The sweet aroma of snack cakes should once again be permeating the air around the Dolly Madison plant in Columbus as Hostess Brands LLC prepares to relaunch production next month.

“We’ll be in production as we originally said by July,” said Hostess Brands LLC spokesman Michael Cramer, confirming workers are now getting the facility at 1969 Victory Drive ready to bake goods again, including testing equipment that has been idle since November.

“You’ve got to run and test product and train (workers) and all of that stuff,” Cramer said. “That would be the normal and natural thing to do is test your product and make sure the lines are running. We’ve been engaged in that process for a couple of months.”

The bakery had been quiet since its former owner, Dallas-based Hostess Brands Inc. closed its entire U.S. operation in November — factories, distribution centers and retail stores. In Columbus, that suddenly left 426 workers without a job and no severance pay.

Hostess Brands LLC, owned by investment firms Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos & Co., purchased the local plant out of U.S. Bankrupty Court in April. The price tag was $410 million.