Coca-Cola Consolidated will invest more than $5 million in a new sales and distribution centre in Ridgeland, South Carolina.
The American bottler said the facility would handle sales and distribution of Coca-Cola products throughout southern parts of the state, bringing with it 45 existing jobs and creating at least 20 new ones.
Plans of the investment have been announced barely two weeks after Coca-Cola North America completed its long-term refranchising programme, and less than two months after it took up additional distribution territory in parts of Arkansas, Tennessee and South Carolina from the Coca-Cola Company.
The territory it offloaded in return was later passed on, in part, to Coca-Cola United.
Steve Curtis, local branch manager for Coca-Cola Consolidated, said: “Coke Consolidated has a rich history in South Carolina, and this investment reinforces the commitment we have to the state. This new facility will help us operate more efficiently to better serve our retail customers and loyal consumers throughout the region while creating jobs.”
Coke Consolidated currently has seven locations in South Carolina, employing more than 1,200 people throughout the state.
South Carolina governor Henry McMaster said: “Coca-Cola has been an important partner to our state for a long time. Every time a company like Coca-Cola decides to invest in South Carolina, it shows the world that there is no company too big or too small to find success here.”
And Bobby Hitt, South Carolina’s secretary of commerce, added: “Coca-Cola Consolidated has been a long-time member of the South Carolina business community, and we’re thrilled that they continue to invest in our state and its people. We look forward to watching this partnership thrive in the years ahead.”
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