Utah-based bottler and distributor of Coca-Cola products, Swire Coca-Cola, USA purchased a production plant in Bellevue for $31,435,695.71 or $156.30 per square foot from The Coca-Cola Company, as part of Coca-Cola’s refranchising efforts.
The Bellevue production plant and distribution center, located at 1150 124th Ave. N.E., sits on a 24-acre site, just south of State Route 520. Built in 1969, the 201,120 square foot industrial space is now home to Swire Coca-Cola, USA.
Swire Coca-Cola previously had smaller territories in Washington prior to this recent acquisition. This new deal adds more than 1,000 employees to Swire Coca-Cola’s workforce. The entire workforce of the Bellevue facility employs more than 600 workers in distribution, production and sales. The facility produces 21.3 million cases annually of a variety of products including Coca-Cola, Dasani, Minute Maid juices, Fuze teas, Powerade and Vitaminwater. The plant also includes a warehouse facility adjacent to the production plant, which can store up to 1.1 million cases of products.
In a press release, Jack Pelo, president and CEO of Swire Coca-Cola, USA said, “As a native of Washington, I am proud to see our company expand in my home state. We are eager to bring Swire’s commitment to excellence to our new customers and communities. This investment means we will continue to grow our employee base and our presence across Washington.”
Scarlett Foster-Moss, vice president of public relations and government affairs for Swire Coca-Cola, USA, said the operational components of the plant won’t change under this acquisition. “The makeup of the products that are produced there and the warehouse and distribution center are not going to change at this time,” she said. Foster-Moss added that the employees at the plant have since become employees of Swire Coca-Cola, USA. She also said no brokers were involved in the sale.
In February 2016, The Coca-Cola Company announced that it would be granting more territories to Swire Coca-Cola across the Pacific Northwest in a letter of intent. The territories include cold-fill production facilities in Bellevue and Wilsonville, Oregon.
“Swire is a great partner, and we are excited at this proposed further expansion of their U.S. territories in the Coca-Cola system,” said J. Alexander “Sandy” Douglas Jr., President, Coca-Cola North America in a press release. “We’re also pleased that the overall refranchising process is going very well in North America.”
Swire Coca-Cola, USA now operates in 12 western states.
