07Cover1c:SPRING INDEPENDENT.

qxd 7/10/09 10:00 AM Page 1

»Special Report: Distributor’s Toolbox

INTELLIGENCE FOR THE GLOBAL DRINKS BUSINESS JULY 15, 2009

BEVERAGEWORLD

Gold
Rush
Florida-based beer distributor Gold Coast Beverage
shines bright with its most recent expansion.
»
(L TO R) ERIC LEVIN, president,
Felix Williams, CEO and Ross Levin,
executive vice president of operations.

» Highlights From
Beverage Forum 2009
THE RIGHT VEHICLE SAVES HIS BUSINESS MONEY. WE SHOW HIM HOW.
OUR EXPERTS HELP HIM CHOOSE FROM A WIDE SELECTION OF VEHICLES. MANY ARE WORK-READY, SO

DOWNTIME CAN BE AVOIDED. WE CAN DO THE SAME FOR YOU. Professionally-trained staff. Work-ready vehicles.

Extended hours. Expanded service bays. gmbusinesscentral.com

YOU’RE THE BUSINESS.

WE’RE THE DEALERSHIP.
©2009 GM Corp.
 [ JULY2009
Volume 128 • Number 7 • Issue 1800
]

FEATURES
20 Cover Story: Striking Gold
With strategic acquisitions under its belt and a rapidly
expanding business, Gold Coast Beverage is jumping the
economic hurdles and going for the gold.

26 Distributor’s Toolbox:
A look at some of the tools that can
ease today’s distribution challenges.

38 A look back at Beverage Forum 2009

44 The 2009 Financial Report

DEPARTMENTS
BEVBEAT 72 High Country Beverage
8 SABMiller to Reduce 74 Minhas Craft Brewery
Emissions • PepsiCo Opens 75 Saratoga Liquor
‘Green’ Plant in China 76 S.R. Perrott
14 New Beverages 77 Nappi Distributors
18 Market Metrics

60 Epic Enterprises
UPCLOSE WITH... 62 Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co.
48 BOCCCHO of Davenport
52 Bay Area Beverage Co. 64 Burke Distributing Co.
53 Beer Capitol 66 Matesich Distributing Co.
56 Beverage Alliance 68 Del Papa Distributing Co.
57 Refreshment Services Pepsi 70 Guiffre Distributing Co.
Beverage World Vol. 128, No. 7 (ISSN 0098-2318, USPS 526-550) is published monthly by Ideal Media LLC., 303 East Wacker Drive, 21st Floor, Chicago, IL 60601. Tel: 312-456-2822. Subscription rates for US: $89.00/one year, $139.00/two
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BEVERAGEWORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_3

[ JULY2009
Volume 128 • Number 7 • Issue 1800
]

DEPARTMENTS CONTINUED
BEVSOLUTIONS R&D
83 Sweetener Alternatives
Supply Chain PLUS
78 The Warehouse Wishlist Packaging 6 Editor’s Note
85 The Latest on 88 Operations Observations
Lightweighting 95 Road Ways
96 BevSource: Supplier News
Distribution
& New Products
89 LiftGate Tips 97 Classifieds
91 Fleet of the Month: 98 Ad Index
Standard Sales—Littleton, Colo.

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SUBSCRIPTION
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82 Chasers
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[EDITOR’SNOTE] BEVERAGEWORLD
Kevin Francella, Group Publisher Beverage World
+1.646.708.7327 kfrancella@beverageworld.com
EDITORIAL
Jeff Cioletti, Editor-In-Chief
+1.646.708.7303 jcioletti@beverageworld.com
Andrew Kaplan, Managing Editor
+1.646.708.7301 akaplan@beverageworld.com
Heather Landi, Senior Editor

Toasts & Spills +1.646.708.7302 hlandi@beverageworld.com

Jennifer Cirillo, Associate Editor
+1.646.708.7307 jcirillo@beverageworld.com
At the beginning of the summer I came to the startling realization that this is a
particular milestone anniversary of my college graduation (I’m not telling exactly ART
how many years. You’ll have to friend me on Facebook to learn that!) Such Rosanna Bulian, Art Director
+1.646.708.7312 rbulian@beverageworld.com
moments invariably send me spiraling into a fit of nostalgia and thinking about
my college days always means fondly recalling my tenure at Rutgers University’s CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
student-run newspaper. (Shout out to The Daily Targum!) As editorial page editor Michael Bellas, Tom Kelley
of the paper I got to compile the weekly “Laurels & Darts” column, which essen- John Koss

tially gave the thumbs up or thumbs down to whatever was going on that particu- EDITORIAL RESEARCH
lar week. So in the spirit of nostalgia (and summer), I’ve decided to do a beverage Joy Francesconi
version of “Laurels & Darts” (But to avoid a lawsuit from Targum Publishing Co., +1.978.299.3499 jfrancesconi@beverageworld.com
we’ll call it the more liquid-oriented “Toasts and Spills”). PRODUCTION
A big Toast goes to the Brewers Association for another successful Savor: an Jeff Carlson, Production Manager
American Craft Beer & Food Experience. I was lucky enough to attend the inaugu- +1.312.447.5112 jcarlson@idealmediallc.com

ral event last year and the 2009 edition, both in Washington, D.C. A sell-out crowd E-MEDIA
packed D.C.’s National Building Museum to pair fine food with beers from the Amanda Westbrooks, Website Manager
nation’s finest craft brewers. It was once again a highly classy sipping-and-min- +1.312.447.5107 awestbrooks@idealmediallc.com

gling event with subdued music, insightful conversation and interactive education GROUP DIRECTORS
(both at the brewer tables and the salons). I really hope this continues as an annu- Barbara Killeen, Director of Operations and Research
+1.646.708.7325 bkilleen@idealmediallc.com
al event. Heck, I’d vote for semi-annual. Erin Fiden, Group Marketing Director
The lone Spill I will bestow in this edition kind of makes me feel a little dirty. +1.312.447.5103 efiden@idealmediallc.com
Being a fairly green-minded person, it’s always difficult to condemn anything with Delane David, Director of E-Media
an eco-sensitive proposition. However when those entities rely on propagandistic +1.312.447.5106 ddavid@idealmediallc.com

scare tactics to sell a product, it’s time to speak SALES DEPARTMENT

out. In its marketing campaign, the Eco-
Canteen, a portable reusable container to be
filled by tap/purified water, resorts to mislead-
ing sky-is-falling histrionics to sell a few bot-
tles. (“Plastic water bottles could be poisoning
you and your family!”) I’ve stated ad nauseum
in this column how the bottled water industry
represents possibly the most proactively green
beverage segment and it’s unfair to attack it on
the environmental and safety front with such
factual distortions. The International Bottled
Water Association already has filed a com-
plaint against the campaign, so we’ll see how it
plays out. Jeff Cioletti, editor-in-chief
Let’s end on a positive note, shall we? Last jcioletti@beverageworld.com
month the Big Apple played host to the first-
ever New York Sake Experience Week, celebrating Japan’s most famous contribu-
tion to global alcohol beverages. To kick things off, the folks behind Gekkeikan
Sake, in conjunction with Sidney Frank Importing Co. and Southern Wine &
Spirits of New York, hosted an exclusive tasting of select Gekkeikan sakes at the
RENTALS Postal, Bart Piccirillo, +1.845.731.2768 bart.picciril-
upscale Eastern eatery Japonais. The week likely will do wonders to boost sake’s
profile among US consumers so it’ll be interesting to see how the event—and the
rice wine itself—continues to grow in popularity. It was the Toast of the town. BW
Jeff Blanch, Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Sales Director
+1.203.739.0775 jblanch@beverageworld.com
Lisa Adams, Midwest/West Sales Director
+1.773.871.0757 llark@aol.com
Gabriele Fahlbusch, Europe
+49.202.271.6915 fahlbusch@intermediapartners.de
Antoinette Cantwell, Advertising Sales Coordinator
+1.646.708.7315 acantwell@beverageworld.com
200 East Randolph Street, 70th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601
Kevin Francella, Chief Operating Officer
+1.646.708.7327 kfrancella@idealmediallc.com
EDITORIAL OFFICES 90 Broad St., Suite 402, New York,
NY 10004 +1.646.708.7300 Fax: +1.646.708.7399
beverageworld.com REPRINT INQUIRIES Lisa Abelson
+1.516.379.7097 labelson@optonline.net SUBSCRIPTION
INQUIRIES +1.847.763.9627 bw@halldata.com LIST
lo@edithroman.com; Shawn Kingston, +1.845.731.3828
shawn.kingston@epostdirect.com COPYRIGHT CLEARANCE
CENTER +1.978.750.8400 copyright.com

6_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

BEVBEAT
MARKET UPDATE
news and analysis on a changing market

SABMiller to Cut Fuel Emissions

With its new environmental initiative, the brewer hopes to reduce fossil fuel emissions
from its beers by 50 percent within its on-site operations.

S
ABMiller, one of the world’s leading brewers, is setting out to
reduce fossil fuel emissions from its beers by 50 percent per
liter of beer produced by 2020. The company aims to achieve
this through greater energy efficiency and by utilizing renewable
energy sources such as brewing by-products and agricultural waste. 
SABMiller anticipates that this initiative will enable it to contain
absolute emissions across its 200 beer brands at their 2008 level by
2020, despite production volume growth.
The new target relates to the to reduce our water consumption by 25
fossil fuel emissions generated from percent per hectoliter of beer by
energy used within SABMiller’s on-site 2015—a target towards which we are
operations. already making progress.” twice as often—around 40 cycles
“Climate change is an issue of grow- The company also is committed instead of 20.
ing global concern; with likely impacts to reducing carbon emissions within its The company’s most recent
on weather patterns, water availability value chain. For example, SABMiller’s announcement, which was made at the
and crop yields our business will feel Colombian business, Bavaria, invested end of June, came with the launch of
direct effects,” says Graham Mackay, $145 million to implement ‘super SABMiller’s Sustainable Development
SABMiller CEO. “Our new strategic returnable’ bottles, which have a report for 2009, which also details some
approach to reduce fossil fuel gas emis- reduced carbon impact. These are of the steps that are already being PHOTOGRAPHY BY ONE REDEYE/PHILIP MEECH

sions per unit of product will allow us lighter, shaped to reduce wear taken around the world to achieve the
to contain our emissions by 2020, during transportation and have a emission reduction goal.
despite growth in production volume. special film to protect the surface of These include:
This follows our commitment last year the glass, meaning they can be used • The Czech busi- » CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

INSIDE BEVBEAT

MARKET UPDATE BEVERAGE ROUND UP

Check out photos from the second Named after the family dog, Margo’s
edition of Savor: An American Craft Bark Root Beer offers consumers a
Beer and Food Experience. naturally sweetened root beer.
PAGE 12 PAGE 14

8_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

 In this time of rapid change and consolidation, you need a
financial partner with a comprehensive range of services.
To grow your business, you need the ability to take swift action when opportunities come your way. For
years, we’ve helped beverage operators turn their real estate into ready cash through sale-leaseback and
build-to-suit transactions.
Now, with the addition of our newest division, First Beverage Financial Advisors, we provide you with a wide
range of financial services, including debt advisory, mezzanine financing, and mergers & acquisitions.

Call us for an in-depth explanation of our financial solutions.

Bill Anderson Sean McLaren
Chairman & CEO President

First Beverage First Beverage Financial Advisors

310-481-5101 | www.firstbev.com 404-442-8760
[BEVBEAT]
SABMiller to Cut Fuel Emissions
» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8
ness, Plzenský Prazdroj, has already
reduced its carbon emissions by more
than 50 percent. In addition, biogas
from its wastewater treatment plants is
now being used as an auxiliary fuel for
brewing. Reducing CO2 emissions
enabled the brewery to sell surplus
allowances at auction in 2006 and
invest the money in further environ-
mental projects.
• SABMiller India has invested in
renewable energy sources such as agri-
cultural waste, including rice husks. In
May 2007, a boiler fired by rice husks
was installed as part of the expansion
of the Rochees brewery in Rajasthan.
This reduces the reliance on fossil fuels
and also generates additional income
for local farmers.
SABMiller also will be making the
results of its Sustainability Assessment
Matrix (SAM) public for the first time.
This is the tool used in all its business-
es to measure performance and
progress against its 10 Sustainable
Development priorities. The results will
be contained in an interactive online »
SABMILLER is incorporating sustainability efforts
tool on its website sabmiller.com. across its global brewing operations.

Pepsico to Open ‘Green’ Plant in China IN MEMORIAM

As part of s $1 billion investment effort, PepsiCo opened its first overseas
Walter Dunn, a former Coca-
“green” plant in China last month in the western city of Chongqing. The
Cola executive who was credited
state-of-the-art beverage facility reinforces PepsiCo’s ongoing strategy to
with pioneering sports marketing
expand in emerging markets and broaden its portfolio.
for The Coca-Cola Company by
PepsiCo plans to fund a variety of major capital programs to grow its man-
his peers, died of cancer June 22

PHOTOGRAPHY (TOP) COURTESY OF NEWSCAST; WALTER DUNN PHOTO COURTESY OF THE DUNN FAMILY
ufacturing capacity in China, particularly in interior and western areas. Over
at the age of 86 in his home in
the next two years, the company expects to open five beverage manufactur-
Atlanta.
ing plants in Kunming, Zhengzhou, Quanzhou, Lanzhou and Nanchang.
After spending 40 years work-
“Despite the current uncertainty in many parts of the world, we have no
ing in various positions for The
doubt that China will remain a powerful
Coca-Cola Company and its bot-
engine of global economic expansion,” says
tlers, Dunn retired in 2000 as the
Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo chairman and CEO.
senior vice president and special
“This is the largest, most ambitious develop-
assistant to the chairman’s office.
ment effort we’ve undertaken in our more
Though his career with the com-
than 25 years of doing business here.”
pany was extensive, he was best
The Chongqing plant is the first “green”
known for leading Coke’s pres-
beverage plant built in China to comply with
tige accounts department.
the sustainable engineering standards
NOOYI known as Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED), set by the
Green Building Council. The facility is designed to use 22 percent less water
and 23 percent less energy than the average PepsiCo plant in China. To save
water, the plant utilizes a high-pressure cleaning system, water-free conveyor
belt lubricant and water-saving fixtures. Plant associates re-use water for land-
scaping and general cleaning instead of using potable water. To save energy,
75 percent of the plant’s indoor areas feature natural lighting, including a
skylight in the packing area and warehouse. A roof garden insulates the office
building and saves energy for cooling and heating.
“This plant reflects our deep and long-term commitment to China,” says
Nooyi. “It is also an important milestone in our green journey, on which we
are partnering with the Chinese government, industry and others to continue
to promote the health and longevity of our planet.”

10_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

Meltdown bottle is protected by U.S. Copyright.
©2009 VITAL PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

*Only Meltdown Drink available at CVS

*When used in conjunction with a low calorie diet and exercise. For healthy individuals over the age of 18. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
[BEVBEAT]
1 3
People News
Heineken N.V. appoints Stefan Orlowski to managing
director, Scottish and Newcastle UK. Orlowski was the
group commerce director for Heineken N.V… PepsiCo
appoints Tessa Hilado to senior vice president, finance
and treasurer, reporting to chief financial officer,
Richard Goodman… Foster’s appoints David Drearie as
managing director of its newly created Australian wine
division, covering the group’s wine business in Australia
and New Zealand… Ray Chadwick of Diageo Chateau &
Estate Wines is elected Wine Institute chairman for the
2009-2010 fiscal year at Wine Institute’s 75th
Commemorative Annual Meeting of Members… Pernod
Ricard announces seven new appointments: Brian Fry as
managing director of Pernod Ricard Brasil, Victor Jerez
as managing director of Wyborowa, Sergio Marly as man-
aging director of the Pernod Ricard Benelux Cluster,
Béatrice Morane as managing director of Pernod Ricard
Belgium, Erik Zaal as managing director of Pernod Ricard
Nederland and Christian Barré as managing director of
Demecq Bodega, Spanish affiliate of quality wines.
12_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009
Savoring the Experience
»
1 WASHINGTON D.C.’s stately National Building Museum
played host to the sold-out second edition of Savor: An
American Craft Beer & Food Experience, presented by the
Brewers Association; 2 The 1,700 attendees got to sample
beers from nearly 70 craft brewers, paired with a variety
of fine food; 3 Boston Beer Co./Samuel Adams founder
and brewer Jim Koch gets wired for an interview. Sam
Adams was among the event’s sponsors.
A-B InBev Sells Can Plants to Ball Corp.
Anheuser-Busch InBev announced earlier this month it is
selling four metal beverage can and lid manufacturing plants
to Ball Corp., a leading supplier of metal and plastic packag-
ing to the beverage industry, for $577 million. The can
plants were part of A-B InBev’s US metal subsidiary, Metal
Container Corporation (MCC).
As part of the transaction, Ball Corp. will enter into a long-
term supply agreement to continue to supply A-B InBev with
metal beverage cans and
lids from the divested
plants. The divested can
plants are located in Fort
Atkinson, Wis., Columbus,
PHOTOS (TOP) BY CRAIGE MOORE
Ohio and Rome, Ga., and
the divested lid plant is in
Gainesville, Fla.
A-B InBev CEO Carlos
Brito said in a statement, “The sale of this group of soft
drinks-focused plants represents another step in our de-
leveraging program, allowing us to rationalize capital while
retaining those facilities that remain most relevant to our
beer business.”
BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
B
[BEVBEAT]
NEW BEVERAGES
Melon Meets Malibu
M
alibu Island Melon is the
newest flavor to join the
Malibu family, which
includes Malibu, Malibu
Tropical Banana, Malibu Mango, Malibu
Pineapple and Malibu Passion Fruit.
“We are thrilled to introduce this
great new flavor to the Malibu portfo-
lio,” says Craig Johnson, Malibu brand
director at Pernod Ricard USA. “Malibu
Island Melon delivers a naturally fresh
ripe Melon taste with a hint of Malibu’s
trademark creamy coconut flavor
adding an exciting new dimension to
the Malibu range.”
A digital campaign that taps into the
most popular trends among its core
consumers will support its launch.
Aimed to appeal to an audience that
Exotic Energy
Power Trip Beverages
adds a coconut flavored
energy drink to its
expanding roster of vita-
min powered energy
drinks. The new coconut
flavor, initially available
in 16-ounce cans, was
born during a business
trip to Trinidad when
Power Trip Beverage
president, Doug Stuart,
recognized the populari-
ty of the flavor. In
efforts to capture that
flavor of the Caribbean,
Power Trip teamed up
with flavor house BRC
for the creation of its
coconut energy drink.
powertripbev.com
14_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009
increasingly turns to the web to that truly melds with the essence
view its favorite television shows, of Malibu,” adds Johnson. “In test-
Malibu has developed web films ing, consumers chose the melon
that will appear on video sites flavor as having the best fit with
such as Hulu.com and Fox.com. the Malibu trademark and
The bowling-themed videos, ranked it at, or near, the top
created to encourage some in terms of uniqueness and
laughs, promote Malibu Caribbean spirit. Malibu
Island Bowling, a mobile Island Melon represents a
phone application that allows new opportunity to build
you to bowl “island style” awareness with consumers
with a melon. The game will and help our trade partners
be available online on the increase sales.”
Malibu website, as well as Malibu Island Melon is
other sites including available in 1.75-liter, 1-liter,
Facebook.com. 750ml and 50ml sizes. The
“Melon appeals to both suggested retail price for the
men and women and is a nat- 750ml is $12.99.
ural extension for the brand malibu-rum.com
Classic to Contemporary
New Amsterdam Straight Gin
pays homage to the Dutch ori-
gins of gin while taking a con-
temporary cue from The Big
Apple—New Amsterdam being
the former name of the original
Dutch settlement that is today
New York City. With a distinc-
tive bottle design inspired by
Manhattan’s iconic cityscape,
New Amsterdam is a premium
spirit that includes a balance of
citrus elements and a lighter
emphasis on juniper berries
than other gins, resulting in a
softer mouth feel, describes
the New Amsterdam Spirits Co.,
producers of the gin. New
Amsterdam is available nationwide for a suggested retail
price of $13.99. newamsterdamgin.com
BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
NEW SUPER POTENT 2-OUNCE SIZE
[BEVBEAT]
Red Stag Brings Flavor
Beam Global Spirits & Wine,
Inc. and Jim Beam Bourbon
launched last month Red Stag
by Jim Beam, a Kentucky
Straight Bourbon Whiskey
infused with natural flavors.
Through a unique, artisanal
infusion process, natural
black cherry flavors are
infused into four-year-old
Jim Beam Bourbon. The
tasting notes are distinc-
Fruit for the Day tively fruity, describes the
Fruit2day from Hero-WhiteWave is a drinkable and edible fruit snack company, without disguising
with real fruit bits in the bottle that is designed to provide natural the nose of Jim Beam
fruit nutrition. Fruit2day is made with a combination of real fruit Bourbon. The 80-proof Red
pieces, fruit puree and fruit juice without any added sugar or preser- Stag has a suggested retail
vatives. It packs in two servings of fruit and antioxidants in 6.75 price of $17.99, and is
ounces with 110 to 120 calories, depending on the flavor combina- available in 50ml, 750ml
tion: Cherry Grape, Mango Peach, Pineapple Banana and Strawberry and 1-liter bottles.
Orange. The suggested retail price for each two pack is $3.79. beamglobal.com
fruit2day.com

