COLUMBUS, GEORGIA, U.S. — Hostess Brands, LLC, a new company and employer under new ownership, will re-launch four bakeries this summer with a full assortment of Hostess snack products, including Twinkies, Cup Cakes, HoHos and Ding Dongs.

Investment in the reopening of facilities in Columbus, Georgia, U.S.; Emporia, Kansas, U.S.; Schiller Park, Illinois, U.S.; and Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., is being funded by Apollo Global Management LLC and Metropoulos & Co., which earlier this year purchased selected Hostess assets out of bankruptcy.

“Over the past several months, we have invested significantly in Hostess and the Columbus facility we acquired,” said Dean Metropoulos, chairman and chief executive officer of Hostess. “We are focused on re-introducing the Hostess brands and bringing the company’s high quality and beloved snack products back to American consumers.”

In connection with the Emporia plant reopening, Metropoulos said he was “delighted” with the progress Hostess has made upgrading the facility since it was acquired.

“We have expanded the bakery’s capacity significantly, which will result in meaningful job growth in the Emporia community and ultimately help us achieve our goal of bringing Hostess products back to the shelves for our customers as quickly as possible,” he said.

According to an April 25 article in the Wall Street Journal, Hostess also is considering whether to reopen a fifth plant, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. The Hostess products that Apollo and Metropoulos acquired earlier this year were made at 11 plants, but Metropoulos told the newspaper that the plants were running at less than 50% capacity. The new plants are expected to run at 85% to 90% capacity, making the business “as efficient as possible,” he said.

Also in the article, Metropoulos said Hostess plans to invest $60 million in capital into the plants between now and September, and intends to hire about 1,500 workers — none of which are expected to be represented by unions.

“We do not expect to be involved in the union going forward,” Metropoulos told the newspaper.

Daren Metropoulos, Dean’s son and head of Hostess’s marketing strategy, told the newspaper that the new Hostess plans to use third-party drivers and outside sales organization. The company also plans to switch distribution models, which would allow the company to deliver product directly to supermarket warehouses instead of individual locations. More product also is expected to be shipped to convenience stores and dollar stores.