually and by 1991 pretzel sales comprised almost 10 percent of total revenue . in the summer of 1992 utz added a third pretzel oven and began baking pretzels around the clock . by the middle of the decade annual sales of utz products topped 100 million and its employee base had reached 1 000 . in 1996 the company celebrated its 75th anniversary . by 1999 a new public website also allowed customers to purchase utz products for at home delivery . as the 21st century approached utz employed 1 300 with annual revenues exceeding 150 million . in 2004 sales reached 235 million annually spurred in part by market expansion a targeted advertising campaign in the new york city metropolitan region and a 2001 consumer reports taste test ranking utz as the best tasting potato chip in the nation . a 2010 plan to merge utz with rival snyder s of hanover was blocked by the u.s. federal trade commission . 3 in 2011 utz quality foods acquired zappe endeavors and its affiliated entities which manufacture and market zapp s dirty s and california chips brand potato chips . 2 this acquisition included zapp s plants in louisiana california and pennsylvania thereby making utz a national snack food manufacturer overnight . management of zappe remained in place after the acquisition . in 2011 utz quality foods acquired the wachusett potato chip company in fitchburg massachusetts enabling the production of the utz brand in new england . in 2012 utz quality foods acquired the bachman company 3 with utz buying the intellectual property rights distribution and ephrata manufacturing facility . the bachman family will still use its reading and hyde park facilities under the name savor street foods inc. to make private label products and other goods for utz . utz has also acquired gibbles brand associated with the traditional kettle cooked red hot and barbecue flavored chips . utz quality foods remains family owned . michael rice is the chairman and his son in law dylan lissette is chief executive officer . in 2014 the company s 2500 employees made 150 million pounds of snacks in its eleven manufacturing facilities . 3 sponsorship edit until the 2012 season utz was a sponsor of the new york yankees and had been part of the right field of yankee stadium for many seasons . they were also a sponsor for the philadelphia phillies utz currently sponsors the washington nationals baltimore orioles and pittsburgh pirates . in addition utz is the official vendor of all pre packaged snacks for the baltimore ravens starting in 2014 . also utz sponsors the connecticut tigers a minor league baseball team . products edit utz manufactures a wide variety of potato chips and pretzels 1 000 000 pounds 450 000 kg of potato chips and 900 000 pounds 410 000 kg of pretzels every week . utz also produces cheese curls sunflower chips tortilla chips baked natural white and yellow corn multi grain and restaurant style popcorn pork rinds plain bbq salt & vinegar spicy and party mix offering over 90 flavors or varieties of snacks in total plain salt and pepper salt and vinegar bbq sour cream & onion cheddar & sour cream honey bbq crab chips carolina style bar b q red hot wavy rippled salt & malt vinegar gourmet medleys smokin sweet jalape o sweet potato onion and garlic grandma utz handcooked thin pretzels special pretzels hard sourdough pretzels everything pretzels butter sticks country store pretzel stix pretzel rods and pretzel sticks . specialty items include chocolate covered pretzels seasonal pretzel barrels and sports mixes . utz also carries dips sour cream & onion mild cheddar and jalape o cheddar salsas and crackers . in total utz makes 395 different types and flavors of snacks . 3 utz regular potato chips are cooked in cottonseed oil ; its kettle classic line in peanut oil ; and its grandma utz varieties in lard . additionally utz produces an organic product line which includes products certified organic by quality assurance international as well as a natural product line that includes potato chips cooked in sunflower oil . the company incorporates the snacking smart icon on a number of its products indicating a healthier snacking choice to the consumer . distribution edit utz s current distribution area spans from maine to georgia using 33 distribution centers along the east coast of the united states . utz utilizes a fleet of 800 salespeople and company trucks to deliver products directly to the store . various products manufactured by utz are also sold through warehouse club stores across the united states . in the mid 1980s utz started a catalog mail order service allowing consumers to order utz products by phone for home delivery . in 1998 utz added online ordering at their website utzsnacks.com . in popular culture edit utz potato chips along with the slogan utz are better than nuts formed part of an ongoing secondary plot in several episodes of the second season of the amc television series mad men . 4 see also edit list of food companies references edit utz about us a b distefano joseph n. 7 january 2011 . two potato chip king utz buys dirty and zapp s . philly.com . the philadelphia inquirer . retrieved 23 january 2016 . a b c d e sellers patricia 4 march 2015 . the secretive snack company that warren buffett loves . fortune magazine . retrieved 23 january 2016 . heaney caitlin august 31 2008 . mad men eats up utz quality foods . the evening sun . mad men eats up utz quality foods archived . external links edit utz quality foods official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title utz quality foods & oldid 743857471 categories hanover pennsylvaniabrand name snack foodscompanies based in york county pennsylvaniafood manufacturers of the united statessnack food manufacturers of the united statesamerican companies established in 1921brand name potato chips and crisps1921 establishments in pennsylvaniahidden categories articles with a promotional tone from april 2013all articles with a promotional 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