BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — Coca-Cola Bottling Co. United Inc. has announced plans to invest $330 million in the construction of a new office and warehouse facility located in the Kingston neighborhood of Birmingham. Coca-Cola United is a Birmingham-based bottler of Coca-Cola products, and the Coca-Cola Co. does not own any part of the company.
Plans for the development include a 150,000-square-foot office complex and a 300,000-square-foot warehouse. The warehouse will feature a Vertique case picking system, which is designed to increase the efficiency of packing cases for order fulfillment.
The facility will serve as the Birmingham Coca-Cola sales center, as well as Coca-Cola United’s corporate, Central region and North Alabama division headquarters. The property will also house the company’s Classic Food and Vending arm, customer solutions center and services department. A development timeline was not disclosed.
Coca-Cola United purchased the development site in 2013. The land previously housed the Stockham Valves and Fittings plant, which closed in 1998. According to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, the project will create up to 50 new jobs and retain over 750 positions.
“For over 120 years, Coca-Cola United has been a stand-out member of Birmingham’s business community,” says Ivey. “Coca-Cola United’s landmark growth project will create new jobs in its home base in Birmingham while also solidifying the company’s foundation in the city for decades to come.”
Businessman Crawford Johnson first opened Birmingham Coca-Cola in 1902 with a staff that consisted of one associate and a mule named Bird, according to Ivey. The company was incorporated in 1974 as Coca-Cola United.
Coca-Cola United is the third-largest Coca-Cola bottler in the United States. It employs approximately 10,000 people and has eight production facilities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.
— Channing Hamilton