1. Hiland Dairy Press Release
2. Brookshire’s to close three North Texas stores, cites ‘fierce competition’
3. Brookshires to layoff some employees

Brookshire Grocery Co. will sell its Tyler dairy facility to Hiland Dairy Foods Co. of Missouri for an undisclosed sum, a spokeswoman confirmed Friday. No layoffs are planned as part of the sale, company officials said.

“It was very important to the Brookshire team that employees be retained and it be business as usual,” said Kathy Broniecki, Hiland spokeswoman.

In fact, Hiland plans some capital improvements on the facility that could mean more jobs in the future.

The sale is expected to be complete in March.

“Our main business focus has always been on our retail stores, which our manufacturing plants support. But with an abundant offering of quality products now available through the supplier community, we were certainly interested when Hiland approached us about buying these plants,” said Brad Brookshire, chairman of the board and CEO for Brookshire Grocery Co. “This decision made sense on a number of levels, and the assurance from Hiland that they will retain the employees, supply our stores with the same great products and expand the operations at these plants in Tyler confirmed to us that this would be beneficial for the community, employees and both companies.”

According to a news release, Hiland Dairy Foods Co. was founded in 1938 in Springfield, Missouri. It has 2,600 employees and has 12 processing plants throughout the region.

“We are committed to growing these facilities in Tyler by investing capital dollars to expand our production capabilities,” said Gary Aggus, CEO of Hiland Dairy.

Aggus also said this acquisition aligns with Hiland Dairy’s expansion plan into Texas that began five years ago when the company started supplying dairy products to select markets.

In October, Brookshire’s announced the closing of its bakery facility. A statement from the company said, “Due to significant competitive pressure combined with unfavorable economic conditions, Brookshire Grocery Company has announced a reduction in workforce affecting approximately 85 employees.”

Brookshire’s also considered a sale last year worth an estimated $1 billion for its more than 150 stores in three states. Those include Brookshire’s, Super 1 Foods and the Fresh by Brookshire’s flagship store in Tyler. That sale was ultimately “taken off the table,” according to the company.

Brookshire’s instead expanded, with the announcement in June that it was acquiring 25 former Wal-Mart Express stores in Texas and Louisiana. The stores are re-opening under the company’s new Spring Market brand, which points to the company’s history of opening its first store in 1928 on Spring Avenue in Tyler.

Supermarket analyst David Livingston said the sale could be of great benefit to both companies.

“Hiland probably has more economies of scale to run a dairy business so it would be win-win for both companies,” he said.

Twitter: @tmt_roy