16_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

 Jones Gets Functional Root Beer With Bark
Margo’s Bark Root Beer grew out of Oscar Youd’s ele-
Jones Soda Co. partnered with
mentary school science fair project. Named after the
Mitsubishi Corp. and Pharma
family dog Margo, a rescued black lab-pit bull mix,
Foods International to introduce
100 percent of the proceeds benefit shelter and res-
Jones GABA, a bev-
cue dog organizations. Available in 12-ounce glass bot-
erage they say
tles, it is an all natural cane sugar root beer with no
improves mental
preservatives. SRP is $1.30 to $1.35. margosbark.com
focus, balance and
clarity, while
reducing stress.
The tea-juice
blend gets its
name, and func-
tionality, from
PharmaGABA, the Life is liquid. (3)
natural form of
GABA (gamma-
aminobutyric
acid), a popular

Every.
ingredient in
Japan. It is avail-
able nationally in Fuji
Apple, Lemon Honey, Nectarine
and Grapefruit. Single serve 12-

Gram. Counts.
ounce cans contain 150 mg of
PharmaGABA and retail for
$2.99. It is 100-percent natural
and ranges from 80 to 90 calo-
ries. jonesgaba.com

Vodka from the Crop

Dubbed “The Cleanest
Vodka,” Crop is artisanal
flavored vodka distilled
from certified organic
American grain grown free
of artificial fertilizers,
pesticides and chemi-
cals. New York-based
Crop Harvest Earth
Co., makers of Crop,
says it is distilled in
such a way that no Accounting for a hefty 60 per cent of your production
carbon treatment or costs, packaging is in truth a weighty consideration.
charcoal filtering is But happily Krones has its own PET design people: our
required. Crop is avail- lightweighting specialists are fully capable of coaxing
able in artisanal Hall B6
another superfluous gram or two out of even high-price
vodka, cucumber and containers. Ideal for anyone seeking to significantly
tomato. Available in
improve their Bottle Mass Index and slim down their
all major markets, the
costs – permanently.
SRP for the product is
US$28.99.
cropvodka.com

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
Find out more at:
www.krones.com/en/solutions
 [BEVBEAT]

INDEX* OF BEVERAGE PREFERENCES OF CONSUMERS WHO HAVE

ATTENDED A MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL GAME IN THE PAST YEAR.
BEER
MARKET METRICS Beverage Category Index*
Any Beer 139
Hitting the Domestic Light Beer 144

Big Leagues Domestic Regular Beer

Import Beer
150

162

W
ith summer comes America’s 0 50 100 150 200
national pastime, and beer and
baseball just seem to go hand SPIRITS Beverage Category Index*
in hand. And while it’s not sur-
Blended or Rye Whiskey 126
prising that consumers who attended at
least one Major League Baseball (MLB) Bourbon Whiskey 142
game in the past year were more likely than Brandy 125
the average consumer to have consumed a 134
Canadian Whiskey
domestic beer or light beer during the past
month, what is interesting when looking at Cognac 133
Scarborough Research data is the type of Gin 149
beers that index high with MLB fans. 174
Scotch Whiskey
For instance, MLB fans are 62 percent
more likely than the average consumer to Tequila 150
have enjoyed an import beer in the past Vodka 158
month. Data on specific import brands (not 0 50 100 150 200
shown) indicates some surprising results as
WINE Index*
Becks has an index of 166, Corona indexes Beverage Category
at 164 and Dos Equis has an index of 189. Merlot 164
In fact, MLB fans are almost twice as likely
Cabernet Sauvignon 176
to consume a Guinness, while Amstel Light
has a sky high index of 252 and Heineken Chardonnay 169
Premium Light indexes at 255 among MLB Pinot Grigio 176
fans. Also, craft beers score high points with 182
Pinot Noir
baseball followers as game attendees are 89
percent more likely to have enjoyed a cold Sauvignon Blanc 184
Sam Adams in the past month. Shiraz 175
Also interesting to note, those who attend Rose 138
MLB games don’t limit themselves to just 0 50 100 150 200
beer as they also are more likely to splurge
*INDEX REFERS TO HOW MORE OR LESS LIKELY THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE (100)
on a bottle of wine or a fine spirit. Baseball CONSUMERS ARE TO HAVE CONSUMED A BEER OR DISTILLED SPIRIT IN THE PAST 30 DAYS
game attendees are 82 percent more likely OR WINE IN THE PAST THREE MONTHS. SOURCE: SCARBOROUGH RESEARCH
to have bought a bottle of Pinot Noir in the
past three months and 74 percent more
likely to have consumed a glass of Scotch
whiskey in the past month.
In fact, it seems baseball and spirits con-
sumption go hand in hand as well since
game attendees are 22 percent less likely
than the average consumer to have
abstained from purchasing distilled spirits
during the past month. BW

18_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

*When combined with strength training & a low calorie diet. Use only as a dietary supplement. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
[COVERSTORY]

Striking
Gold
With strategic acquisitions under its belt and a rapidly
expanding business, Gold Coast Beverage is jumping the
economic hurdles and going for the gold.
By Heather Landi

A t Pompano Beach, Fla.-based Gold Coast Beverage Distributors,

management and employees are reminded every day that run-
ning a beer and wine wholesale operation is not just a job, but a
personal commitment to top performance. A catchphrase now
permeates the Gold Coast offices and warehouses—“Take it Personal”—a
message that is now part of the sales and marketing philosophy. First spo-
ken by company chairman Steve Levin back in February, the phrase is
almost a battle cry to employees to remain 100 percent committed to not
just winning in the marketplace, but dominating the competition.
“We talk a lot about executing your job with excellence,” Eric Levin, presi-
dent of Gold Coast Beverage and Steve Levin’s son, says. “It’s not enough to
win, but we talk about how you’ve got to dominate your account. Our new
catchphrase, ‘Take it Personal’ means that if the competition outmaneuvers
you, that’s an immediate reflection on your execution in that account.”
That sense of accountability, pride and commitment to excellence has
helped propel Gold Coast to a position of leadership within the alcohol distri-
bution industry, serving as a shining example of what can be achieved when
strategic marketing and sales execution meet a dogged persistence to win.
“This business gets in your blood. You develop a passion for it and you
gotta love this business to succeed. I think the recipe for success is finding
and retaining people that are like you and are driven by the desire to offer
customer service and sell brands,” Levin says.
A MillerCoors house, Gold Coast is now selling about 28 million cases of
beer annually, making it the largest beer distributor in Florida and quite
possibly one of the top 5 beer distributors in the country with annual rev-
enue set to top $600 million this year.

Worth Its Weight

Felix Williams, the company’s new CEO, couldn’t have taken over the
reins at a more challenging time as he stepped into the executive role three
months ago after former CEO Art Friedman resigned. Not only are Williams

20_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGE WORLD.COM

 THE EXECUTIVE TEAM AT GOLD COAST BEVERAGE is composed of (l to
»
r) Christina Cioeta-Borger, vice president of marketing; Martin Sweren,
corporate treasurer; Eric Levin, president; Steve Levin, chairman; Ross
Levin, executive vice president of operations; Alfonso Fernandez, exec-
utive vice president of administration and Felix Williams, CEO.

BEVERAGE WORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_21

[COVERSTORY]
and his management team facing a faltering economy, but
the company is integrating a new business from a recent
acquisition, which expanded the company’s product portfolio
and sales territory. Founded back in 1946 as a water and beer
wholesaler carrying the Pabst-Coors portfolio, the Levin fami-
ly purchased the distributorship in 1996. Fifteen years ago,
Gold Coast had less than 25 percent market share and today
the company boasts a 59-percent share across its total territo-
ry. With its original territory covering Monroe, Broward and
Miami-Dade counties in Southeast Florida, Gold Coast dra-
matically increased its sales volume with strategic acquisi-
tions, beginning with J.J. Taylor Distributing in Miami in
2000 and Thies Distributing in Fort Lauderdale in 2001,
which added the Miller, St. Pauli Girl, Sam Adams and
Heineken beer brands to the company’s portfolio.
The company expanded its territory to West Palm Beach in
June 2008, increasing its sales and volume by about 25 per-
cent. In October 2008, the company acquired the Southern
Wine and Spirits beer brands.
The company’s continued growth is due in large part to
the broad portfolio of beer brands that it carries, from econo-
my brands like Keystone Light and Milwaukee’s Best, to
imports like Brazil’s Brahma and Germany’s Warsteiner to
craft and specialty beers like Abita Brewing from Louisiana
and Chimay from Belgium.
“We basically have a beer for everyone,” Levin says.
With economy brands making a comeback, Gold Coast is
well positioned to leverage that trend, especially the popular-
ity of 18-packs in the South Florida market.
“We’re leveraging growth in both the high-end and low-
end by doing all the things that a beer distributor does—
increasing visibility, increasing shelf space, building more
displays with these brands and increasing marketing invest-
ment and activity behind them,” Levin says.
Although many businesses consider themselves to be “per-
formance driven,” Gold Coast “walks the walk” and continues
to win in the marketplace by maintaining high expec-
tations for its employees and keeping a steadfast
focus on executing with excellence.
“We manage through a hands-on approach rooted
in constantly striving for perfection and a relentless
desire to improve the areas of the business for
which we are individually responsible. From the
top down, we have very high standards,” Levin
remarks. Even during a down economy, the com-
pany remains committed to its market share domi-
nance as part of its long-term growth strategy
rather than focusing exclusively on sales and
profits.
“If we have declining sales and profits, which is
the case in most markets now, our goal is to win the
market share battle and we can live with that
22_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009
»
GOLD COAST operates out of a 375,000-square-foot facility in Pompano Beach.
because we know the economy will turn around. If we lose market
share, that means the competition is outperforming us,”
Williams says.
Gold Coast’s dedication to executing at the highest level and
achieving aggressive, yet realistic, growth translates to a dedicat-
ed sales force on the street.
“During this past Cinco de Mayo, senior management from
Crown Imports were in our market and they commented it
was one of the best market rides for Cinco de Mayo they’d
seen. We also had a senior vice president of sales for
Heineken who said he’s starting to see the momentum come
back for Heineken brands in South Florida due to an aggressive
price promotion and distributor execution at a very high
level,” Williams says.
The company also sets retail standards in large format
stores to have the “big four” on the floor at all times, namely
Corona, Miller, Coors and Heineken brands.
“When we execute those standards, we’re able to get other
brands on the floor, like Presidente, Yuengling and Sam
Adams, in our market. During the Memorial Day holiday, we
averaged about nine displays in every account in our large
format division,” Williams says.
The company’s managers are a big driver of Gold Coast’s
success, Levin adds, by setting the pace and driving employ-
ees to perform. “One thing that separates Gold Coast from
other companies is that I think our managers are better at
managing details as they tend to have a lot of standards to
follow. We measure success not only by volume, but by a
whole host of criteria,” he explains.
Levin and Williams also credit the company’s supplier
partners for stepping up their investment in Gold Coast’s
markets to help reinvigorate brand sales.
BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
 Along with its beer business, which is the mother lode of
the company’s sales, Gold Coast also sells a small number of
wine brands. Three years ago, Gold Coast jumped into the
wine business with both feet, capitalizing on the growth of
wine consumption in the US. The company found that a
large portfolio of wine brands did not complement the beer
business and the company ultimately streamlined its wine
portfolio down from 350 SKUs to 40. “It’s not a business
where we’re going to go out and try to be the most dominant
wholesaler in our market, but we do want to maintain a
small presence in that particular segment,” Williams adds.
Mining for Growth
The alcohol distribution business is challenging enough
when rising fuel prices, increased competition and growing
SKU counts are factored in, but throw in a gloomy economic
climate and the life of a beverage wholesale operation can
seem downright daunting. In Southeast Florida, Gold Coast
also has to contend with high unemployment, a housing
market crash and a decline in tourism that ultimately
impacts sales. Challenged with increasing sales and prof-
itability without impacting customer service levels, Gold
BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
Coast team members view these hurdles more
as opportunities to step up their game.
With large ethnic populations in its mar-
kets, Gold Coast relies heavily on sales of its
import beer brands, which make up an
impressive 57 percent of the distributor’s vol-
ume. However, lagging sales of imports has
impacted the company’s bottom line.
“We’ve been forced to become more efficient by streamlin-
ing our costs relative to deliveries, breakage, out of code and
return rate. By doing so, it has helped us upset the lack of
sales and profit from the decline in our import segment,”
Williams states.
Taking advantage of employees’ knowledge of internal
operations, Gold Coast created a program called Ideas Count,
much like a suggestion box, to encourage employees to come
forward with ideas on how to save operational costs.
“People have come up with ideas like putting timers on
lights so the lights shut off automatically when they’re not in
use. We’ve seen a rebirth in the creativity of people through
this program,” Levin notes.
Focusing on the bottom line also means finding ways to
JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_23
[COVERSTORY]
increase efficiencies in its operations. Servicing 10,000 cus-
tomers across a 7,000-square-mile area, Gold Coast can have
up to 200 trucks on the road everyday—300 during peak hol-
iday periods—and relies on routing software such as UPS
RoadNet to build the best routes in order to maintain its
high customer service levels.
“We made a strategic decision two years ago to get away
from the mega facility and spread our warehouses out within
our territory so our warehouses are closer to our customer
base. So, we’re able to reduce the amount of time back and
forth and we factor in the cost of delivery, which is just as
important as the cost of warehousing,” Alfonso Fernandez,
executive vice president of administration, says.
The company operates two large facilities in Miami and
Pompano Beach as well as two smaller warehouses in
Homestead and Rockland Key.
Cost savings also come through re-routing deliveries and
re-routing sales to tighten up territories.
“We want to be geographically compact and still get the
most volume, so we’re sending trucks out with the full
amount of cases without having them drive around.
Fortunately for us, most of our customers have big enough
24_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009
»
STEVE LEVIN, chairman of Gold Coast Beverage, purchased the company in
1996, building its growth on the strength of the Coors and Miller portfolios.
volume that we route them effectively and we don’t have a
lot of drive time to the furthest reaches of our territory,”
Ross Levin, executive vice president, operations and son of
Steve Levin, says.
Much has been said in the financial world about how
the current economic climate has forced businesses to
rethink how they operate. To this end, Gold Coast has
taken the battle to new ground by challenging its competi-
tion, namely Anheuser-Busch, where they tend to be
strong, which is the domestic beer segment. In the past
three months, Gold Coast has managed to increase its mar-
ket share based on the strength of domestic brands like
Miller Lite, Coors Light, Coors, Blue Moon and Yuengling.
“We’re proud of the way we’ve performed and stepped
up and attacked our competition,” Eric Levin adds.
Williams and Levin believe that the company’s contin-
ued investment in craft and specialty brands will pay off
as the consumer trend of spending discretionary dollars on
higher end beers will gain momentum once again.
“When the economy gets better we think our craft brand
portfolio will grow even faster. And the things we’ve
accomplished from an operations standpoint, tightening
our belts and becoming a more efficiently run company, is
only going to make us a better organization in the future,”
Williams remarks.
Looking past the current economic climate, Gold Coast is
already focusing on the 2010 Superbowl, which Miami is
hosting, and the company has its hands full preparing for
the inevitable spike in business. But, at the end of the day,
the Gold Coast team realizes it’s also a golden opportunity
to have some fun.
“We’re not selling Bibles here. We’re selling beer so you can
let your hair down and enjoy yourself too,” Levin says. BW
BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
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 Distributor’s Toolbox
I
t’s been a rather eventful period of time since
we published our last Distributor’s Toolbox,
in 2008. For most of us, business has been
extremely challenging, as a new marketplace
takes shape—one where finding ways to trim
inefficiency in your supply chain can make all the
difference when it comes to profits.
This year’s Distributor’s Toolbox is designed
to help you learn a few new ways to streamline
your supply chain. The savings are most likely
waiting to be uncovered—you just need the
right tools.

»solution spotlight
»
Warehouse Design
Company: Fabiano Brothers, Inc.
Business Type: Beer and wine distributor serving
central and northern Michigan
Challenge: Reduce escalating operational expenses
Solution: The selection of a water cooled chilled
water system, energy efficient fluorescent lighting
and addressing the building envelope as a whole.

