Business started in 1906 by delivering bread door-to-door to 40 homes in Youngstown. Now, more than a century later, Schwebel Baking Company produces almost a quarter of a million packages of bread and buns every day.

Schwebel’s has bakeries on Midlothian Boulevard in Youngstown and in Hebron, Ohio. There are 17 distribution centers across Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. From there, trucks take products to customers around the region.

Great Opportunities

The company makes a variety of breads and buns and has its sights set on future growth.

“We have a great legacy and are continuing that path with excellent momentum and improvements in operational processes, equipment, lean manufacturing, and people initiatives such as relaunching our mission, values, and a deliberate people strategy,” said Melinda Rombold, Director of Human Resources. “Schwebel’s delivers nourishing products to your table with it’s over 700 employees.”

However, like many other manufacturers, the company continues to grapple with an evolving workforce.

“Society is changing, workforce is changing, everything is changing,” she said. “We have to know and acknowledge that and make sure we’re attracting and keeping good employees.” 

Strengthening the workforce through MVMC

Those are reasons why Rombold believes being part of MVMC is important to the company.

“Organizations like this can help when we need additional, creative resources and partnerships to do things we need to do.”

The Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber first put her in contact with MVMC, and after that, Schwebel’s became a member.

“Partnering with an organization like MVMC can be a great benefit. There are like-minded individuals and community partnerships. It’s good for the area, employees and companies at the same time,” Rombold said.

Schwebel’s is currently looking to hire and is excited about the WorkAdvance program to help fill open positions.

“Since the end of the pandemic, we have been very busy and working to stabilize operations and the workforce. Plus, summer is our busy bun season. When we don’t have enough staff, we have people working overtime and/or six to seven days a week,” she said.

Rombold also explained that our employees’ input on production improvements and culture is key, so a survey was recently conducted to gain production employee insights.

“As the workforce evolves, so must we. We’re excited to be part of MVMC because it’s one of the groups already doing that.”