US – Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC (PBV) has allocated a US$35million investment to install a new state-of-the-art bottling line at its production facility in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
PBV, the largest privately-held manufacturer, seller, and distributor of PepsiCo beverages in North America, said the new line will improve efficiencies in the company’s manufacturing operations.
According to the company, it will produce millions of cases of beverages per year and can manufacture bottles made from 100% recycled material.
With such improved production, the company noted that it will be able to optimize production capacity for some of the bottler’s largest growing brands, including Aquafina and Lipton Tea, and PBV-owned brand Nature’s Twist.
PBV also hinted that the new line will incorporate the latest bottling technology, allowing it to keep up with demand while remaining good stewards in the communities where it operates.
Construction of the new bottling line is scheduled to start in 2023 and is expected to be operational by the end of 2024.
Derek Hill, President & CEO of PBV said: “This investment is a promise to our customers that we will continue to meet their beverage needs and demonstrates our long-term commitment to the region and the State of North Carolina.”
“We’re excited about the opportunities that this new line will afford us as we focus on innovation and improving efficiencies. “
PBV acquired the 526,000 sq. ft. production facility in Winston-Salem, New York in 2012.
In 2021, it leased an additional 316,000 sq. ft. warehouse extension due to increased storage needs.
The investment follows the acquisition of Pepsi-Cola Roxboro, the franchise bottler based in Roxboro, New York, for undisclosed financial terms.
The acquisition was expected to expand PBV’s distribution and sales territory to the counties of Caswell, Person, Granville, and Orange.
PepsiCo products to cost even more
Meanwhile, PepsiCo has stressed and maintained its prediction that inflation would stay elevated for the rest of the year and said it remained open to raising prices further after seeing limited pushback from consumers so far.
PepsiCo had raised prices on its portfolio of products, which includes Gatorade and Doritos, by 12 percent overall in the three months to mid-June.
However, chief financial officer Hugh Johnston said that the increase was below the inflation rate it experienced.
He added that the shift in the increase in prices was low because it had been able to cut internal costs and lean on its digital investments to manage inventory more precisely at individual stores.
Financial Times reports that consumers’ willingness to stomach the price increases helped underpin a forecast-beating second quarter in which PepsiCo reported a 5.2 percent year-on-year jump in net revenue.
The newsroom reveals that PepsiCo had a jump to more than US$20.2billion, beating Wall Street’s forecast for US$19.5billion.
PepsiCo said it now expects revenue to increase 10 percent in 2022 on an organic basis, which adjusts for acquisitions, divestitures, and currency fluctuations.
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