Fabiano Brothers, Inc. contracted HDA Architects

(Chesterfield, Mo.) to assist in reducing escalating
operational expenses in the company’s new corpo-
ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH EDGAR

rate headquarters. Among the things addressed
were a concrete tilt-wall system, a white single ply roof, energy effi-
cient fluorescent lighting and a water cooled chilled water system. The
concrete tilt-up wall system is among today’s most cost effective con-
struction methods offering energy savings and improved temperature
stabilization with little maintenance required as the walls are created
by assembling forms and pouring large slabs of cement called panels
directly at the job site. The panels are then tilted up into position
around the building’s slab to form the walls. A white single ply roof
membrane is leak-proof, resistant to chemicals, fire and high winds and
virtually maintenance-free. For the lighting, 6 Lamp T8 Energy efficient
fluorescent lighting was used instead of traditional metal halide
because it offers maximum lighting control of specific work areas while
reducing energy consumption by nearly 50 percent. The use of a water
cooled chilled water system requires less energy than a conventional
air-cooled system. It contains larger motors, which employ the use of
variable frequency drives. The Fabiano Brothers facility also has a build-
ing automation system that manages the runtime and schedules.

26_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM


Handheld Computers
Handheld devices are becoming
smaller and smarter. “Now all the pow-
er of the enterprise can come to the
doorstep,” says Patrick Byrne, president
and CEO, Intermec. “But,” he contin-
ues, “there’s a lot of contribution still
to come from the IT industry in terms
of improving the productivity of that
mobile business process.”
Case in point, Intermec recently
introduced the CN50 and CN4,
what it calls “the most
advanced, rugged 3G
Wireless WAN
(WWAN) mobile
computers for field
mobility applica-
tions.” The CN50
includes 3.75G
WWAN HSUPA
radio technology
in a small, light-
weight, ruggedi-
zed form factor
providing
mobile work-
forces with a
high perform-
ance mobile
computer. The
CN4 is targeted at
operations requiring sup-
port for fully-rugged front line transac-
tions, including commercial trans-
portation and store delivery. Both
products enable customers to leverage
enterprise mobility applications with
higher data exchange requirements,
and offer a range of features designed
to maximize mobile worker productivi-
ty, uptime and on-the-route service
capability. These more powerful hand-
helds are aiding large beverage distrib-
utors as they make the change to real-
time upload and download of informa-
tion, the benefits being real-time
inventory management and invoicing.
BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
Distributor’s Toolbox
»solution spotlight
»
Route Accounting/
Management Software
Company: J.J. Taylor
Business Type: The J.J. Taylor Cos. is one of
the largest wholesale beer distributors in the
United States with corporate headquarters in
Jupiter, Fla. J.J. Taylor distributes MillerCoors
products, import beers and microbrews.
Challenge: Using outdated route accounting
software
Solution: eoStar route accounting and man-
agement software from Rutherford and
Associates, Holland, Mich.
Recognizing the need to update its route accounting software in order to cut costs
and improve efficiencies, J.J. Taylor began looking into alternative technology vendors
with a richer database, faster communication and better support for a wide-range of
mobile devices and focused on Rutherford, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and
MillerCoors Strategic Partner. “In less than 12 months, J.J. Taylor went from not knowing
anything about eoStar and Rutherford to being up and live on the system,” says Bruce
Whitely, chief information officer at J.J. Taylor. “That was incredibly quick, particularly for
the magnitude and impact.” Benefits of using eoStar have been: timesaving through
greater speed and accuracy; more cost-effective and reliable software; better productivi-
ty from increased memory and ease of maintenance and administration.
»solution spotlight»
Warehouse Cooling/Fans
Company: College City Beverage, Dundas, Minn.
Business Type: Beverage distributor
Challenge: Consistent facility temperatures, employee comfort and safety
Solution: High-Volume/Low-Speed (HV/LS) Revolution Fans from Rite-Hite
A top priority for College City Beverage is to ensure temperatures remain consistent
in keg rooms, cooled warehouse areas, truck bays and loading docks—despite often-
harsh Minnesota weather. Doing so is
imperative to product quality and
employee comfort. Equally important
is employee safety, which is why slip-
pery floors in truck bays are unac-
ceptable. Although faced with multi-
ple issues, College City successfully
addressed them all with the help of
two Revolution High-Volume/Low
Speed (HV/LS) industrial ceiling fans.
The 24-foot-diameter fans move stag-
nant warm air trapped at the ceiling
toward the ground. Each fan uses four aluminum Propell-Aire blades, which vary in width
and pitch angle along their entire length, to economically move more than 360,000
cubic feet of air per minute. With the fans in place, temperatures remain steady year
round. Workers and truck drivers also appreciate the comfortable conditions.
JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_27
 ADVERTORIAL

Technology
PORTFOLIO+PLUS

Innovative Technology Empowers CHEP Customers

By Ronald Margulis, RAM Communications

hile the pallet is at the heart of

the CHEP equipment pooling
solution, an equally critical
element of the system is the technology
that supports pallet operations throughout
the supply chain. Providing the optimal
number of pallets to deliver products
efficiently from the point of production
to point of consumption is why retailers
and suppliers have relied on CHEP for
more than half a century.

Helping CHEP and its partners ensure

that the right pallets are in the right place
at the right time is PORTFOLIO+PLUS,
the company’s web-based customer portal
application. CHEP has used part of a $160
million investment in quality and customer
service on upgrading the functionality of
PORTFOLIO+PLUS – the rest of money
is going to buy new equipment, improve
other information technology systems and
improving the pool of roughly 100 million
pallets in the Americas.
The new version of PORTFOLIO+PLUS
enables customers to increase the quality
of their decision-making, lower costs and
work with their trading partners more effi-
ciently and effectively. Using the web portal,
customers can view and track accounts
anytime, review invoices electronically
which reduces hassle and waste, reconcile
invoices, confirm customer requests live
and have visibility to the most current status
of customer inquiries.
“The improvements in PORTFOLIO+PLUS
are exactly what our customers have told
us they want, and were developed with input
from both retailers and manufacturers.
Our partners said they wanted not only ease
of ordering and reporting pallet movements,
but a true management tool that empowers
them to optimize their inventories and flows.
So we made it as simple as online bank-
ing, which most people are familiar with,
but with power management tools built in”
said Brian Malloy, senior vice president
and chief customer officer at CHEP USA.
Usability benchmark surveys show that
CHEP is meeting industry expectations
on navigation and system performance.
Direct customer feedback has been posi-
tive across the board.
“Village Farms has found the
PORTFOLIO+PLUS site to be a very
user-friendly site as well as a most effi-
cient tool in the processing of our CHEP
pallet transactions. We find this reporting
method to be quick and easy and the re-
ports available to us are very useful,”
said Diane Shannon, Sales Administrator,
Village Farms, an Eatontown, NJ-based
grower of tomatoes.
PORTFOLIO+PLUS offers a variety of bene-
fits to customers including:
• View and track accounts anytime
• eInvoice – less hassle and less waste
and easy tools for reconciliation
• Live confirmation of customer requests
and visibility to the most current status
of customer inquiries
• Dedicated PORTFOLIO+PLUS
specialists available 24x7
Retailers and suppliers can save time and
money with the CHEP pooling solution
through reduced labor costs and capital ex-
penditures. They also have less product
damage and fewer unsaleables. The recent
improvements in PORTFOLIO+PLUS help
customers streamline the supply chains
even further, enabling them to focus on
their core competencies.

CHEP © 2009 All rights reserved.

 Labor Management
Systems
A labor management system is a
solution that provides a means of
defining and documenting the most
appropriate way to perform a task.
» » Among the companies offering
solution spotlight such systems for distributors are
Collision Avoidance/Obstacle Detection Systems Manhattan Associates, Red Prairie
Company: Del Papa Distributing, Beaumont, Texas and Infor.
Business Type: Beer distributor Manhattan Associates describes its
Challenge: With a fleet that consists of 45 delivery trucks traveling on heavily trafficked Labor Scheduling Optimization as an
roads in the Houston and Galveston, Texas areas, Anheuser-Busch beer distributor Del intuitive solution that uses advanced
Papa Distributing was seeking out ways to improve its safety record and keep delivery technology to adeptly match employ-
drivers out of harm’s way. ee skill sets to meet specific work-
Solution: Safety Vision Collision Avoidance Camera System load forecasts during the labor
Safety Vision (Houston, Texas) provided Del Papa with its Collision Avoidance
scheduling process.
Camera Systems, consisting of rear-vision cameras and monitors installed in each truck.
RedPrairie’s Workforce Manage-
Designed to help prevent costly accidents and workplace injury, Safety Vision’s camera
ment changes the way management
system affords greater visibility in any direction through rear-, side- and forward-view
and associates think about labor
mobile video cameras. With a distribution fleet that covers millions of miles and makes
management. Customers go from the
thousands of stops weekly, moving accidents are a constant concern for the beer dis-
traditional “carrot and stick” mentali-
tributor. The installation of Safety Vision’s mobile video cameras has helped the distribu-
ty to one where everyone is focused
tor’s fleet reduce parking lot and backing accidents.
on maximizing performance and
customer service.
Says Mark Humphlett, Infor’s
director of product marketing -
Supply Chain, “Our solution captur-
»
solution spotlight
» ing all of their work activities so you
Recycling Solutions can keep all that information up-to-
Company: Gold Coast Beverage
date and then compare that with rea-
Distributors, Pompano Beach & Miami, Fla.
sonable expectancies or engineered
Business Type: Beer Distributor
labor standards.”
Challenge: To maximize the revenues from
the recyclable materials produced by the
company during the course of business.
Solution: Implement Environmental
Dynamics, Inc.’s (EDI) Direct Selling model
by selling the materials directly to the end
user, bypassing the local “recycler” and
generate incremental revenues for Gold Coast Beverage.

EDI (Charlotte, N.C.) determined that Gold Coast was receiving less than 25 percent of
the value of its recyclable materials. EDI worked with Gold Coast to find the right vendor
by implementing its Direct Selling model to earn the company the highest revenue. The
end result is that Gold Coast Beverage increased the “net” revenues received from the
sale of its waste Polyethylene plastic (shrink wrap) by 500 percent. Since beginning the
program, in 2006, Gold Coast Beverages has shipped nearly 400,000 pounds of shrink-
wrap, which has earned the company nearly $100,000 in revenues.

30_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009

 Distributor’s Toolbox

»
solution spotlight
»
Fuel Tracking Solutions
Company: Wil Fischer Cos., Springfield, Mo.
Business Type: Anheuser-Busch and InBev beer distributor
Challenge: With 13 delivery routes in the winter and 15 routes in
the summer, the distributor was looking for ways to makes its rout-
ing strategy more efficient as well as cut down on fuel costs.
Solution: UPS Logistics Technologies suite, including Roadnet,
Territory Planner, FleetLoader and MobileCast
Wil Fischer adopted the Baltimore-based UPS Logistics’ logis-
tics tools several years ago to improve its bottom line and opera-
tions. With the Territory Planner tool, the company is able to do a
complete re-route every six months. “We have a lot of changes
with our account bases, with accounts opening and closing and
volume shifting. The economy has changed and so have consumer
buying habits, so re-routing makes the routes more efficient,”
Jeffrey Gower, president of Wil Fischer Cos., says. The company
saw measurable return on investment by saving $75,000 in fuel
costs the first year alone. “With this technology you see a snapshot
of your market to see where customers are located and how much
volume is going through on a weekly basis. So you can assign
service times and build routes so you’re not wasting
mileage or fuel,” Gower says.
»solution spotlight
»
Greener Forklifts
Company: Nestlé Waters North America
Business Type: Bottled water marketer
Challenge: To find a clean energy to power its lift trucks
Solution: Nestlé Waters North America has installed 32 GenDrive
hydrogen fuel cells to use at its Dallas, Texas bottling facility. As a
result, the bottled water marketer has converted its entire fleet of sit-
down counterbalanced lift trucks
from internal combustion (IC)
engines powered by liquid petroleum
gas to Yale class I electric lift trucks
powered by GenDrive power units.
Rising fuel costs coupled with
high greenhouse gas emissions have
companies like Nestlé Waters
searching for alternative solutions to
IC engines. Electric lift trucks pow-
ered by hydrogen fuel cells provide a
cost effective alternative to traditional
power sources.
“Nestlé Waters assessed all their IC engine replacement options
and found that the GenDrive fuel cell solution was less expensive than
investing in lead acid batteries and costly battery equipment,” says
Tony Troutt, director of sales at Plug Power. “Fuel cells were also
found to be more efficient. Most importantly, converting their fleet to
hydrogen fuel cells allows Nestlé Waters to eliminate exhaust emis-
sion issues.”

Mobile Printers printer’s durability, ease of use and

Lightweight, compact and rugged,
mobile printer solutions on the mar-
ket today allow delivery drivers and
salespeople to print a legible and
accurate invoice for customer
records while in the field.
Technological advances have
enabled a range of choices to meet
distributors’ needs, whether thermal
printers, in-vehicle printers or wear-
able receipt printers.
For instance, Andrews Distributing,
a Dallas, Texas-based MillerCoors dis-
tributor, implemented a combined
mobile computer and printer solution
to improve
efficiency and service at the
point of delivery. Andrews
Distributing’s delivery drivers found
Zebra Technologies’ RW 420 printers
could withstand the tough demands
of delivery environments due to the
print quality. Zebra also offers the
Economy Mobile 220 (EM 220), a
pocketsize, lightweight mobile solu-
tion for printing receipts.
Intermec’s new PB2 and PB3 light-
weight two-inch and three-inch
mobile receipt printers are low-cost,
wearable printing solutions for
direct-store-delivery/route accounting.
Printek’s new FieldPro RT20 Mobile
Thermal Printer is the lightest rugged
printer in the industry. At only two
inches wide and weighing 12 ounces,
it can survive four-foot drops to con-
crete, according to the company.

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_31

Beverage Manufacturer Finds Recipe for
Efficiency with Integrated ERP System
JUS-MADE LP is a quality manufacturer and
distributor of frozen beverages and juices,
including smoothie concentrates, coffee
drinks, fruit juices, and bar mixes. For more
than 50 years, the Dallas-based company
has been developing innovative products and
dispensing concepts. As part of JUS-MADE’s
effort to expand its industry-leading presence
through high-quality production and prod-
ucts, the manufacturer decided to select and
deploy a single, fully integrated Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) software system
designed for the beverage industry.
Until recently, the 50-employee company
was running its business with a “blended
system” of multiple software programs.
Because the systems weren’t integrated, the
company faced many problems that hindered
productivity.
The main struggle was inventory
management. Because JUS-MADE had a
manual inventory process, it was difficult to
manage multiple shelf lives for the same
product based on different customers’
requirements. Likewise, because sales were
handled manually – from order entry through
shipment – JUS-MADE struggled to accurate-
ly plan for its material requirements so it had
the right amount of the right inventory items
to fulfill its orders. Then, when workers
pulled inventory for production, they wrote
lot numbers on batch tickets to track raw
materials. This created a lengthy, cumber-
some tracing process if JUS-MADE needed to
identify the lots used in a shipment.
In order to ramp up its business processes,
JUS-MADE searched for a single, integrated
business software system to link every aspect
of the company, including recipe manage-
ment, inventory control, lot tracking, pur-
chasing, production, sales, regulatory report-
ing, and accounting.
"The more a company relies on manual
processes, the greater the opportunity for
mistakes," says JUS-MADE President John
Hampton. "Our goal in selecting a new
system was to integrate all our processes
in one location so we could easily access
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reliable data on a consistent basis."
After exploring several options, JUS-MADE
selected the DEACOM Integrated Accounting
and ERP Software System, produced by
Deacom, Inc.
With DEACOM, JUS-MADE will have
complete inventory visibility and control.
The system will allow JUS-MADE to establish
and control multiple expiration dates for
the same raw material or product based on
differing customer requirements.
The integrated DEACOM Shop Floor Data
Collection System will let the company gath-
er and trace lot data via bar code technology:
it will generate bar codes to label lots upon
item receipt, and then use hand-held scan-
ners to track items as they move through
inventory, production, and shipment. The
company will be able to view a detailed lot
tracking report showing the path of a particu-
lar raw material from the moment it was
received to the moment it was shipped.
Upon implementation completion,
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phone 610-971-2278 ext. 15 | info@deacom.net | www.deacom.net

Alternative Fuels
Here is a breakdown of the differ-
ent alternative fuels available.
Ethanol: Light duty truck manufac-
turers including General Motors and
Ford have sold hundreds of thou-
sands of “flex fuel” vehicles capable of
running on E85, a blend of 85 percent
ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
The E85 fuel is not widely available
yet, so most flex fuel capable vehicles
are still run predominantly on con-
ventional gasoline.
Biodiesel: Similar to ethanol,
biodiesel can be derived from a num-
ber of organic sources, with soybeans
being the most predominant source
at this time. Unlike ethanol, the soy
derivatives used for biodiesel have lit-
tle other use, creating less of an
impact in commodity prices.
Unfortunately, biodiesel production
is not quite a standardized process at
this point.
Natural Gas: The most practical of
the alternative fuels is natural gas.
With a huge delivery infrastructure
covering most population centers
already in place, natural gas offers a
realistic alternative fuel source that is
widely available now.
Although most natural gas is still a
“fossil fuel,” its virtue lies in the fact
that it contains far less carbon than
petroleum fuels.
Conventional diesel engines can be
factory-adapted to use natural gas,
delivering virtually identical perform-
ance to the diesel version with far
lower emissions and less need for
exhaust after-treatment.
34_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009
»
solution spotlight
»
Pallets
Company: Foster’s Group
and Lion Nathan Australia
Business Type: Breweries
Challenge: Occupational health and safety risks from
the storage, transportation and delivery/collection of
draught beer kegs was unacceptably high.
Solution: A challenge was issued to CHEP to lead
the first joint initiative between these two leading mar-
ket competitors and utilize its Six Sigma methodology,
material handling and project management knowledge and skills to help reduce this risk.
The objectives were to reduce keg handling risk within the filling plants, as well as
risk in the loading and unloading of kegs to delivery trucks, the transportation of kegs
from plant to customer sites and warehouses/DC’s, the movement of kegs between the
delivery trucks and customer premises, the movement of kegs from cellar door to cellar
storage and keg ‘runaways’.
Having identified the root causes, CHEP and the team developed short, medium and
long-term solutions that have reduced the risk to Fosters and Lion Nathan’s employees,
their 3PL providers, venue staff and the general public.
Warehouse Management Systems
A warehouse management system is the use of advanced technolo-
gies to effectively manage every activity in a beverage distribution
warehouse, from the movement and storage of product to order pro-
cessing to tracking returns. WMS systems are increasingly becoming
smarter and more versatile with applications such as voice-directed
picking and automated material handling systems. For instance, FKI
Logistex’s EASYpick Pick-to-Light uses a highly visible Trak3 modular
pick-to-light hardware system. Red Prairie’s Warehouse Management
system includes the industry’s only embedded 3D mapping to integrate
and synchronize operations from extended supply networks all the way
to the “last yard” of the retail shelf.
BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

Storage and
Racking Systems
A warehouse is really just a very
big box—it’s how your organize
what’s inside it that can make all
the difference to your operation.
There are several providers of
storage and racking solutions to
help you do just that. Elite Storage
Solutions offers a full line of prod-
ucts including Pushback, Drive-In,
Cantilever and Pallet/Carton Flow
products. The company will design,
manufacture and install even the
most complex multi-level pick mod-
ules and high-rise racking systems.
Another supplier, UNEX, offered
its carton flow solutions to Barre,
Vt.-based grocery wholesssaler
Capital Candy Co. (above). Applying
the multifaceted carton flow
approach allowed Capital Candy to
reconfigure its warehouse and
unleash greater productivity for
each pick area. The grocery area
required the construction of a three-
level pick module while UNEX engi-
neered a custom flow rack installed
with gravity conveyor sections to
accomodate the requirements of
Capital’s dairy line.
Distributor’s Toolbox
ERP Software
Enterprise Resource Planning solutions plan and manage “enterprise-
wide” the resources needed to take customer orders, ship them,
account for them and replenish all needed goods according to cus-
tomer orders and forecasts. It often includes electronic commerce with
suppliers. Examples of ERP systems are the application suites from
SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft and others. Another supplier, DEACOM, offers
an ERP system specifically targeting the beverage sector. DEACOM’s
Integrated Accounting and ERP Software is engineered with a special
security focus, providing the security and audit trails required by the
FDA’s Bioterrorism Act and current Good Manufacturing Practices
(cGMP). To prevent data corruption and insure data integrity, the DEA-
COM Software System utilizes a SQL Server database.
» »
solution spotlight
Energy Efficient Lighting
Company: Brown Distributing Co., Austin, Texas
Business Type: Anheuser-Busch wholesaler
Challenge: To reduce lighting expenses or costs
and improve lighting levels
Solution: An energy efficient lighting system
upgrade from Lime Energy, Elk Grove Village, Ill.
Lime Energy completed a major energy efficient lighting system for Brown Distributing
replacing 733 fixtures in the office, warehouse and loading docks. Financial highlights of
the upgrade include a utility rebate of $31,911, an average monthly savings of $5,219,
an annual electric savings of $62,627 and a 58 percent return on investment. The proj-
ect saved 567,906 kWh, equivalent to removing 76 cars from the road. “We have a clean-
er more uniform looking facility,” says Brad Card, operations manager for Brown
Distributing. “Lime Energy did everything they said they would do, and more, with no dis-
ruption to our daily operation.”
 Want more effective strategies,

expanded distribution

and successful product introductions?

