Beverage bottler expands

The bottling company has been in the midst of an expansion since February. About 28,000 square feet of warehouse space are being added to the bottler’s 70,000-square-foot facility, and new production equipment is being installed.

While the space addition is scheduled for completion in May, the equipment installation will be finished in July, all in time for the bottler’s summer peak season, said President John Schaefer, who declined to disclose the cost of the expansion.

New equipment will include a shrink-wrap machine to package products more tightly, and a hi-cone machine, which attaches plastic-ring holders to bottles. New parts also are being added to existing bottling machines to allow the company to produce half-liter, 12-ounce and 24-ounce bottles, in addition to its 2-liter, 1-liter and 20-ounce bottles.

Operations manager Randy Hinkle said consumers nowadays prefer smaller bottles that can be used “on the go” and are designed for individual drinkers.

The new production capability is expected to save the bottler a few dollars in the long run, as it will be able to produce the bottles that, until now, were shipped to the company from other bottlers and distributed.

“We’ve already got these size bottles in the market,” Hinkle said. “We can actually produce them cheaper, with the costs of freighting and the incline in fuel costs. It makes more economic sense to produce them locally.”

Meanwhile, the added warehouse space will be used for truck loading, and the former, smaller truck-loading area will be transformed into storage space.

The tighter packaging will enable the company to ship its products more efficiently, and the additional storage space will allow for more inventory, which Hinkle said is expected to attract more distributors.

“We hope to pick up extra customers – other bottlers purchasing inside Missouri, and maybe outside Missouri,” he said. “We’re anticipating being able to sell to people outside of our normal franchise area.”

Schaefer said the need for more space and equipment all centers on one trend: an explosion in the number of products, brought on by consumers who want options.

“In the ‘70s, we had about 30 or 40 items. Today, we sell about 300 – waters, coffees, cold teas, nutriceuticals, juices,” Schaefer said. “Many of those are items we just didn’t carry back in the ‘70s. We were a much simpler business then.”

Hinkle said that while carbonated soft drinks remain popular, more consumers want healthier options.

“The energy drink trend has really expanded … isotonic drinks have increased tremendously and water is a high-volume product,” he said.

The bottler carries six energy drinks and three water brands.

Ozarks Coca-Cola’s last expansion was about eight years ago, Schaefer said, when it added 10,000 square feet to the facility. [[In-content Ad]]