Seventeen Pepsi bottlers, including anchor bottler The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc. (PBG), have formed a regional manufacturing joint venture called Pepsi Northwest Beverages LLC (PNB), based in Tumwater, Wash. PNB employs approximately 300 people.
Operating in the Pacific Northwest region, the new entity will include PBG's manufacturing plants in Seattle and Portland, Ore., and three bottler-owned co-ops. PNB will manufacture and source products to parts of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, as well as one market in Northern California and all of Alaska. Its volume represents approximately three percent of total Pepsi bottle and can volume in the U.S.
PBG's Executive Vice President of Worldwide Operations Gary K. Wandschneider said, "The establishment of this new joint venture will help the Pepsi system to better serve our customers in the Pacific Northwest region. As many of our larger customers have consolidated their businesses, they've asked their suppliers for greater uniformity across their operations. Working as a single organization, the members of PNB will be able to present our customers with an aligned product portfolio, including innovation, and provide better service across individual bottler territories. We will also be able to leverage PBG's best practices across the supply chain for greater efficiencies."
Tom Connolly, a 15-year veteran of PBG, has been appointed General Manager of PNB. He most recently served as PBG's Director of Infrastructure and has also been Plant Manager for two PBG manufacturing facilities.