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Sunday, March 09, 2003 Page: 1D
FAST FACTS
Wise Foods
Owner: Palladium Equity Partners of New York, a private investment firm
Manufacturing facilities: The Berwick plant is made up of a potato chip
factory and a related products and corn products factory. The company also has
plants in Bristol, Va., and Spartanburg, S.C.
Number of employees: 800 in Berwick
Distribution: East Coast and Southeast states
Product line: Includes Wise Potato Chips, Cheez Doodles, Bravos tortilla
chips, Wise Popcorn, Cheez Waffles, Wise Corn Chips, Wise Onion Rings, Quinlan
pretzels, New York Deli Kettle-Cooked Potato Chips and Cottage Fries
Founding: Grocer Earl Wise Sr. began using extra potatoes to produce
handmade chips in 1921.
How many potatoes does it take?: Three to four pounds of potatoes will
produce 3/4 to 1 pound of chips. In a week, the company will use three to four
million pounds of potatoes.