Make
us your drinking buddies.
Beverage marketing opportunities
aren’t scarce. What is scarce is the
industry experience it takes to spot
them. That’s what the consultants at
Beverage Marketing Corporation
bring to the table. Then, we help
you profit from these opportunities
to the fullest.
When we sit down,
we focus on one thing:
your needs. Our broad
expertise, resources,
and years of experience
RESEARCH • DATA • CONSULTING
lend objectivity to planning discussions.
We can help with strategy, market
trends, long-range planning, product
introductions, distribution, and more.
Let’s sit down and talk about
the goals you’ve set. In turn, we’ll
give you something you may
otherwise miss—the opportunity
to realize them.
Got a challenge, large
or small? Give us a call at
1-800-275-4630. Or e-mail
bevinfo@bmcny.com.
©2003 Beverage Marketing Corp.
[BEVERAGEFORUM2009]

BELLAS FRANCELLA

Global Challenges & Local Solutions

his year marked the 16th annual Beverage Forum held at it might be; every dollar counts to the consumer.”

T New York City’s Waldorf=Astoria. Wrapped around the

theme of Global Challenges and Local Solutions Forum
discussions explored the issues beverage professionals face
today, where the industry stands in this economy and how to
move forward.
“We are dealing with a climate none of us has seen,” said
Michael Bellas, chairman and CEO of Beverage Marketing
Corporation, who co-chaired the Forum with Kevin Francella,
Beverage World publisher. For the first time, Bellas noted, liquid
refreshment beverage consumption declined by 2.1 percent. “In
the past, giving up LRB wasn’t an option,” he said. “Now,
In light of not such a sweet economic climate Bellas did offer
Forum-goers glimmers of good news. Over the next 20 years,
population growth is expected to account for an 11 billion gallon
increase in beverage consumption. Bellas advised those listening
to take advantage during this time to invest in quality manage-
ment, deliver strong products that are quality and value driven
and continue to back those products with creative and innovative
marketing. “It’s fortunate that we are in beverages,” Bellas
said, “but recovery will be sluggish in ’09 and 2010.” But then
again, he added, “We know beverage producers have never been
afraid of hard work.”—Jennifer Cirillo

MURPHY

Globe Trotters
Going global? Think local, panel tells attendees.

H ow to successfully grow your brand in additional markets

around the world was the subject of the panel “Effectively
Marketing Locally and Regionally Within a Global Context.”
The moderator for the panel was Kevin Lane Keller, Ph.D, E.
B., Osborn Professor of Marketing, The Tuck School of
Business, Dartmouth College. The panelists included Ralph LEVY
Santana, vice president, Colas, PepsiCo North America KELLER
Beverages; Keith Levy, vice president-marketing, Anheuser-
Busch and Jim Murphy, vice president, director, Jack Daniels
Global Marketing, Brown-Forman Corp.
Keller introduced the panel warning marketers not to
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADRIENNE HELÉ

“take shortcuts” when trying to expand their brands into

new global markets, but to painstakingly build them from
the ground up. “It’s so tempting to take your current market
program and just export it over there,” he said. “And that
typically doesn’t work. Don’t get ahead of yourself. To build
a brand, you’ve got to be able to make that brand work in
those marketplaces. You don’t build a brand from 30,000
SANTANA
feet.”—Andrew Kaplan

38_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

AB InBev Surges
Peacock shares insights of integration
D uring a keynote interview, David
Peacock, president and CEO of
Anheuser-Busch Cos., Inc. and a 14-year
veteran of A-B, shared his insights about
the integration of Belgium-based InBev
with A-B and opportunities for A-B
brands in the US and global beer market.
While Peacock said that the integration
process would never completely be over
as the business continues to evolve, the
PEACOCK
combined entity has been able to leverage
synergies and has realized savings on the supply side. The company also
is focusing on a global expansion of its brands, propelled by the strong
brand image of Budweiser, Peacock said. Despite the economic downturn,
AB InBev has been surprised by above-expectations sales of Bud Light
Lime as well as strong growth of Bud American Ale. —Heather Landi
Hansen Natural Corp. and
CytoSport Honored
Companies receive awards for Large and Small Companies of the Year
Isdell Honored
for Lifetime
Achievement
The Former Coca-Cola Company CEO
and Chairman shares his expertise.
“I fundamentally believe we are in the
best industry in the world,” said Neville
Isdell, former CEO and chairman, The Coca-
Cola Company, who was presented with the
Beverage Forum’s 2009 Lifetime Achievement
Award. Isdell said if he had the chance to
live his life over again, he’d do it exactly the
same way, working at Coca-Cola. “I want to
see this industry grow and grow and grow.
That’s what will make me happy,” he said.
Isdell spoke on many issues that morning
including innovation, how strong, healthy
competition has helped grow the beverage
pie and, a subject that was a recurring topic
of discussion at the Forum this year—the
economy. But he offered some sound advice,
which was to look at these challenging times
as an opportunity to grow businesses and
connect with consumers through innovation.

T his year, the Small

Company of the Year
award went to CytoSport/
PICKETT “These are the times that you build your
market share,” he said.—J.C.

Muscle Milk and the Large

Company of the Year award
went to Hansen Natural
Corp. While both compa-
nies demonstrated notable
performances in 2008,
Hansen’s sales were up 14.3
percent from the previous
year, for example, there was
much focus on the future.
Rodney Sacks, CEO of
Hansen Natural Corp., said
that as the consumer
demand for energy drinks
continues to expand, “we
are continuing to grow our
product lines,” announcing
four new product launches
including a trio of nitrous
oxide-infused energy drinks
called Nitrous Monster. RODNEY SACKS, HILTON SCHLOSBERG
—J.C. AND MARK HALL BELLAS, ISDELL AND FRANCELLA

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_39

 [BEVERAGEFORUM2009]

Wall Street Makes Waves

Panel looks at the lingering impact of the financial meltdown.
ttendees to this year’s Forum all have shared in the challenges that the eco-
A nomic downturn has brought with it. So they were especially interested in
hearing this year’s Wall Street Roundtable, a panel consisting of Carlos Laboy, man-
aging director, Equity Research, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Judy Hong
vice president, Goldman Sachs & Co. and Christine Farkas, CFA, managing director,
Banc of Americas Beverages. The panel was moderated by Andrew Conway, manag-
ing director, Credit Suisse.
Among the predictions that came out of the panel’s discussion was the strong
possibility of the eventual merger of a major alcohol company with a non-alcohol
one in the US. Laboy also said the move by PepsiCo to merge with its anchor bot-
tlers made sense in a market he described as “dysfunctional, with overlapping and
conflicting routes to market.”—A.K.
DURAN
LABOY HONG FARKAS

Mexican Beers
on the Rise
Durán highlights FEMSA’s success

V ice president of international mar-

Leading the Pack
Beverage entrepreneurs share insights into making it big
D uring a panel discussion about the successful strategies of beverage entre-
preneurs, several leading innovators—Scott Henderson, president, 5 Hour
Energy, Mark Rampolla, founder and CEO of Zico Pure Coconut Water and
Greg Pickett, founder and CEO of CytoSport, maker of Muscle Milk—shared
their insights about how to make it big in the compet-
itive global beverage arena. Rampolla shared Zico’s
story of early success by describing how the company
focused on the New York City market by going neigh-
borhood to neighborhood. All three panelists agreed
that while a great product and great strategies could
get a company through the door, distribution is key to
getting to the next level.—H.L.
kets, FEMSA-CCM, Luis Durán,
touched on many points relating to the
beer industry including the perform-
ance of the brewer’s brands, particular-
ly, Dos Equis, Tecate and Tecate Light,
and the continuation of consolidation.
Durán highlighted the success of the
aforementioned brands, in particular
Tecate Light, which is a 60 million-case
brand in Mexico and is ramping up dis-
tribution in the US through Heineken
USA.
“The most important thing is you
SUDANO
need to understand the market,” said
Duran when discussing the platform for
the campaigns. The Tecate and Tecate
Light campaigns, for example, speak to
first and third generation Mexican con-
sumers in the US, respectively, deliver-
ing the ads in Spanish using particular
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADRIENNE HELÉ

Mexican words and phrases. “These are

very emotional,” Durán said of the TV
ads, and they evoke a personal connec-
tion to the brand for the consumer.
And in regards to what is going to
happen with consolidation? Duran said:
“There is no question, in the future this
RAMPOLLA, PICKETT AND HENDERSON
is going to continue to happen.”—J.C.

40_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

 Thank You...
to all of the attendees, sponsors and speakers
who participated in The Beverage Forum 2009
www.beverageforum.com

BEVERAGEWORLD
[BEVERAGEFORUM2009]
D’AMORE
Reinvigorating the Beverage Market
Massimo d’Amore outlines PepsiCo’s reinvigoration strategy

A t the closing of Wednesday’s sessions, Massimo d’Amore, CEO, PepsiCo

Americas Beverages, shared his insights about the company’s recent efforts to
reinvigorate its carbonated soft drink portfolio, including packaging redesigns and
new advertising campaigns. As a CSD brand, Pepsi, which is 110 years old, began
to lose relevance with the millennial generation and the company found that the
brand performs best when it is fully in sync with the youth culture, d’Amore said,
adding, “Our primary objective was to put the Pepsi brand back at the core of pop-
ular culture.” To this effort, the company redesigned the packaging and launched a
new marketing and advertising campaign. The brand has enjoyed great perform-
ance since the Super Bowl in February, when the new campaign launched, and
market share has been growing, d’Amore said.—H.L.

Distribution Challenges
Panelists discuss the key issues facing beverage distributors

I n the panel discussion “Complexities Facing New Entrepreneurs in the

Beverage Distribution Landscape,” panelists Ed Maletis, board mem-
ber, Columbia Distributing (Portland, Ore.), Lewis Hershkowitz, CEO
and co-owner, of Big Geyser, Inc. (Maspeth, N.Y.) and Gerald Martin, vice
president-marketing and sales, immediate consumption, Polar Beverages
(Worcester, Mass.),
discussed some of
the challenges of
building a distri-
VAN RENSBURG
bution network.
Moderated by Ron
Self-Discovery Wilson, president
and chief execu-
Coke’s van Rensburg talks brands. tive officer of HERSHKOWITZ
MALETIS
pening Thursday’s sessions, Deryck
O van Rensburg, president, Venturing &
Emerging Brands, Coca-Cola North
Skinny Nutritional
Corp., the panel
answered ques-
America, described how Coke goes about tions from the
nurturing emerging beverage brands. audience that
“We have to accept that growth just included topics on
takes time. It takes time to build these how to handle a
brands and we need to be patient and multi-beverage
build them in the right way,” he said. For house, like
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADRIENNE HELÉ

example, he said putting a large billboard Columbia for WILSON MARTIN

in a grocery store was not the right way
to build an emerging brand.
Consumers want to discover brands and
not have them forced on them. “Trying to
scale a brand too quickly is a mistake,” he
said.—A.K.
example, which
distributes beer, wine, CSDs and non-alcohol brands, and how distribu-
tors deal with the buyouts of brands, such as the Coke deal with vitam-
inwater. Each panelist had his own take on both matters. In response to
the buyout question, Maletis suggested equity sharing contracts as one
solution while Hershkowitz told audience members that his approach at
Big Geyser is to keep looking to the future.—J.C.

42_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

 Surviving an
Economic ‘Reset’
MillerCoors’ Tom Long advises how
to survive the current economy

T he current economic downturn pres-

ents a great deal of challenges for
beverage companies, yet there are a
number of advantages, according to Tom
Long, president and chief commercial
officer, MillerCoors. The economic cli-
mate had, in essence, forced the country
to press a “reset” button, which can be a
catalyst for change.
Sometimes a reset can change the fun-
damental basics of competition, giving a
new window to a new innovation while
accelerating trends that are already in
play for a brand, according to Long. “To
survive a ‘reset’, it boils down to two
important things—the survivors and
thrivers are those that are going to take
the opportunity to really sharpen their
brands on the key components of differ-
entiation. And the second thing to do is
you have to get alignment in your value
chain,” Long said. To this end, Long dis-
cussed MillerCoors’ strategy to accelerate
the growth of Coors Light this summer,
leverage the continued success of MGD 64
and “fix” Miller Lite.—H.L.

»
THIS YEAR’S BEVERAGE FORUM served as an
opportunity for attendees to not only get some
insightful information from top beverage executives,
but also interact with one another. In addition to
the Forum’s two-day agenda, breakout sessions
were held at the end of day two where attendees
got to hear about some current trends in the
marketplace. Gary Hemphill, managing director and
COO Information Services, Beverage Marketing
Corporation (above left) spoke on market trends in
the non-alcohol segment. Jonathan Ford, creative
partner, Pearlfisher, (center) discussed innovative
packaging and Ted Wright, managing partner, Fizz,
LONG Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM), (right) led a
panel discussion on the marketing medium.

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_43

 The 2009
FINANCIAL Report
VIEWPOINTS

Financing the Next Innovation Wave

by bill anderson

T
he beverage world is one of
the most entrepreneurial
industries in our economy.
Even in this recession, there is
no shortage of innovators determined
to produce the next vitaminwater or
Grey Goose or 5-Hour Energy. While
the entrepreneurial focus on our
industry always will be on new prod-
uct development, as it should be, the
next few years also will bring a new
wave of financing and recapitalization
ideas that will be just as creative.
In fact, our industry has been facing
a perfect storm for capitalization inno-
vations for some time now: consolida-
tions at all tiers, increasing fixed costs,
pricing and sales uncertainties, suppli-
er constraints on capital structures, a
decline in trading up and continuing
demands on family businesses.
As consolidation sweeps the beer
distribution industry, for example,
many longtime competitors are analyz-
ing the prospects for mergers. The
best example is the merger of Mt.
Hood and Columbia Distributing in
the Northwest, now creating a $1.2 bil-
lion Miller/Coors beer and non-alcohol
behemoth that competes against nine
Anheuser-Busch InBev distributorships.
Mergers have been prevalent among
wine and spirits wholesalers for years.
Private equity (PE) is now fully im-
mersed in the beer industry, at least on
the supplier end. KKR has just closed
on its purchase of the OB Brewery
from ABI, and KKR and other PE
firms are said to be close to acquiring
some of ABI’s Eastern European
assets. KPS, the New York-based PE
firm, closed earlier this year on its
acquisition of High Falls Brewing and
Labatt. Basso Capital is an investor in
the Independent Brewers Union
(Pyramid and Magic Hat) and is likely
looking for other acquisition targets in
the craft beer industry.
As the pace of brewery and distribu-
tor consolidations persist, additional
streams of financing sources are likely to
emerge as a source of capitalizing this
next wave of transactions. Mezzanine
financing sources also are likely to
increase their presence in part to fund
the most aggressive consolidators.
Our firm recently created a new
debt advisory business, led by a for-
mer leading beverage banker, to fill
the void of experienced debt advisors
exclusively serving the beverage indus-
try. We think that beverage operators
will need a wider range of debt
options in the months and years ahead
and that the industry deserves a dedi-
cated financing resource on their side.
Look for innovation not only in
packing or bottle design or vitamin
enhancements, but in financial prod-
ucts that will help this industry contin-
ue to consolidate, gain operating effi-
ciencies and build for the future. BW
Bill Anderson is the chairman &
CEO of First Beverage Capital in
Los Angeles, Calif. For more
information, visit the company’s
website, firstbev.com.

3. Who will handle my should want to manage the

Some Tips for Insuring Your Winery
All wineries, including even
small ones, are complex manu-
facturing facilities vulnerable
to a long list of potential loss-
es. It's absolutely critical to ask
the right questions before plac-
ing your insurance with an
agent or renewing it with your
present agent. Here are ques-
tions you may want to ask:
1. Does the insurance agent
know the winery business?
Question prospective insurance
agents to find out if they know
your business or if they just
want to get the insurance
account. If you're not satisfied,
move on.
2. Do I understand the indi-
vidual coverages of
my existing policy or
those being proposed
by an agent? There is
nothing more danger-
ous than not knowing
what your policy cov- HILBRANT
ers. It is extremely
important for you to take the
time to go over your existing
and proposed insurance pro-
gram thoroughly with your
agent.
claims? When all is said and
done, you want the person who
is most involved with your
account to take personal
responsibility for your
claims and that's your
insurance agent, not
the insurance compa-
ny. If you're interview-
ing a prospective
insurance agent, ask
who you should call
first in case of a loss. The right
answer is the agent. If you are
given an 800 number that goes
to an insurance company, that's
not a good answer. Your agent
claim, not hear about it later
from someone at the insurance
company.
You should expect more from
an insurance agent than some-
one who just sells you a policy:
your insurance agent should be
your advocate. The right insur-
ance agent can be an effective
"wingman" in helping you pro-
tect your winery’s assets.
—James T. Hilbrant, a
Certified WorkComp Advisor, is
the winery insurance specialist
at Invensure Insurance Brokers,
Irvine, Calif.
jhilbrant@invensure.net

44_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

 A Special Promotion Section

countdown to July 2009 Edition

ays 6 hours 27 minutes. . . 60 days 6 hours 27 minutes. . . 60 days 6 hours 27 minutes. . . 60 days 6 hours 27 minutes. . .

