Coca-Cola Bottling Company United Inc. is expanding its Mobile campus to grow its business along the Gulf Coast. The $48 million expansion will optimize Coca-Cola United’s distribution operation by expanding its warehouse and installing a warehousing system that will benefit its associates, customers and communities along the coast.
“With this larger and more innovative facility, we will create an enhanced working environment for our associates and provide a higher level of service for our customers and communities along the Gulf Coast for decades to come,” said John Sherman, president and CEO of Coca-Cola United.
The existing warehouse will be expanded by 120,000 square feet. Installation of the Vertique case picking system will make the case picking process more organized and efficient.
Construction is set to begin mid-year and should be complete by the end of 2022. Once completed, Coca-Cola United expects to increase jobs at the Mobile facility. Currently, the facility employs more than 300 workers producing more than 13 million cases annually and serving 3,300 customers.
“It’s always special to see a company with deep Alabama roots reinvest in its operations in the state, creating new jobs and strengthen long-standing ties in their communities,” said Gov. Kay Ivey.
This expansion is the latest chapter in Coca-Cola United’s shared history with Mobile. The territory, first owned by Coca-Cola United founder Crawford Johnson Sr. of Birmingham, was purchased by brothers Walter and Will Bellingrath in 1903. More than a century later, in 2017, Coca-Cola United again acquired the Mobile territory as part of its transformation to triple its size.
“Coca-Cola Bottling is a long-time member of our community and we are so happy they chose Mobile for this significant investment. We can’t wait to see what they do in the next 100 years,” said David Rodgers, Mobile Area Chamber’s vice president of economic development.
Coca-Cola Bottling Company United Inc. is a 119-year-old Alabama company headquartered in Birmingham. It is the second-largest privately held Coca-Cola bottler in North America and the third largest bottler of Coca-Cola products in the U.S., with approximately 10,000 associates working in 60 facilities across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.
