Associated Food Stores Warehouses Close in Montana
Billings, MT-
By ANUK Staff
1.31.13
Associated Foods Stores announced plans to close food distribution warehouses in Helena and Billings Montana that serve over 100 grocery stores in Montana and Wyoming.
The closures will cause a cumulative loss of 50 jobs at the Helena warehouse and 56 at the Billings location. A 180,000 square foot warehouse north of Salt Lake City will take over distribution duties, according to the Independent Record.
Associated Foods is a cooperative, which means that the stores it supplies own the company and will share in efficiency savings, according to Kelly Atkins, Senior Vice President in Helena.
“This decision will ultimately allow our independent grocers in Montana to continue to be strong competitors in their markets,” he said.
Closures of the Associated Foods warehouses means that Supervalu will be the only food wholesaler left in Montana, according to Atkins.
As Supervalu recently announced the sale of 877 grocery stores to Cerberus Capital Management including all of its Albertsons locations, locals are waiting to see what will happen to local stores.
“Cerberus is known as a company that buys assets and spins them off,” he said. “Who knows what could happen.”