Good Packaging is Half the Battle drinktec At-A-Glance

In the soft drinks and mineral water sector
T his year, for the first time, plastic is the
main form of packaging for beverages with
one-third of the market share worldwide, just
there is great interest in lighter, more cost-
efficient closures, and so it is expected that at
What: The largest trade
exhibition for beverages in
the world
ahead of glass and well ahead of cans. Almost drinktec 2009 producers will be displaying
all types of packaging are represented at drink- new closure concepts with special designs,
tec 2009, the fair where exhibitors display their which also enable weight savings. When: Monday, Sept. 14 to
capabilities and packaging innovations. The 3rd PET World Congress is taking Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009
place during drinktec in the International
Plastic is Racing Ahead Congress Center (ICM) on Sept. 16-17, where Where: New Munich Trade Fair
In the plastics segment, PET containers are producers from all over the world will be Center, Munich, Germany
the top favorite in the one-way container bot- exhibiting the latest PET technology for bev-
tling sector. According to estimates by market erages and liquid food in Hall B3. Visitors: 70,000 from 170
research company Euromonitor, in 2009 the While PET continues on the road to suc- countries expected
number of PET containers produced will rise cess, other plastics such as HDPE or LDPE are
to 350 billion per annum, which
Visitor Target Groups:
makes it all the more important to
Producers of soft drinks, fruit
produce PET containers as eco-
juices, energy and wellness
nomically as possible.
drinks, packaged mineral water,
A range of exhibitors at drink-
dairy drinks, wine and cham-
tec, producers of preforms and
pagne and distilled spirits;
machine manufacturers, are
brewers; wholesale and retail
addressing the issue of light-
beverage merchants; hotels,
weighting. Reducing the material
restaurants and caterers; serv-
used can result in considerable
ice providers and advertising;
cost savings when purchasing
public authorities, universities
materials. And PET containers are
and specialist colleges.
continually increasing in size.
Large-volume PET bottles are in
demand in South, Central and Exhibitors: 1,500 from 60
North America in particular, as countries expected
the market for soft drinks there is for 3-liter of greater interest to some other segments,
containers or bigger. In parallel with this, the such as milk and milk-based drinks. At the Website: drinktec.com
market for PET water dispensers with a same time, new means of packaging are being
capacity from 5 to 20 liters for offices, busi- developed. On the subject of sustainability, Contact:
nesses and households is booming in many ‘organic plastics’, based for example on starch Anika Niebuhr
countries. (PHA) or lactic acid (PLA), are gaining in 646.437.1014 • 212.262.6519 (fax)
importance. The 2nd PLA Bottle Conference, aniebuhr@munich-tradefairs.com
on Sept. 14-15 at the Holiday Inn hotel, gives
an overview of this subject and takes a look at

10
Reasons the availability of raw materials plus the latest
to Visit
See It Now Access an exclusive developments and waste management
2009
e-book that puts you inside the options.
drinktec experience. Go to
beverageworld.com/
For more on beverage packages that will be
go/drinktec
September 14–19
New Munich Trade
, 2009
Fair Cente on display at drinktec, visit drinktec.com.
by
for
and distributed
was produced
This e-book

This Special Promotion Section was produced by Beverage World’s Special Projects department.
 World Fair for Beverage and Liquid Food Technology

where the world’s

decision makers meet

14–19 September 2009

New Munich Trade Fair Centre

See It Now Access an exclusive e-book that puts you inside the drinktec experience.
Go to www.beverageworld.com/go/drinktec
USA:
Ms. Anika Niebuhr . Tel. 646-437-1014 . Fax 212-262-6519 . aniebuhr@munich-tradefairs.com
Cold-Aseptics Beats Hot Fill
“The process of aseptic cold filling was
of great interest to the non-alcohol drinks
sector in particular,” according to one
exhibitor summing up the last drinktec
in 2005. Since then, interest has contin-
ued to grow with cold-aseptic processes
proving more popular than hot fill and
filling using cold sterilization agents.
drinktec 2009 brings together producers
of cold-aseptic beverage filling technology
at one site, giving visitors an opportunity
to compare the two processes.
Consumer demand is growing for
more natural beverages, i.e. those with no
preservatives, and for products with addi-
tional benefits. As far as possible bever-
ages with little or no carbonation, and
often with a high pH level that makes
them very easily digestible, should be
offered to consumers. This calls for asep-
tic cold filling, which allows the imple-
mentation of consumer-oriented product
concepts, providing the public with bev-
erages that have been bottled gently, with
no additional thermal stress, as is the
case with hot filling, for example, and no
added preservatives.
Recommended for Many Beverages
Aseptic, cold-aseptic, sterile, beverage-
sterile—many terms are used to describe
‘aseptic filling’. The process involves bot-
tling a product at ambient temperatures,
that is without tunnel pasteurization or
hot filling and without the use of preserv-
atives or cold sterilizing agents, in such a
way that it attains a specified shelf life.
The products are only briefly heated
A Special Promotion Section • July 2009 Edition
before filling. Aseptic filling is recom-
mended for beverages such as fruit juices,
tea beverages, sports drinks, vegetable
juices, spritzers, milk-based mixed drinks,
UHT-milk (ultra-high-temperature milk),
near-water drinks and flavored waters. It
can be used for still and carbonated bev-
erages. The international fruit juice
industry will be discussing what it
expects from cold-aseptic filling in the
future at its annual convention
‘International Fruit World,’ which for the
first time will take place on Sept. 15 and
16 in parallel with drinktec, with the
motto ‘From the Tree to the Bottle.’
Fully Integrated System
An aseptic system must
always be implemented and
complied with consistently. Only
a fully integrated system can
ensure the efficiency of a cold-
aseptic process.
The peripheral equipment
must be right and do the ground-
work for the aseptic process, or
be aseptic itself. This applies to
everything from the process tech-
nology for the flash pasteurizer
or ultra-high temperature system,
to the mixer with sterile buffer
tank, the aseptic fittings and to the media
preparation of disinfectant solution, ster-
ile water, sterile air, steam and inert gas.
Integrated Approach
A cold-aseptic filling system can
replace hot-filling processes, or bottle and
can filling systems that use tunnel pas-
teurizers. There must always be an inte-
grated approach in which equal attention
is paid to filling safety, operating costs
and operating safety, and which factors
these aspects in during implementation.
The opportunities provided by cold-asep-
tic filling mean that filling plants are
investing in the future of their company,
which will be able to implement new,
consumer-oriented product concepts.
Drinktec 2009 is the optimum informa-
tion platform for that purpose.
For more information on aseptic cold
filling, visit drinktec.com.
Travel Tips
Hotel Rooms:
Book your hotel now, rooms are going
fast! The closest hotels to the fair-
grounds with rooms available are the NH
München Dornach am MCC and the Hotel
Prinzregent an der Messe. Using
TRADEFAIRS.com you can book your
room(s) as well as airline, train or bus
tickets. drinktec.com also provides the
hotel directory of Messe München
International with links to hotels, guest-
houses and travel agencies.
Tickets:
Buy your ticket for drinktec online at
drinktec.com to save half the cost.
A 3-day ticket is half price (44 euros,
about $60). You’ll receive a ticket
voucher by e-mail that you can print out
and bring to the fair.
Air Travel:
Munich Airport is Germany's second-
largest airport, and is considered by
travelers’ surveys to be the "Best
Airport in Europe." The fastest way to
go directly from the airport to drinktec
is to use the airport shuttle bus (depart-
ing every 30 minutes). Subway trains
also go to the New Munich Trade Fair
Center, and the station is only steps
away from the terminals.
Train:
Most major European cities connect by
rail to the Munich Central Station locat-
ed in City Center, minutes away from the
fairgrounds. Using the “Train & Auto”
rental car service, you can rent a car at
the Munich Central Station and drive to
drinktec.
Automobile:
The New Munich Trade Fair Center is
adjacent to the easy-to-use A94 motor-
way. Limousine and transfer services
travel to and from the airport with pas-
sengers getting off and on at designated
locations along the way.
Public Transportation:
With your online purchase of an admis-
sion ticket for drinktec, your voucher
entitles you to use public transportation
on the local underground and Munich rail
network (U-Bahn and S-Bahn) from the
day before until the day after the fair.
Go to drinktec.com to arrange your trip!
[UPCLOSE]

VITAL STATS
BOCCCHO
PRESIDENT: J.R. Hand
HEADQUARTERS: Clarksville, Tenn.
EMPLOYEES: 285
’08 CASE VOLUME: 10 million
GOALS: To continue to be a volume Leader and a bench-
mark organization in the wholesale beverage industry.

»
J.R. HAND, president of BOCCCHO (l) sits with
his father, Charles, current chairman and CEO,
who took over the family business from his
father in the 1960s.

Prior to that, in 2006 and 2007,

respectively, the company pur-
chased two other A-B wholesalers,
DEW Distributing in Hopkinsville,
Ky. and Quality Beers Distributing
in Owensboro, Ky.
“It’s been good growth, and it’s
been great for our company. It’s

Bud-ing Growth
Over 60 years three generations of the Hand family played a non-exclusive A-B wholesaler,
really reinvigorated our people and
added a lot of depth to our manage-
ment team,” Hand says.
In 2007, BOCCCHO also became

a role in the continued expansion of BOCCCHO. which also has contributed to the
company’s growth. “We looked at
By Jennifer Cirillo our portfolio and although we
believe Anheuser-Busch really has

S
ixty years since its founding, Budweiser of the strongest brands out there we felt the need to diversify
Clarksville, Cookeville, Chattanooga, Hopkinsville & our portfolio some,” says Hand. “There were some other
Owensboro (BOCCCHO) has been led by three gen- great suppliers that were looking to come into the state and
erations of the Hand family and has continued to so we looked to take advantage of that opportunity.”
grow with each sitting president. BOCCCHO now distributes brands from Yuengling, New
Raymond Hand founded the company in 1949 and his son, Belgium Brewing Co., Magic Hat Brewing Co., Highland
Charles, took over the family business in the early ’60s and is Brewing Co. and Terrapin Beer Co. as well as Joose Malt
currently chairman and CEO. Charles had a vision of growth Beverage, a United Brands company.
and helped expand the company from a 2-million-case opera- Around the same time BOCCCHO went non-exclusive, the
tion to a 3.5-million-case operation with a key acquisition of company also added non-alcohol brands to its portfolio, one
William Enterprises in 1996. of the first being Monster Energy Drink, which it distributes
In 2008, J.R. Hand, Charles’ son, took over as president and throughout its 20,000-plus-square-mile territory with the
has actively carried on the vision of his father. Within the exception of its Chattanooga market. In addition, the whole-
past three years, BOCCCHO has purchased three companies, saler also distributes Function Drinks, a line of functional
the most recent being Beasley Distributing Co. Inc., an waters, and Lean Body, a ready-to-drink protein shake from
Anheuser-Busch wholesaler based in Chattanooga, Tenn., Labrada Nutrition.
which added about 3 million cases to BOCCCHO’s business. “We are no longer just a beer distributor, we are a complete

48_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM


»
BOCCCHO IS BASED in Clarksville, Tenn. and distributes throughout a 20,000-
plus-square-mile territory.
beverage supplier,” says Hand. And with a military base located
in its Clarksville market, non-alcohol brands are a “very big
deal,” says Hand, “especially nutrition based products.”
Though beer still makes up 98 percent of BOCCCHO’s
business, its non-alcohol brands represent good growth
opportunities for the distributor, which represent, Hand says,
“a lot of extra cases we wouldn’t have sold last year.”
BOCCCHO is comprised of five facilities located in
Clarksville, Cookeville and Chattanooga, Tenn. and
Hopkinsville and Owensboro, Ky. Since the most recent
acquisition, the decision was made to regionalize the compa-
BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
ny to provide better management depth and focus more
specifically on certain areas. Hand explains that the company
is broken up into two regions—east and west with
Chattanooga and Cookeville in the eastern region and the
remaining three locations in the western region.
“It’s really helped us out a lot,” says Hand. “We’ve got two VPs
that oversee each area and run day-to-day general business.”
With a more organized management system in place, the
company was able to use its scale to its advantage.
“It also helps us hire and retain good employees,” he says.
“There are a lot more opportunities as we grow. You are not
just stuck in one location that has two members of middle
management. In our business, if you are willing to move to
Advertisement
B.R. MILLER & COMPANY, INC.
B. R. Miller & Company, Inc. has been honored to be involved in the
growth and success of Budweiser of Clarksville. As Budweiser of
Clarksville has grown and expanded, B. R. Miller & Company, Inc. proudly
provided construction for new buildings, additions and renovations for the
Clarksville TN facility. Thank you, Budweiser of Clarksville, for a success-
ful business relationship. Contact: Mike Boisseau 931-552-2228
JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_49
 [UPCLOSE]
one of our other locations there’s ample opportunity for
advancement and for growth within our company. I think
that’s a big advantage.”
Hand explains that because of the company’s size it has
also been able to grow its chain store business by being
able to provide them with better service. Hand says,
“Essentially what we gain there is we are a bigger supplier
for a particular customer therefore we have more relevance
than we did as a single entity. So, with that we get more
influence, more time, more attention with the larger chain
customers that we didn’t get before.” Among the chains
BOCCCHO delivers to are Kroger, Food Lion and Wal-Mart.
While running a larger operation has its advantages,

Advertisement
POWELL-WALTON-MILWARD
Powell-Walton-Milward a division of J.Smith Lanier & Co. has been fortunate
to handle the Property and Casualty Insurance needs of Charles Hand and
the Hand Family since 1978. Since that time, the company has grown from
one location to five locations. It has been a pleasure for our firm to work
with Charles and JR Hand, and with their Controller and Risk Manager,
William Moseley. We wish them the best of luck and continued success
for many years to come as one of the top AB Distributors in the country.

50_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

with rapid growth can come additional challenges, Hand
notes. On the logistics side, for example, the company has
taken its first steps in consolidating four different route
accounting systems. By the end of next summer, Hand
expects the consolidation to be complete.
As the company continues to grow, it’s the drive and
dedication of BOCCCHO’s employees that allow day-to-day
operations to run as smoothly as possible.
Hand says: “Our people are very competitive. We cele-
brate a victory, but then the next morning everybody
shows up trying to get better and trying to further help the
company grow. The biggest thing for us is we just continue
to try to succeed.” BW

Advertisement
BB&T CORPORATION
Founded in 1872, BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) offers full-service
commercial and retail banking and additional financial services such as
insurance, investments, retail brokerage, corporate finance, asset
management and trust. We strive to help our clients achieve economic
success and financial security; create a workplace where employees can
learn and grow; optimize long-term rewards for shareholders; and
improve our home communities.

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_51

[UPCLOSE]
California Dreaming
The progressively minded Bay Area Beverage Co. is a pioneer in the use of solar
energy. By Andrew Kaplan
C
alifornia is known for being ahead of the
curve when it comes to a lot of things. So,
perhaps it comes as no surprise that the
Richmond, Calif.-based Bay Area Beverage
Co. prides itself on being one of the first solar-pow-
ered beer distributors in the country.
The company’s territory encompasses the com-
munities east of San Francisco, south of the wine
country, north of San Jose and west of Sacramento,
leading TJ Louderback, the company’s president to
add with a laugh: “We didn’t get the prettiest patch
of territory, though there are some very nice com-
munities in our market.”
Bay Area Beverage was actually started by TJ’s father Tom
52_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009
»
BAY AREA BEVERAGE president TJ
Louderback (l) and his father,
Tom, show off the solar panels
adorning the company’s ware-
house roof.
and some partners in
1969. Tom eventually
bought out the partners
and now runs the compa-
ny with his son. Since that
time, the company has
grown into a 7 million-
case beer wholesaler with
just under 200 employees. “Our market is very diverse,”
Louderback says. “We have a significant urban community
comprised of a mix of ethnicities, and we have also
acquired some more suburban territory as well.”
Bay Area’s product mix has changed over the years, too.
While back in the ’80s, the company “learned to survive on
malt liquor and non-alcohols like Snapple,” Louderback
says the company has gotten more into craft beers and
imports, and the suburban areas have fueled its Coors
business. “So, now we have a much more balanced, stable
portfolio,” he says, “where we’re selling MillerCoors, our
top supplier, as well as Heineken USA and Diageo, and
about 80 percent of our non-alc volume is Snapple with
the rest mostly bottled waters.”
A few years ago, the company made the decision to cease
renting a warehouse in Oakland, and buy a 250,000- square-
foot former Ford plant in Richmond. The company soon
after installed a Vertique picking system in the warehouse to
improve efficiencies. “We’re always looking for ways to get
the same job done with a lot less work,” Louderback says.
Also, since the building needed to have its roof replaced, Bay
Area added solar panels to about half of the roof which will
eventually supply 100 percent of the warehouse’s electrical
needs. “I really crammed to learn how solar works, and we’re
pretty confident that it will pay for itself,” he says. “It’s a very
easy way to make more money.”
Louderback says his father took a little bit more con-
vincing when it came to the solar energy project, however.
“I told him this goes immediately to operating profit and
nobody has to work any harder for it. He was skeptical ini-
tially. But we worked through that and now he’s the
biggest cheerleader.” BW
BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

Capitol Takeover
At Beer Capitol, it’s workforce has allowed the company to achieve continued growth
and success in Milwaukee County. By Jennifer Cirillo
I
t’s been a busy time for Beer
Capitol Distributing Co.
In December 2008, the beer
wholesaler, based in
Wauwatosa, Wis., completed its
acquisition of Miller Brands-
Milwaukee LLC, which distributed
Miller brands in Milwaukee
County. Miller Brands was the
largest single distributor in
Wisconsin for Miller Brewing Co.,
explains Aldo Madrigrano, chair-
man and CEO of Beer
Capitol, and the acquisition
quadrupled the size of Beer
Capitol’s business.
“As MillerCoors came
together, it was good tim-
ing for both companies,”
says Madrigrano of the
acquisition. Madrigrano
also is the immediate past
chairman of the National
Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) and currently serves
BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
VITAL STATS
BEER CAPITOL DISTRIBUTING CO.
CHAIRMAN & CEO: Aldo Madrigano
HEADQUARTERS: Wauwatosa, Wis.
EMPLOYEES: 215
’08 CASE VOLUME: about 9 million
GOALS: To be a brand builder and have the appro-
priate and right amount of products to service its
customers needs.
in Milwaukee County delivering just shy of 9 mil-
lion cases a year. The company’s portfolio includes a selec-
[UPCLOSE]
»
MEMBERS OF THE BEER CAPITOL
DISTRIBUTING CO. staff are
(front row, l to r) Jack Radichal,
on-premise division manager and
Ken Zeman, off-premise division
manager; (back row, l to r) Jim
Butenhoff, craft and import man-
ager; David Neville, vice presi-
dent of sales; Aldo Madrigrano
chairman and CEO and Mike
Meriman, president.
on the association’s
board of directors and
its executive committee.
“The group that
owned Miller Brands
felt it was time for them
to step away from the business and myself and
my two partners felt that it was time to aggres-
sively go forward in the business. And when the
JV of MillerCoors came together it was the right
time for these two businesses to come together
too.”
Beer Capitol is now the largest beer distributor
JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_53
[UPCLOSE]

