PANAMA CITY, Fla. — Panama City Coca-Cola Bottling Company, a sales center of Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Inc., (UNITED), yesterday celebrated the grand opening of its new $10 million facility at 2825 Forester Trail in Cedar Grove Commerce Park.
The 24,000-square-foot space houses a sales and distribution center, warehouse, fleet maintenance operation, and administrative offices – a benefit to both associates and customers.
The new facility represents a 13 percent increase in local jobs (82 to 94 associates), a 17 percent increase in customers (1,162 to 1,400), and a 36 percent increase in consumers (220,000 to 300,000), according to Coca-Cola UNITED.
Panama City Coca-Cola is one of the newest members of the Coca-Cola UNITED family, joining the company in November 2017.
Coca-Cola UNITED President and CEO John Sherman said in his remarks that no grand opening was more special or gratifying than today’s event in Panama City.
“Nearly 42 months ago, the nation watched in horror as Hurricane Michael fiercely bore down on this community, leaving catastrophic devastation in its wake,” Sherman said, adding that the former Panama City Coca-Cola facility suffered severe damage in the storm.
“As we watched this community rebuild, this is what you have taught us all – never underestimate the power of the human spirit and never question the importance of teamwork. After seeing the damage to our facility, we committed to each other that we would begin immediately planning for this day. And here we are!” Sherman said.
Panama City Sales Center Manager Paul Corbin said the grand opening has been a long time coming for he and fellow associates, all of whom are excited to see the new facility in operation.
Corbin added the new facility creates an improved work environment for associates and provides more distribution capacity to better serve customers, consumers, and communities.
“This investment by Coca-Cola UNITED demonstrates our long-term commitment to Bay County, all of our local communities, our loyal customers, and last but not least, our associates,” Corbin said.
Panama City Coca-Cola delivers more than 2.9 million cases of beverages from the vast Coca-Cola portfolio to its customers across Northwest Florida annually, Coca-Cola UNITED said.
The local bottler’s distribution territory spans seven counties along the Emerald Coast, stretching east from Rosemary Beach to Eastpoint, and north from Vernon to Bristol.
