Beverage Leader Invests $16M in NC Distribution Center

by Laura Calugar

Pepsi Bottling Ventures’ headquarters in Raleigh, N.C.

St. Pauls, N.C.—Pepsi Bottling Ventures, the largest privately held bottler for Pepsi-Cola products in North America, will generate 50 jobs over the next five years at a new $16.5 million distribution center in Robeson County, N.C. The project was made possible in part by a performance-based grant of up to $150,000 from the One N.C. Fund. A $400,000 grant from the state’s Economic Infrastructure Program, will also support Pepsi Bottling’s expansion.

The new plant will be located in St. Pauls, a town in Robeson County that is located about 15 minutes away from Interstate 95. Pepsi Bottling Ventures will hire warehouse, logistics, inventory management and other employees through this expansion. Annual salaries at the facility will average $39,500. Robeson County’s overall wages currently average $29,579 per year.

“St. Pauls is an ideal location for our new facility. The location is centralized for our current employees and allows for easy highway access to distribute our products. We appreciate the support we have received from the town of St. Pauls, Robeson County and the State of North Carolinamaking it possible for us to expand here,” said Claire Niver, senior vice president of corporate affairs at Pepsi Bottling Ventures, in a prepared statement.

Headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., the company serves more than eight million consumers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Operating 20 bottling and distribution facilities across the U.S., Pepsi Bottling Ventures also distributes Aquafina, Lipton, Gatorade and Starbucks products. The company employs more than 2,000 people across its various North Carolina locations. The roots of its Pepsi brand can be traced to the 1898 invention of the popular carbonated drink at a New Bern pharmacy.

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