»
PRIDING ITSELF on it customer relations, Beer Capitol was the recipient of Crown Imports’ Distributor of the Year Award in 2008 and 2007. The wholesaler
attributes its success to the quality of its workforce, which has helped the company through its most recent acquisition of Miller Brands-Milwaukee LLC.

tion of 250 beer brands including crafts, imports and a 100 percent pre-sell operation while Miller Brands was
domestics. Along with MillerCoors, its suppliers include not. Making the shift to a 100 percent pre-sell operation
Heineken USA, Crown Imports and Boston Brewing Co., to had its challenges, Madrigrano admits, but he says that
name a few. even in the short period of time since the completion of
“As in any other consolidation there’s always a lot of the acquisition, Beer Capitol has transitioned nicely.
challenges,” says Madrigrano. For example, Beer Capitol was “We feel that we are really about six months ahead of
where we thought we would be,” he says. One advantage
was that Beer Capitol and Miller Brands shared the same
footprint, meaning that there was ease in already knowing
many of the same customers. And, Madrigrano says, “The
scorecards from the customers are all good, so we are
happy about that.”
The scorecard from Beer Capitol’s suppliers also has
been positive. Last year, for the second year in a row,
Beer Capitol was recognized as Crown Imports’ Distributor
of the Year based on sales, distribution and execution of
programming.
“They have been a great supplier do deal with,” says
Madrigrano of Crown Imports, which imports brands
like Corona and Modelo Especial. “We have a good size
Hispanic marketplace here in Milwaukee and [their brands]
have been doing very well.”
The wholesaler attributes its success to the quality of
its workforce. “I think the key to our business is our
people,” Madrigrano says. “Our people have done a great
job from melding Beer Capitol, which was really a
high-end beer company, with a company that sold a lot
of domestic business.”
He continues: “The customers are happy because they
have people that understand their business of selling high-
end, of selling crafts, of selling premiums and then selling
sub-premiums and popular priced beers also.”
The relationships Beer Capitol has with its customers,
on-premise accounts in particular, which make up a large
part of its business, has contributed to the continued
growth of its craft beers, for example. The company

54_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

spends a lot of time working with its local restaurants on
beer and food pairings.
“It’s allowing us to get into some of the finer restau-
rants,” Madrigrano says. “It helps us develop the brands.”
In addition to national craft brands, Beer Capitol also dis-
tributes beer from Lakefront Brewery (Milwaukee), Capital
Brewery (Middleton, Wis.), Stevens Point Brewing (Stevens
Point, Wis.), Pabst Brewing Co. (Milwaukee) and Bell’s
Brewery (Kalamazoo, Mich.).
“The craft trend is doing very well in our marketplace
and continues to grow,” he says, “which tells us that the
consumer is saying, ‘Even in these tough times I want to
get something that I really enjoy and I’m going to spend
to get that.’” And consumers, Madrigrano finds, are visit-
ing their neighborhood establishments rather than ventur-

»
AFTER ITS RECENT acquisition of Miller Brands-Milwaukee LLC, Beer Capitol,
based in Wauwatosa, Wis., is the largest beer distributor in Milwaukee County.

ing to new places that are farther away from home.

Taking that into account, he notes: “We really look for
the right beers for the marketplace,” summing up the com-
pany’s strategy when taking on new brands. “There are
people out there who want to make sure they get every-
thing. Well, we really want to be known as brand builders
to our suppliers and really take a look at, when a brand is
coming to the marketplace, what its attributes are and
what the marketplace is looking for.”
Through all of the busy changes that have taken place
over the past several months and all of the challenges that
come with those changes, Beer Capitol has been able to
maintain a focused outlook for the future, thanks to its
people.
“We know we have great brands to sell and great brands
to put out there, but I can’t stress enough, the most impor-
tant asset that we have is our people,” says Madrigrano. “Our
people, we believe, are the best in the marketplace.” BW

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_55

[UPCLOSE]

Kicking Up Sales
Beverage Alliance brings Carlsberg and other European beers to America.
By Andrew Kaplan

F
ormerly a subsidiary of Carlsberg USA, in your portfolio?
Beverage Alliance became an independent Mike Mitaro: Those
importer earlier this year in an effort to brands all have had a good
expand its portfolio of beers. base of volume, cash flow
The $18 million company, which sells about 1.1 and profitability in the
million case equivalents, is based in New Canaan, United States before we
Conn., and also now imports Kronenbourg, got them.
Tetley’s English Ale, Grimbergen and Okocim.
The company’s owner and president, Mike BW: How are they dis-
Mitaro—who previously ran Carlsberg USA for tributed?
five years—answered some questions about his » MM: We have a network
new company. BEVERAGE ALLIANCE owner and president Mike Mitaro of distributors, a combina-
kicks back with a Carlsberg.
tion, depending on the
Beverage World: Why do you carry these particular brands market, of Anheuser-Busch wholesalers, MillerCoors whole-
salers, a few wine and spirits wholesalers and some small-
er independent wholesalers. We operate in all 50 states.
Though 15 states make up 80 percent of the volume,
which I guess is true for every import.

BW: How have the brands been performing?

MM: Fortunately, they’re doing very well and we’re thank-
ful for that in this economy. Carlsberg is up 10 percent so
far year to date this year. Our draft business is where our
largest growth is for the Carlsberg brand. Carlsberg is one
of the leading brands associated with international soccer
and has a big presence in all the soccer bars and pubs
where people watch matches from Europe.
Kronenbourg also is growing, but it’s off a somewhat
smaller base. We’re finding more growth for it as an alter-
native to Stella Artois. Kronenbourg has a lot of that simi-
lar appeal. So in New York City, for example, we’re having
great trends on Kronenbourg because we’re getting it into
more and more upscale restaurants and nightclubs.

BW: Do you do any marketing to help grow the brands?

MM: We do a lot of promoting at the point of sale and
that seems to help our business a lot. Anything around
soccer we do a lot of promotions with in the bars. In off-
premise we have themed promotions that we do. With
Kronenbourg this July we have a promotion around the
Tour De France and it just rallies our wholesalers to focus
on our products for that period of time. Because so much
of this business is about getting wholesaler execution and
wholesaler focus around your products. BW

56_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

 [UPCLOSE]

VITAL STATS
REFRESHMENT SERVICES PEPSI
PRESIDENT: Mike Bartel
HEADQUARTERS: Quincy, Ill.
EMPLOYEES: 400
REVENUE: $100 million
GOALS: “Our theme for 2009 is ‘Take the Business.’ It is based
on the fact that since the CSD category is not growing this
year, then the only way for us to grow our business is to go
‘take it’ from our competitors.”

»
MIKE BARTEL, president of Refreshment
Services Pepsi, leads the bottler’s “Take the
Business” strategy.

employees in Illinois (Quincy,

Macomb and Decatur), Indiana
(Terre Haute), Iowa (Burlington)
and Florida (Key West and
Tallahassee). “In those days, it was

At Your Service
Refreshment Services keeps the lines of communication
the same person selling, bottling,
packaging, distributing and deliver-
ing it,” Bartel says.
Times have changed, but some
things have remained. The Vecchie
open and a Pepsi in every hand. By Carrie Havranek family—now in its fourth genera-
tion—is still involved in the busi-

A
lot of companies talk the talk, but not all of them ness on the board of directors. And Refreshment Services
can truly walk the walk. But for Refreshment continues its longstanding affiliation with PepsiCo; Bartel
Services Pepsi, an independent Pepsi bottler, it’s says that they are perhaps one of the earlier bottlers of the
the talking—and the listening, for that matter— soda in the state. The business has grown though there are
that makes the difference. Its open-door policy with employ- of course some challenges, many of them stemming from the
ees and customers is a point of pride among its management fact that its bottling territories are not at all contiguous. In
team, according to president Mike Bartel. “Anyone at any fact, the two regions it covers in Florida couldn’t be farther
level can come into my office at any time to talk about any- apart. There’s no real rhyme or reason for why it evolved
thing,” he says. that way; Bartel says it’s just the way the operations were
The lineage of this family-owned enterprise dates back to bought over the years. “The challenges become trying to rec-
the 1920s in Taylorville, Ill., when founder Louis Vecchie ognize what pieces of our business need to stay decentral-
began a soft drink company that bottled its own flavors— ized. We will err on the side of leaving as much of the deci-
think grape and orange. It wasn’t until 1934 that Vecchie sion making locally to our general managers,” he explains.
met Pepsi, but at first, customer response was tepid and sales And the customer base is different, too. “In the Midwest we
were slow. Bartel says that they’d swap out a couple of have a high share and in Florida we’re at parity.”
orange or grape bottles in a case for Pepsi bottles, a subtle Because geography works against the company, the ability
move that ensured that the cola wouldn’t go to waste. The to communicate effectively is critical. “We try to be good lis-
small operation has grown considerably, with 400-plus teners with customers and employees. We don’t want to get

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_57

[UPCLOSE]
caught in the trap that we have all the answers,” Bartel
explains. For example, he says someone came up with the idea
to survey the employees in the other offices to find out what
the main office was doing well, and what could use improve-
ment. “Now we are in the middle of going personally to each
of the locations to talk through the results, which takes a lot of
time.” While it’s easy for a company leader to say that they lis-
ten to its people or want feedback, the process is difficult; it’s
time consuming. “We hear about problems. But if you’re get-
ting to the point where you are not hearing about the prob-
lems, you’ve got a big problem,” he says.
The approach naturally extends to its customers, too. Last
fall, the managers went out on a “listening tour” armed not
with laptops loaded with PowerPoint presentations, but just
a sheet of paper with about a half-dozen questions they
devised in order to find out what the customers needed, »
AL HUDGINS is general manager of Refreshment Services Pepsi’s Tallahassee,
what they liked about the company and what they didn’t. He Fla. operation.
describes the experience as “eye-opening, something we need
to do on a regular basis.” Service is a considerable issue and and want to truly partner, we’ll up the service.” Once feedback
so recently, Refreshment Services established different serv- has been solicited, though, expectations rise. “The easy part is
ice levels with its customers. “The more they work with us listening; the hard part is how are you going to respond to

58_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

their needs so it’s just not another check off in a box?”
Its communication philosophy extends to Pepsi, too,
whom Bartel describes as “a great partner” and “good listen-
er.” As an independent bottler, the company enjoys consid-
erable autonomy to develop marketing tailored to local
accounts. “We have the ability to say no and to do our own
thing, but 95 percent of the time you are going to do what
they [PepsiCo] want because they know the business and
what they want to do makes sense,” he says. Initiatives
such as buying and using its very own sign-making
machine helps with creating customized promotions, but
then Pepsi “will still come in with national overlays, like

»
REFRESHMENT SERV-
ICES PEPSI’S Florida
management team
includes VP of opera-
tions Dave Faulkner.
The Florida territories
the company serves
include Key West and
Tallahassee.

with the Super Bowl or Halloween, that we will participate

in,” he says.
The PepsiCo-bottler relationship is a unique one, he says.
Bottlers have the ability to work closely with and help com-
munities, combining the muscle of a national brand with
the relationships that independently owned smaller compa-
nies can create.
“What’s made it so successful is that if it was just one big
company, you probably wouldn’t get that grassroots stuff
that goes on, the baseball teams, little leagues, special
events, things to help support the community in fundrais-
ers and schools,” he says.
Bartel puts the rewards of his work this way: “You can go
to bed at night and think, ‘Maybe somehow I’ve made a
small difference.’ There are not a lot of businesses anymore
where you have the opportunity to do that.” BW

Advertisement
GREAT RIVER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
Quincy University is a Catholic, independent, liberal arts institution of
higher learning in the Franciscan tradition celebrating 150 years in
2009. Great River Economic Development Foundation has been a driv-
ing force in Quincy and Adams County since 1978. Together GREDF and
Quincy University thank Refreshment Services Pepsi for their contribu-
tions to the outstanding quality of life the Quincy area enjoys.

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_59

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Epic Scale
More than 40 years on, Epic Enterprises continues to refresh New England as the
little Blue System co-op that can. By Jeff Cioletti
»
THE EPIC TEAM assembles before one of its new trucks.
(l to r) Allen Gallaher, controller; Wanda Belanger, human
resources; Tim Duprey, quality assurance manager; Lisa
Hjelm, plant manager; Don Smallwood, general manager
and John Blood, maintenance manager.

Forty-one years ago the company opened

for business with a single can line; it now
operates three. Two of those primarily run
12-ounce cans, while the other is a flexible
line for specialty cans of varying sizes. Epic
Enterprises cans all of the trademark Pepsi
brands, as well as some Dr
Pepper Snapple Group products,
VITAL STATS including Dr Pepper, Crush and
EPIC ENTREPRISES
GENERAL MANAGER: Don Smallwood
Hawaiian Punch.

A
s primary and secondary-packaging HEADQUARTERS: Ayer, Mass. In this era of rampant SKU
sizes continually change and inno- ANNUAL VOLUME: 20 million cases proliferation, flexibility and nim-
vation brings a rapidly accelerat- GOALS: To be as flexible as possible; quickly and effi- ble execution are central impera-
ciently changing can body sizes and flavors while
ing crop of new products into tives and Epic has prided itself
keeping product yields high.
the market, Epic Enterprises has shown for on its ability to adapt to an ever-
more than 40 years that the key to staying changing market. It’s especially
ahead of the curve is employing a can-do attitude. challenging in the Pepsi system when it comes to the limit-
The Epic tale begins in 1968 when 12 independent Pepsi ed-time offers (LTOs) the company has released in recent
bottlers, primarily in New England, formed the Ayer, Mass.- years (Though, the operation didn’t produce the recent
based canning co-op. Throwback brands).
“Over the years,” says Epic Enterprises general manager “We like to have the volume, but it can be difficult to get
Don Smallwood, “some of those have been bought by Pepsi in and get out with these things,” Smallwood notes. “The pro-
Bottling Group and one was bought by Pepsi Bottling liferation of SKUs is a real issue and we’ve had to adjust to
Ventures. So our ownership has changed, but we’re still con- it…The thing with these LTOs is if one of them is successful,
sidered, in the Pepsi system, a co-op.” they tend to bring it back permanently—without deleting
Epic is responsible for most of the can volume of Pepsi something on the other end.”
products throughout New England and in some parts of New For instance, Epic has been gradually replacing its blenders
York State. The co-op produces about 20 million cases annually. with ones that offer enhanced efficiency and reduced
Interestingly, the co-op’s can plant is located next door to changeover times. As a result, the co-op has been able to do
another co-op that fills only bottles. “We’re two separate co- shorter runs and switch to another SKU fairly rapidly.
operatives, but have similar ownership,” Smallwood explains. Secondary packaging changeovers also represent an area
“We don’t get into bottles and don’t aspire to get into bottles. of significant challenge and ongoing improvement. “We
They don’t get into cans and don’t aspire to get into cans.” make a 36-pack that’s going into the Club Stores, and chang-

60_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

»
SWITCHING TO PEPSI’S new packaging a pretty seamless one for Epic
graphics was fairly quick and seamless for
Epic Enterprises.
Enterprises, thanks to the highly
organized effort among Epic,
PepsiCo and the co-op’s owners.
ing from 24 [pack] to 36 is a “It’s always about coordination
pretty easy change,” explains when you have something as big as
Smallwood. “But changing from this was that came as quickly as it
a 36 back down to a 12-pack is did,” recalls Smallwood. “I first
a fairly major change on the heard about it in October of last
packaging end.” year. By the end of December we
On the flexible can line, the were almost fully converted. That’s
challenge is speeding up how fast it happened in the Pepsi
changeovers among can sizes. system. Frankly it went more
“It’s fairly easy to go from the same body diameter in an 8- smoothly than I had anticipated.”
ounce can, to a 12-ounce can, to, say, a 16-ounce can; you just As Epic Enterprises has illustrated in its more than four
raise the filler and close it,” Smallwood notes. “But the chal- decades of existence, success lies in how effectively an opera-
lenges come when you’re dealing with a Slim can or Sleek tion can adapt to whatever twists and turns the industry may
can, or even a 24-ounce can, where the can body is changing have in store. “It used to be that 12-ounce cans were king—
not only in height, but its width. [The key is] being able to do that’s all we ever made, and after a while it became routine,”
that quickly and efficiently and with all of the flavor changes Smallwood observes. “But now that routine is gone, so we’re
coming down the road.” changing all the time.”
The transition to Pepsi’s recently redesigned packages was With every epic challenge, there’s an Epic solution. BW

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_61

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Focus on Fundamentals
Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co. of Davenport has found success by sticking to its way of
doing business. By John Karolefski
»
ALL OF PEPSI’S BIG HITTERS are carried by Pepsi-Cola Bottling
Co. of Davenport.

Free, Live Wire, Orange, Mug Root Beer, Pepsi

Lime, Diet Pepsi Lime, Pepsi Vanilla and Diet
Pepsi Vanilla.
“We carry the entire Pepsi portfolio, as well
as Frappuccino, Lipton and SoBe,” says Johnson.
“In addition, we carry Klarbrunn water and
recently expanded into Muscle Milk, which is
owned by Cytosport.”
The distributorship has 80 employ-
ees, including full- and part-time
VITAL STATS workers. Through a cross-county
PEPSI-COLA BOTTLING CO. OF DAVENPORT agreement, two other distributors help
PRESIDENT: Bill Johnson Davenport deliver its products.

