Coca-Cola bottler opens, about 40 to be hired

Coca-Cola Consolidated on Thursday opened a distribution center on Global Drive near Riverport in southwest Jefferson County.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer joined Coca-Cola officials and customers and community leaders at an open house at the new 305,000-square-foot facility.

Charlotte-based Coca-Cola Consolidated, the nation’s largest independent Coca-Cola bottler, formally became the bottler for the Louisville Coca-Cola franchise at the end of February. On the 25-acre site, the company has renovated a once-vacant warehouse, created office space and added 100,000 square feet. It has invested more than $12 million in the project.

The new facility will handle a 21-county area in central Kentucky and Southern Indiana. The company currently has 350 employees working in the Louisville franchise territory.

Coca-Cola Consolidated spokeswoman Emilie Nicholls said about 300 people are on the job at the distribution center, with about 40 more expected to be hired shortly.

In addition, a facility that will handle deployment and refurbishing of vending and other sales equipment is under construction and will open later this spring. Nicholls said the center is expected to eventually employ about 150 additional workers, with the opening not yet certain.

In addition to the Louisville franchise, Coca-Cola Consolidated also acquired the franchise in Evansville, Ind. The company has signed definitive purchase agreements for additional Kentucky franchises, including Lexington, Pikeville and Paducah.

Reporter Sheldon S. Shafer can be reached at (502) 582-7089. Follow him on Twitter at @sheldonshafer.