YOUNGSTOWN — Schwebel Baking Company, a Mahoning Valley institution founded in 1906, plans to end operations after the Fourth of July holiday, the company announced Wednesday in a news release.

“The Schwebel’s brand has been known for the highest quality of bread, buns and other bakery products for over 100 years, and we are devastated to reach the point where liquidation is the only remaining option,” said Steve Cooper, Schwebel’s CEO. “We’ve worked with our advisers for several months to identify a buyer or investment source, however despite significant efforts to adapt to changing market conditions and secure additional investment, the company was unable to establish a sustainable path forward.”

The number of affected workers was not released. As of Wednesday night, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services website did not list a WARN notice tied to Schwebel’s.

The company’s union workers are associated with BCTGM International Union, Local 19, based in Cleveland. The union represents manufacturing, production workers, maintenance and sanitation workers in the bakery, confectionery, tobacco and grain milling industries throughout North America.

Phone calls and emails to union officials seeking comment were not answered as of Wednesday’s deadline.

“Everyone’s walking around (the plant),” said a person who answered the phone at Schwebel’s after hours. “They’re trying to get a hold of the union. They were never told. They heard it through the news channels.”

Schwebel’s makes branded and private-label bakery products at its bakeries in Youngstown and Hebron, located 30 minutes east of Columbus. Its bread, buns and rolls are distributed to retail, grocery, food service and institutional customers across Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. The company also operates outlet stores.

Schwebel’s said it has faced significant operational and financial constraints for many years, the company said. These challenges include “aging manufacturing facilities and equipment, costly labor contracts and pension obligations, and consumer trends depressing demand for traditional bakery and bread products.”

The news release also states Schwebel’s made “comprehensive efforts to explore all financing and strategic alternatives, including the sale of its business and operations, as well as making a request to temporarily defer certain pension obligations to preserve liquidity for essential improvements to the manufacturing facilities.”

The company was unable to execute a viable going-concern sale or secure additional liquidity and investment.

“After evaluating all available alternatives and considering the company’s financial condition, the board of directors made the difficult decision to wind down operations and pursue a formal liquidation of the business in the coming weeks,” the news release states.

On Dec. 22, Schwebel’s entered into a $6,250,000 transaction with SYOHB LLC of Glen Cove, New York. The sale-leaseback involved 935 and 965 E. Midlothian Blvd., where its bread-making plant and offices are located.

The Chicago-based company involved in the sale said no changes were planned.

“It’ll still be a bakery,” a representative said at the time. “They’re not going anywhere. … There was no transition of ownership. It’s still a privately held business.”

Upon hearing the news, a four-county economic development agency said it was ready to help, if asked.

“It’s always disappointing when a long-standing community institution announces its closure,” said Dani Robbins, CEO of Lake to River. “We stand ready to assist the Schwebel’s workforce with new employment opportunities at their time of separation.”