T
HEADQUARTERS: Davenport, Iowa
here have been many EMPLOYEES: 80
“It’s a unique arrangement,”
changes in distribution and ’08 CASE VOLUME: 3.5 million explains Johnson. “One distributor
products since the Pepsi-Cola GOALS: To provide the best customer service at all operates in Clinton County and one
Bottling Co. of Davenport times. operates in Muscatine County. They
became an official independent fran- purchase all the products from us
chise in Iowa in 1995. But one thing has and they actually deliver it, invoice it and
not changed: adhering to the fundamentals of operating the service those areas for us.”
business. In this economic slowdown, business is down for the cor-
“We’ve always been focused on providing accounts with porate parent, but above the national average. “Pepsi was
the best possible customer service we can—whether it’s down 4 to 5 percent and we were down 2 percent,” Johnson
timely service to repair vending equipment that breaks down, reports. “This year, we are trending flat.”
or responding on a weekend when a store is out of product. Davenport Pepsi maintains its competitive edge by invest-
We always have someone on call,” says Todd Johnson, vice ing in more SKUs for distribution and more equipment for
president and general manager of the distributor whose ori- its sales force. “We went to pre-sell about 12 years ago and
gins date back to the 1930s as part of A.D. Huesing Bottling were ahead of the curve on that one,” he says. “Recently,
Works in Rock Island, Ill. Johnson’s grandfather eventually we’ve doubled the size of our warehouse so that we can carry
bought out the last Huesing family member. more SKUs.” The company has about 800 SKUs.
The company operates in three counties in Iowa: Scott, The company also has upgraded its warehouse
Clinton and Muscatine. Its Pepsi portfolio includes: Pepsi, picking system, both in terms of new technology and
Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Diet Dew, Code Red, Caffeine rearrangement to facilitate operations on the floor. The
Free Pepsi, Diet Caffeine Free Pepsi, Caffeine Free Mountain sales force, for example, is using new laptop computers
Dew, Diet Caffeine Free Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, Mist that enable them to track inventory more effectively, while

62_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

 »
SOME OF THE COMPANY’S newest products
include waters like SoBe and one of the
hottest selling new drinks, Muscle Milk.

management is using Margin

Minder, a sales management
software system from Salient.
Johnson explains that
the company has developed
an operating philosophy of
empowering its decision
makers in the field. “We allow
our managers flexibility in
their levels of expertise in the
areas they cover,” he says.
“Whether it be the management
over supermarkets, the management over super centers
or the management over smaller formats, we just try to
guide them.”
He commends his sales and management team for doing
“a very good job” handling individual relationships with
the accounts they are in charge of. The relationship with
vendors has always been one of the key attributes for suc-
cessful beverage distribution. Johnson understands this and
makes it a priority in trade relations.
“The most important thing we do is try and treat every-
one on an equal playing surface,” he elaborates, adding that
a Davenport salesperson will service a grocery account
every day and will speak with managers and co-managers
about upcoming promotions and displays.
Davenport supplies many retail channels, including
supermarket chains and independents, super centers, drug
stores and convenience stores. Some of its larger customers
include Hy-Vee, Fairway, Schnucks, Wal-Mart, Target,
Walgreens and CVS. The sales territory includes four Wal-
Mart super centers and eight stores operated by Hy-Vee, its
biggest customer. Johnson appreciates his “strong” relation-
ship with Hy-Vee. “There is not a lot of central control;
most of the decision making is done at the store level,” he
explains. “They are more likely to take into account the
market share of individual franchises like us.”
Meanwhile, Johnson is quick to recognize the fine work
of the entire organization.
“You can’t have breakdowns anywhere,” he says. “The
sales force is reliant on the drivers to get the product there,
the merchandisers to get the product to the customer, and
down to the warehouse with loading the trucks properly
and filling the trucks properly.”
Sounds like a focus on the fundamentals is paying off. BW

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_63

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»
BURKE LEADERSHIP TEAM From l to r, Scott Adams
VP of sales; Austin Burke, VP of operations; Bill
Burke, president; Tim Burke, general manager/Red
Bull; Jim Devaney, director of specialty
markets/Red Bull; Alina Burke-Visconte, accounts
payable; Kerry Walsh, director of human resources;
Scott Kacherian, director of sales/Red Bull; Dottie
Olson, assistant to the president, Leo Schick, direc-
tor of IT; Charlie Balkam, controller

focus on categories, Burke has been

able to bring its entire portfolio to mar-
ket. “It’s a very targeted approach. Now
the company can bring the product
directly to where the demand is,” says
Bill Burke, president and
grandson of the founder.
VITAL STATS Founded in Clinton, Mass., in
BURKE DISTRIBUTING CO.
1935 by Walter Burke, Burke
PRESIDENT: Bill Burke
Distributing has wholesaled
HEADQUARTERS: Randolph, Mass.
EMPLOYEES: 260
beer, spirits and non-alcohol
ANNUAL CASE VOLUME: 6.8 million
drinks throughout the metro
GOALS: To be the preferred wholesaler Boston area. Its beverage distri-

Changing to every retailer in its market. bution portfolio includes Miller

Lite, Coors Light, Guinness, Sam
Adams, Mike’s Hard Lemonade,
Brinley’s Rum and Red Bull products. In

with the Times

addition to Bill, the third generation of
Burkes in the business also include Tim
(GM for the Red Bull division), Austin
(operations manager), Patrick (ware-
house manager) and Alina-Burke-
Responding to consumer behavior, Burke Distributing Visconte (accounts payable).
improves its bottom line. By Susan Wright Burke’s current market share is 37
percent in beer and 62 percent in ener-

T
he economy may be a challenge, but Burke Distributing gy drinks. “The Boston metropolitan area is unusual in that our
Co. considers that an opportunity to innovate. After market is 40 percent on-premise, and a large portion of that is
seeing a large fragmentation in consumer buying in through draft,” says Adams. The influx of a quarter-million col-
2007, the company decided it would be better to man- lege students creates some unique expectations as far as focus,
age its portfolio by category rather than supplier. and resource allocation from a supplier standpoint. So Burke
“We were seeing the consumer was shopping inside category, created an entire division devoted to on-premise sales: large
whether it was based off an occasion, an event, economy, craft volume accounts, on-premise in downtown and a C-group that
or import,” says Scott Adams, VP of sales for Burke. “Our mar- handles both on- and off- premise in the suburb accounts.
ket was also becoming more fractured in terms of neighbor- “They want demos, and they’ll do what it takes to get them,”
hoods and different classes of trade—bars, restaurants and says Tim Burke. “We have to battle with Anheuser-Busch. They
stores. The consumers were behaving that way, so we changed move so fast that we have to move fast. We find ourselves com-
our management style to mirror their behavior, and started peting daily on everything from the 6-pack in the cooler to draft
looking at our portfolio as categories rather than individual handles. We’re constantly challenging each other to improve
brands.” By establishing divisions within the company that and as we do it we’re making ourselves better.” The company

64_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

also continues to invest. “We feel that if we invest appropri-
ately, once this economy gets back to an equal playing field
that will gain our share in the long term,” says Bill.
One key technology investment has already been completed
in-house for the Red Bull division. The all-new handhelds and
sales reporting tools are “excellent” according to Tim. The
investment in data and software systems has been a great
asset in managing routes and becoming more efficient by giv-
ing the company a better line of sight into retail sales. Next,
Burke will acquire handhelds for all of the delivery drivers in
order to make the company paperless.
Burke also is investing in people, especially in hiring and
training in areas where the company thinks it needed
improvement. Thanks to a 50/50 Workforce Training grant
from the commonwealth of Massachusetts, all 260 employ-
ees have received more training in the past two years than
“ever in our history,” according to Bill.
Burke Distributing has all the proof it needs that the lat-
est changes in management style are working. In 2008, the
company had the remarkable accomplishment of being rec-
ognized by Diageo as the distributor of the year in the
same year it received the Coors President’s Award. BW

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_65

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Countryside Lessons
Matesich is streamlining processes to increase efficiency. By Susan Wright

MATESICH DISTRIBUTING CO. enjoys a market share of

»
65 percent across 10 counties in southeastern Ohio.

want to focus on products that have a wide

appeal. We look at it carefully because we
have to maximize the dollar since we have a
lot of geography to play with, so we want to
make sure we spend wisely.”
Technology has been another investment.
Matesich was on board as soon
as the A-B Mobility Selling
VITAL STATS System first came out, and is
MATESICH DISTRIBUTING CO. in its second hardware phase
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD: John Matesich III
HEADQUARTERS: Newark, Ohio
and fourth upgrade in soft-
EMPLOYEES: 90 ware. Salesmen and route

F
ounded during the height of ’08 CASE VOLUME: 3.6 million sales people have handhelds
Prohibition by an enterprising teenager, GOALS: To keep growing and providing the best possi- and data downloads. The dif-
Matesich Distributing now delivers ble customer service to everyone in a cost-effective ference with the handhelds is
and profitable way.
Anheuser-Busch and Hansen products most noticeable in the swing
throughout southeastern Ohio. The company drivers who have the difficult
has a 65-plus percent market share and serves 10 counties. job of stepping up on the different routes. Now they can
Despite the tough economy, Matesich is holding its own. Last easily take inventory and tell the customer what he’s out or
year, John Matesich III, chairman of the board, and his sales or running low on.
team won the Ambassadors of Excellence Award with a stellar “Last year was the first full year of this latest upgrade and
sales performance for the year. The management and supervi- we saw a half-percent increase in sales just because of that,”
sory team of Matesich feel compelled to carefully manage says Matesich. “Because of the training and education we
the resources, and that trickles down to drivers and salespeo- give our people, they can utilize the electronic tools we gave
ple. Those saved nickels and dimes really add up when run- them. As the learning curve goes up, their professionalism
ning a facility with 27 routes and 90 employees. also goes up.”
Matesich recently invested between $10,000 and $15,000 to The company’s business model is validated through the
clean up its electrical power; the company had a higher rate voice of the retailer. “We have fewer than 900 accounts,” he
because the capacitors needed replacing. It also re-amped the says. “That’s all our customers so we take care of them on a
entire 115,000-square-foot facility in Newark, Ohio, to high-effi- day-to-day basis. Ninety to 95 percent of the accounts don’t
ciency fluorescent lights, which reduced power consumption even check the order, and that holds true for deliveries as well.
considerably while improving the lighting. When someone is on a route, they’re there for a decade and
To continue to add value, Matesich also has focused on tak- know the customers as well as their own friends. That consis-
ing on new brands like Hansen’s and the import portfolio tency pays off in a high trust level. It pays off in value.”
from InBev. “If you want to do an intro right, it takes time,” The sales and merchandizing team also develops a
says Matesich. “Since we’re primarily a rural wholesaler, we relationship with each account so when there is a problem,

66_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

there are two or three people working on an issue to
resolve it rapidly.
The Matesichs know the area well because of their long
history in Ohio. John Matesich Jr. was 17 when he decided
to open a distributorship in 1928. His 16-year-old brother
Matt joined in, and financed by their father John Matesich
Sr., they sold product in seven counties. After Prohibition
ended, the company’s biggest hit was Redtop Beer in the
'30s and '40s, and after that another Cincinnati beer—
Weidemann.
“My father and uncles were very vocal about telling sto-
ries about how the business started, and how it should be
run,” says Matesich. “We’re looked upon as being incredibly
lucky and we probably are, but the harder we work the
luckier we are.”
Along with great brands and suppliers over the years,
and the company’s long relationship with A-B, Matesich
credits great employees more than anything as the reason
for their success, many of which have been with the com-
pany for more than 10 years.
“Everyone makes everyone else lucky in this company
and it’s a real pleasure to come to work every day.” BW

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_67

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»
DEL PAPA DISTRIBUTING’S Beaumont distribution
center is one of three that this Texas-based beer
wholesaler operates out of.

Other highlights from the planned fes-

tivities include galas at each of the
three DCs complete with the appear-
ance of the Budweiser Clydesdales—
next year will mark the 80th anniver-
sary with A-B, a partnership that began
in 1930 with the distribution of the
company’s non-alcohol products.
The true reason for celebration isn’t
just to recognize a number,
VITAL STATS but the service of the
DEL PAPA DISTRIBUTING CO., INC. employees throughout the
PRESIDENT: Larry Del Papa distributor’s history.
HEADQUARTERS: Galveston, Texas Manuel Ortega, vice presi-
EMPLOYEES: 350 dent of logistics, says with-
’08 CASE VOLUME: 10 million

A Good
out hesitation that it has
GOALS: To maintain a team of quality people that been “our people” that have
work hard to continue to build brands and friendships
one case at a time.
been the key to the compa-
ny’s success. “And the rea-
son that our people are the

Neighbor
Gearing up for its centennial celebration next year, Del
key,” he says, “is because of our owner-
ship—the Del Papa family—and the
way that they conduct the business.
We are a mid-sized company, but it
has the feel of a small, family-run busi-
ness at the same time.”
Papa Distributing continues to build brands and friends. That family feeling that Ortega refers
By Jennifer Cirillo to extends beyond Del Papa
Distributing to the customers, suppliers

N
ext year will mark the centennial anniversary of Del and neighboring businesses it interacts with. Take for example
Papa Distributing Co. The mid-sized Texas-based the recent devastation experienced in Texas, just east of
wholesaler began with Omero Del Papa Sr. who came Galveston, where Hurricane Ike hit in September of last year.
to the United States from Italy in 1900 and started a Del Papa Distributing suffered losses including sales vehicles,
retail grocery distributing company in 1910 in Galveston, damage to tractor-trailers and infrastructure damage to its
Texas. That business eventually became a beer distributor- Galveston distribution center so great that the 4-million-case
ship, delivering Anheuser-Busch products in 1933, and today operation had to be executed from its Victoria DC, which only
offers a diversified beer and non-alcohol beverage portfolio. handles half of Galeveston’s volume. But Del Papa was able to
Preparation is in full swing for the year-long activities slated pull through. In some cases it borrowed delivery vehicles from
for 2010 beginning with a breakfast in each of the company’s neighboring A-B distributors, including Brown Distributing
markets—it has distribution centers (DC) in Galveston, (Austin, Texas) and L&F Distributors, with locations in lower
Beaumont and Victoria, Texas—in January when the company Texas—even competing Miller and Coors distributors offered
plans to announce an endowment program for the communi- assistance. Del Papa Distributing also was able to rely on com-
ty colleges and four-year universities in its 17-county territory. panies it has longstanding relationships with, such as Way

68_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

Service, Ltd., a Texas-based HVAC/R company. Ortega notes
that Way Service, Ltd. can trace its business back with the
distributor to 1930.
Despite the damage Hurricane Ike caused, Del Papa’s
September’s case volume was up from the previous year and
2008 marked a record year in sales and case volume.
“Our people and our retailers were resilient; we were able to
bounce back,” says Peter Williamson, vice president of per-
formance systems.
“We had people that we sent down from Galveston living
in Victoria in motels and they were actually rerouting by
hand sitting in a conference room,” adds Mike McAfee, vice
president of marketing. “It was a huge effort by the whole
company to keep things running.”
Still recovering from the natural disaster, Del Papa faces new
challenges: Over the past two years, the company’s SKU count
has gone from 250 to nearly 600. Its portfolio is comprised of
Anheuser-Busch InBev brands in its Galveston market, Modelo
in select markets, and a selection of brands it purchased from
Glazer’s including Sierra Nevada and Saint Arnold, and non-
alcohol brands like Sweet Leaf Tea and Jones Soda.
To handle the added volume at the warehouse level, Ortega
BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
explains lower volume items are picked by route instead of
stop (how the distributor picks the rest of its orders) to mini-
mize the number of touches and the pick line. “At the point of
delivery the driver marries the two or three cases of additional
volume of the lower volume SKUs to the order,” he says.
At the end of the day, Williamson notes the company’s
new slogan says it all: “Quality people building brands and
friendships one case at a time.” He says, “The idea is that our
job is to build our brands. We are trying to evolve ourselves
from a distribution system to a sales and marketing compa-
ny, heavy on the marketing side, because anybody can deliv-
er the beer, but what sets us apart is what we do with that
beer in that retail account…which is what we do best.” BW
Advertisement
WAY SERVICE, LTD.
In 2007 Del Papa Distributing partnered with Way Service, Ltd. to design
and build a chilled water system to meet the distributor’s HVAC/Refriger-
ation needs. After Hurricane Ike, Way was there to get Del Papa’s mechani-
cal systems up and running again, repairing or replacing many units just
days after the storm. Way understood this company’s needs, and will
understand yours too.
JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_69
[UPCLOSE]
A Family Affair
Guiffre Distributing Co. celebrates its 75th anniversary. By John Karolefski
I
n the early 1930s, just after the repeal of Prohibition,
Tony Guiffre set up shop as a beer distributor serving
rural Alexandria, Va. This year, Guiffre Distributing Co. is
celebrating its 75th anniversary.
Along the way, the company has expanded the
business while adhering to its core values: Enhance the
foundation of this fourth generation family-owned business
by strengthening relationships with customers, employees
and suppliers.
“That’s written on the front of our company handbook,”
says Wayne Biggs, vice president and general manager.
“When someone walks through the front door, they can tell
we are a customer-based company.”
And those customers appreciate the dedication to service
that has made Guiffre a trusted distributor to supermarkets,
convenience stores and gas stations. More than three-quar-
ters of the business involves chain stores, and several military
bases in the sales territory make for an attractive trading area.
Today, the company is a diverse beverage distributor with
several beer suppliers adding to the core, growing portfolio from
70_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009
VITAL STATS
GUIFFRE DISTRIBUTING CO.
CEO: Joe Guiffre
PRESIDENT: Mike Guiffre
HEADQUARTERS: Alexandria, Va.
EMPLOYEES: 100
CASE VOLUME: 3.1 million
GOALS: To advance its reputation for excellence in people, products and
service while growing profitable market share.
»
GUIFFRE DISTRIBUTING CO.’S (l to r) Mike Guiffre,
president, Mark Stephens, VP operations and admin-
istration, and Wayne Biggs, VP sales and marketing,
work hard to build profitable market share.
Anheuser-Busch. Other suppliers include
Carlsberg, Grolsch, Coastal, Star Hill,
Hook and Ladder, Kona and Red Hook.
“Number one, we want to be a multi-
branded beer distributorship,” explains
Biggs. “But we also want to look at the
opportunity we have in the market in
growing the non-alcoholic area, beginning with Boylan’s
soda, which we are picking up.”
Boylan’s is a premium soft drink that uses cane sugar as a
sweetener. Other soft drinks in the non-alcohol portfolio
include Dominion Root Beer and Ginger Ale. The distributor
also carries bottled water brands such as Deer Park,
Mountain Valley Spring Water, Icelandic Glacial and
Saratoga Spring Water. PHOTOGRAPHY BY BOB TAGERT/OLD TOWN CRIER
The challenge, according to Biggs, will be obtaining
enough brands to enable Guiffre to go to market in non-alco-
hol accounts.
These plans build on a business expansion that began a
few years ago. In October 2007, Guiffre acquired the InBev
portfolio prior to its purchase of Anheuser-Busch. “We
brought all those brands in-house, which gave us a lot of
sales opportunities,” says Biggs.
In November 2007, Guiffre acquired neighboring King
Wholesale, which expanded its distribution to part of nearby
Fairfax County and Arlington County. The latter is an adult-
based area with a lot of volume potential, according to Biggs.
BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
 Biggs stresses that a focus going forward is to become
more efficient by improving route dynamics and upgrading
hardware and software. He points to a new selling tool that
his company uses.
“It’s a drill-down software system that allows management
to pull sales reports and account-based presentations while
on the road through laptops via the Internet,” he explains.
“It allows sales and management to go into our sales
history and drill down by account manager or by account
information.”
Biggs says the business is moving more toward informa-
tion-based selling, and that Guiffre is keeping pace. “As you
build your relationships, you have to make sure you are tak-
ing advantage of all the technology and information that is
available so that you can offer those things to your customers.”
Also, he believes that in these times of rapid SKU expan-
sion, Guiffre must do everything it can to keep up with the
amount of product flowing in and out of the warehouse.
“I would start by complimenting Mark Stephens, our vice
president of operations, and all of our warehouse manage-
ment and employees on the job they do in a very tight ware-
house,” he says. “We are investigating right now how we can
BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
expand it; we’re somewhat busting at the seams.”
According to Biggs, relationships with suppliers and
retailers are important, but the relationships among
employees in-house are critical. The company retains its
traditional family-based atmosphere, Biggs stresses. “We
have 100 employees,” he says, including many with more
than 30 years of service. The patriarchs of the business,
Mike and Joe Guiffre, are respective president and CEO. As
Guiffre grows, however, so does the challenge of maintaining
that close-knit feeling.
“It can only happen when employees work together well,”
he admits. “The word that comes to mind is passion,” he goes
on to say. “When employees sense the passion that a family
member has towards the business, whether it’s Joe the CEO,
or Mike the president, it enhances performance on the street.
The passion that the Guiffre family has for the business has
been incredible for decades. It makes a huge difference.”
In celebration of 75 years in the distribution business, a
new company logo has been unveiled to bring attention to
Guiffre’s tenure. Also, a grand company celebration is
planned in the fall to commemorate the milestone. It’s sure
to be a family affair. BW
JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_71
[UPCLOSE]

High Aspirations
From humble beginnings, High Country Beverage is moving up in the world.
By Tom Strenk
»
THE HIGH COUNTRY TEAM includes (l to r) Tom Morlan,
VP of sales; Eric Osthoff, delivery manager; Todd
Daggett, product supply and warehouse manager; Steve
Nichols, VP and general manager; Bryce Kopperud, on-
premise sales manager and Ron Terrin, off-premise sales
manager.

augment its 45,000-square-foot warehouse.

