"Our Western Canada operation is the fastest growing region in all of North America for Frito-Lay, posting sales gains of more than 20 percent last year. This new distribution center supports this growth trend because its size allows for expansion," said Tom Greco, President, Hostess Frito-Lay. "Hostess Frito-Lay attained market leadership in Western Canada just three years ago, which is remarkable considering that the Frito-Lay brands were introduced in the region just 12 years ago."

The 42,000 square foot facility, located at 2867-45th Avenue S.E. in Calgary, will merge an area office and distribution center, previously leased on separate sites.

Products distributed from the Calgary site are produced at the Hostess Frito-Lay Taber and Lethbridge manufacturing facilities. These products include Lay's Potato Chips, Ruffles Potato Chips, Cheetos Cheese Flavored Snacks, Tostitos Tortilla Chips, SunChips Multigrain Snacks, Munchies Snack Mix and Miss Vickies Potato Chips. Over 80 percent of all Hostess Frito-Lay products in Canada are manufactured in southern Alberta at these two sites.

Hostess Frito-Lay is Canada's leading manufacturer and marketer of snack foods with nearly $900 million in retail sales in 2000. Frito-Lay, Inc., headquartered in Plano, TX, is the $15 billion snack food division of PepsiCo, Inc., based in Purchase, N.Y. Frito-Lay is the market leader in half of the world's top 10 snack chips markets, with operations in 40 countries and a family of global, multi-billion-dollar brands including Lay's Potato Chips, Doritos Tortilla Chips, Ruffles Potato Chips, Tostitos Tortilla Chips and Cheetos Cheese Flavored Snacks.