“We’d out-grown our facility here,” explains
Nichols. “So we bought a bigger facility than
we needed to accomodate future growth.”
He estimates High Country now has
enough capacity to expand by 75 percent.
“The stronger we can get our
portfolio, the more valuable
VITAL STATS we are to our customers,”
HIGH COUNTRY BEVERAGE
PRESIDENT: Dave Nichols points out Nichols.
VICE PRESIDENT/GENERAL MANAGER: Steve Nichols Among the larger brands

N
orthern Colorado’s High Country HEADQUARTERS: Loveland, Colo. the company now handles are
Beverage is a growing family-run busi- EMPLOYEES: 50 Coors and Coors Light,
’08 CASE VOLUME: 1.6 million
ness with a commitment to the envi- GOALS: To be the best beer distributor in the country.
Molson, Blue Moon, Corona,
ronment, community and the cus- Pacifico, Modelo and St. Pauli
tomers it serves. Girl. The portfolio also
In 1972, Dave Nichols got his start as a delivery driver for includes the likes of Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Rockstar
Coors Distributing Co. in Denver. He ascended the corporate Energy Drink.
ladder in Coors Brewing Co., via positions in distribution, field Although overall beer sales are flat, Coors Light trends
sales, national accounts and human resources. When he left have been phenomenal for the past few years, according to
Coors in 1996, Dave Nichols was vice president of distributor Nichols. In the wake of the recent Miller-Coors merger, the
development. He struck out on his own with the purchase of company also is working to acquire the Miller portfolio, gear-
two smaller distributors in northern Colorado, which he merged ing up its warehouse and procedures.
to create High Country Beverage. Son Steve Nichols joined the In addition, High Country’s craft beer business has increased
family business in 2000 and is vice president and general well over 100 percent during the past five years. Craft brands
manager of the Loveland, Colo. beer distributor. include Dale’s Pale Ale, Flying Dog, Grand Teton, Alaskan and
Recently, High County acquired distribution of New Belgium Pete’s Wicked—and now, of course, New Belgium.
Brewing Co. brands. The high-profile craft brewer is located in “The craft segment has become an increasingly important
neighboring Fort Collins. part of our business,” says Nichols. “Craft additions allow us
“It’s a neat acquisition for us,” says Steve Nichols. “We are to offer customers a wider selection.” High Country is contin-
the local distributor selling the local beer.” ually looking to add even more brands. “We’re looking at all
High Country is laying the groundwork for the addition of areas–even wine and non-alcoholic beverages.”
other brands to its portfolio. The company just purchased a To handle all those SKUs, the company has made a num-
new 25,000-square-foot warehouse facility in Fort Collins to ber of operational changes over the past few years. In the

72_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

warehouse, it implemented gravity-flow racking, which
allows loaders to get to products easier and speeds up load-
ing times. Fifty percent of beer is now delivered in bulk
delivery vehicles and 100 percent of delivery to grocery
stores are loaded by stop with pallets weighed for accuracy
before they leave the warehouse. “We’re able to deliver
more beer with fewer people,” says Nichols.
To deliver better service to customers—as well as
enhance vendor relationships, High Country has equipped
sales staffers with tablet computers hooked to an aircard so
they can send orders to the warehouse as they take them.
“They are online 100 percent of the time, and now we’re
able to build orders 24 hours a day. That means no waiting
on orders anymore,” relates Nichols.
High Country has gone green with a number of eco-
friendly initiatives. In the warehouse, conversion of refrig-
eration fans to a sensor-monitoring system has reduced
power consumption by approximately 26,000 kilowatts per
year. The switch to motion-sensor lighting systems coupled
with installation of energy-efficient light bulbs have also
resulted in substantial energy savings. The sales fleet
switched to smaller, more energy efficient cars for sales
calls. And speed governors on deliv-
ery trucks and idle shutoffs on trac-
tors save fuel and the atmosphere.
Plus, all the chemicals now used in
the warehouse are biodegradable.
Another key part of High Country
Beverage’s community stewardship is
its trademarked Take Care responsible
beverage program aimed at college-age
students. In partnership with Coors,
High Country Beverage has created a
number of venues preaching responsi-
ble alcohol use. “We’re very commit-
ted to our community, our vendors
and customers and our employees,”
sums up Nichols. “We’re very blessed
to live in Colorado and sell beer and
have fun doing it.” BW

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ENCOMPASS TECHNOLOGIES
High Country Beverage’s innovative opera-
tions processes are backed by forward-think-
ing investments in technology to maximize
efficiencies from the back door to the back
office. Encompass Technologies has proudly
served High Country Beverage since 2005,
and continues to provide innovative web-
based Route Accounting Software and Mobile
Solutions that help keep High Country
Beverage at the forefront of the industry.

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_73

[UPCLOSE]
150 Years and Counting
Minhas Craft Brewery has a history of more than 150 years and, in less than a
decade, has quadrupled its production. By Jennifer Cirillo
M
onroe, Wis. might be known as the
cheese capital of the world, but as it
turns out, it’s also the home to the sec-
ond oldest brewery in the United
States—Minhas Craft Brewery, brewer of Huber,
Rhinelander and Mountain Crest brands, as well as
Blumer soda. Founded in 1845, the brewery says
it’s the 14th largest brewery in terms of production,
producing 200,000 barrels a year of more than 50
beer varieties available primarily throughout the
Midwest and the Canadian provinces of Alberta,
Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and soon, Ontario.
After new ownership took over in 2006, a $6 million capital
investment added 50,000 square feet to the brewery’s ware-
74_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009
»
MINHAS CRAFT BREWERY brews
and contracts a variety of bever-
age products.
house, a filtration system, a
24-ounce can line, packag-
ing equipment, two three-
story silos for malted barley
and a second fermentation
room, for the production of
Corsairs and Peelers, fla-
vored malt beverages.
Gary Olson, president of
Minhas Craft Brewery, who has been with the company for
seven years, shares with Beverage World three fun facts
about this historic brewery.
1. Ravinder Minhas, 27, and sister, Manjit Minhas, 29,
could be the youngest, as far as Olson is aware, brewery
owners in the world. The pair took over as principal own-
ers in 2006 having previously been the brewery’s largest
contract account. Olson relays that Ravinder saw an oppor-
tunity to offer a quality beer in Canada at a lower price
point. “Canadian beer is typically more expensive than
American beer because it’s taxed higher; there are just a
few players in the Canadian marketplace and that’s kind of
the story of their success and why they own the brewery
now—they were able to sell beer,” says Olson.
2. Minhas Craft Brewery sits on seven acres of land and
in addition to a guest house that was recently built on the
complex, the brewery is in the process of opening a muse-
um, hosting a rotating beer exhibit courtesy of Herb and
Helen Haydock, of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., who have one
of the largest collections of beer memorabilia from around
the world, Olson says.
3. During Prohibition, the brewery brewed near beer,
sold ice cream and even rented out the cellars that weren’t
being used to store cheese.
Today, the focus is back on beer. The brewery released a
new craft beer line in the summer of 2008 including Lazy
Mutt, a wheat-based farmhouse ale, a red ale called Swiss
Amber, a pilsner called 1845 Pils and Billy Bock, a bock beer.
“Our goal is to hit over 300,000 barrels,” Olson says.
“That’s the volume we expect to be doing once we become
the brewery we think we are going to become, that is, a
world-class brewery and production center.” BW
BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
 [UPCLOSE]

Taking Care of Business

Reinvesting in the business has kept Saratoga Liquor Co. at the top of its game.
By Andrew Kaplan

A
third-generation, family- distributors or being able to
owned spirits and wine stay in the forefront of technol-
distributor based in ogy. We also have some great
Superior, Wis., Saratoga people, and very, very little
Liquor Co. is celebrating its 75th turnover. We have several
anniversary this year. It was 20-year-plus employees and we
founded shortly after Prohibition live in an area where we’ve
by Morley Smith, the great-grand- always been fortunate to find
father of Morley Smith III, who is people with diverse back-
still involved with the company. grounds that have been loyal
The $35 million company has 65 » and work hard and bring
employees and covers 19 counties SARATOGA’S MANAGEMENT TEAM includes (l to r) owner Skip Smith, some great experience to the
COO Mike Streveler, CFO Sandy Bergerstrom and owner Bruce Smith.
in northwest Wisconsin. Recently, table. We also try to give back
Beverage World spoke with Mike Streveler, COO and VP to the community as much as we can. BW
sales and marketing.

Beverage World: What is your territory like?

Mike Streveler: The biggest metro area we service is Eau
Claire/Chippewa Falls. But our territory is very unique in
that we have much more landmass than we do population.
So it’s a tough climate to do business in because we have a
lot of licensees in northwest Wisconsin with many miles in
between. It’s kind of a logistics nightmare when about 70
percent of our business is done in about 25 percent of our
area.

BW: Which brands do you carry?

MS: We carry spirits, wine, non-alcoholics and also have
some malts. We are not a beer house per se, but we do han-
dle a few specialty beers as well as some specialty malt
products like Bartles & Jaymes and Jack Daniels Country
Cocktails. On the spirits side, we represent Diageo, Brown
Forman, Pernod, White Rock and just recently Sazerac. On
the wine side, we’re a Gallo house, we have the Icon portfo-
lio of Constellation, WJ Deutsch and Sons, Coppola and
others and several of the more highly allocated wines as
well. Premium spirits is what over the past ten years has
driven the business as well as some of those highend wines.

BW: To what do you attribute the company’s 75 years?

MS: One of the biggest things has been the willingness
and the ability of the family to put the profits back into
the company, which has allowed us to make moves that
we needed to whether it was in the past buying other

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_75

[UPCLOSE]
Sunny Outlook
Ormond Beach, Fla.-based S.R. Perrott sets the bar for superior execution and
customer service with an ever-growing beer portfolio. By Heather Landi
A
s far as jobs go, it would be hard to say that
selling beer near beautiful Daytona Beach
doesn’t have its perks, but that doesn’t
mean the folks at S.R. Perrott, Inc. don’t
take their jobs seriously. A female-owned beer dis-
tributor based in Ormond Beach, Florida, S.R.
Perrott has garnered numerous supplier awards,
including a dozen Miller Brewing excellence
awards and seven awards from Coors Brewing, for
its outstanding performance.
According to Michele Connors, president of S.R.
Perrott, the company earns these accolades by
working hard to satisfy each supplier’s needs. “We just want
to be No. 1 with them,” Connors says. “We deal with 66 brew-
76_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009
»
MICHELE CONNORS, CEO of S.R.
Perrott, is the second generation
to run the company.
eries and 548 SKUs and
one winery with six SKUs;
we take care of business.”
Founded in 1962 by
Samuel and Mariette
Perrott, the family-run
business is now into its
fourth generation of the
family being involved in
the operations. A MillerCoors distributor, the company’s beer
supplier partners include Heineken, Fosters, Pabst Brewing
Co., Boston Beer, Guinness and Yuengling while continuing
to expand its portfolio with the acquisition of craft and
import brands. The distributor now carries Kirin, Sapporo,
InBev and High Falls Brewery brands as well as an import-
ed wine brand from Italy.
The company sells approximately 3 million cases a year
in a 360-square-mile area that stays busy year-round, yet sees
spikes in business during big events like the Daytona 500.
“Those big bumps represent about 30 percent of our
business,” Connors notes.
With an ongoing goal of being No. 1 in the marketplace,
the company strives to grow its market share each year,
with the ambition of eventually reaching a 40 percent mar-
ket share. Connors credits the dedication of the company’s
employees and the spirit of teamwork that pervades the
company for the distributor’s continued success, despite
the current economic downturn.
“We’re analyzing deliveries and we’ve gone to almost 60
percent bulk loading. We’re always analyzing the bottom
line and that takes a lot of teamwork,” she says.
The largest female-owned employer in the Ormond
Beach area, S.R. Perrott has the unique distinction of hav-
ing women in most of the key management roles.
“I think we bring a caring side to the table,” Connors
says of the management team.
Looking ahead, S.R. Perrott has plans to build a new
warehouse facility on 15 acres in order to keep up with its
portfolio expansion. “My long-term goal,” Connors says, “is
to see my children have a continued leadership role in the
business and teach them the ropes.” BW
BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
 [UPCLOSE]

Maine Attraction
Nappi Distributors continues to build on its reputation as one of Maine’s most
successful beer and wine wholesalers while looking to the future. By Heather Landi

A
third-generation, family-
owned distributor, Nappi BW: Your company recently moved into a
Distributors based in new 155,000-square-foot warehouse. How
Gorham, Maine has has this improved operations?
grown into one of Maine’s largest FN: This building, the way it was construct-
beer and wine wholesalers. Three ed, was to be as green as possible. All the
brothers, Frank Sr., Nick and Sam lighting, heating and cooling are as effi-
Nappi, followed in their father’s cient as possible. Our old facility was actu-
footsteps and started the distribu- ally seven buildings and it was extremely
tion company in 1960. difficult to work out of, especially as we
The company has steadily grew. The new facility has a truck drive-
grown through a series of strategic thru area for loading and fleet dock areas
acquisitions with other Maine dis- »
FRANK NAPPI JR. continues to run the operations
and we have a new wine mezzanine pick-
tributors and continual facility up- started by his father and two uncles. ing system, which improves accuracy. BW
grades. In 1979, Nappi purchased
York Bottling Co., which doubled the company’s territory
and sales. The company purchased Dirigo Distributors in
1985 and Cumberland and York Distributors in 2002. Frank
Nappi Jr. now serves as president of the company and
Beverage World spoke with him and Elmer Alcott, chief
financial officer, about the company’s strategy for success.

Beverage World: What are Nappi’s keys to success?

Elmer Alcott: We’ve got a very diverse portfolio. The broth-
ers (Frank Sr., Nick and Sam) worked hard to obtain new
brands like Corona and Sam Adams and they sold Wild
Irish Rose, which grew into Constellation Brands, the
largest wine company in the world. They saw the coming
trend for craft beer and picked up all they could.
Frank Nappi, Jr.: Our major suppliers are MillerCoors, Sam
Adams, Pabst, Crown and Guinness and we carry a lot of
Maine-based microbrews such as Shipyard, Geary’s,
Allagash and Sebago. We have 600 beer SKUs and 3,500
wine SKUs from suppliers such as Constellation Brands,
Kendall Jackson, Banfi, Wine Group and Diageo.

BW: What makes Nappi unique?

FN: I would have to say the people. We have a lot of dedi-
cated, loyal people who have been here 20-plus years and
it’s the family atmosphere. The family is known in south-
ern Maine as being synonymous with the beer business.
EA: We take care of our employees. No employees of
acquired distributors were terminated, instead we grew
into the number of people we employed.

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_77

BEVSOLUTIONS
distribution • packaging • production • r&d • sales & marketing • supply chain

BEST PRACTICES

Warehouse Wish List

Experts offer 10 things that can improve the operations in a beverage facility.
by andrew kaplan

A
s a companion piece to this issue’s Distributor’s Toolbox
report, we thought we’d focus a bit more on that nexus of
the supply chain—the warehouse. So we asked some
experts if they could build a warehouse from the ground up in
2009, which factors would they take into consideration? Here are
some of their responses.
1. Location. This, they say, is perhaps the most critical piece employee time,” says Sanker.
because of the need for good in- and outbound transportation
services. Transportation comprises, for a beverage distributor,
up to three-quarters of logistics costs. “If you focus only on
warehousing, you’re missing the real story because the driver
of costs is going to be transportation,” says Dan Sanker, presi-
dent and CEO of logistics service provider CaseStack (Santa
Monica, Calif. and Fayetville, Ark.).
2. Labor availability. Once you’re in a market that might
look like a good central location, make sure it also has ware-
housing-trained skilled labor. Experts say this is not always
easy to come by.
3. Height matters. Make sure the height of the building is
enough that it offers you enough flexibility to change your
racking and storage options with your product mix. “If you
have a lot of height, and you use it right, and you rack it
properly, you can fit more in a building,” says Sanker.
4. Plentiful dock doors. When things get really busy, it’s
important to be able to move product in and out as smoothly standards,” says Humphlett.
as possible. So make sure the facility has plenty of dock doors.
5. Be flexible. It can seem easier to
create a layout for your warehouse
and then leave it at that, instead of get-
ting preoccupied by all the little fires
you need to put out each day. But put
aside time on a firm schedule to reeval-
uate the layout of your facility. “An
analysis of your building layout can
save you money on energy and hourly
6. Choose a sensible racking and storage system. You
want to have multiple-sized racking systems in the same
building for the multiple different-sized pallets you want to
be able to accommodate.
7. Install a voice or light-directed picking system. If you
haven’t already, this minimizes the amount of time your
employees spend looking for product. And time is money.
8. Install a task or labor management system. Such a sys-
tem, says Mark Humphlett, Infor’s director of product market-
ing - supply chain, will answer such questions as how much
labor do you need throughout the different areas of your
warehouse, based upon the upcoming activities for the day
or the week ahead? And it goes even further, actually assign-
ing the next tasks for specific workers resulting in a boost in
efficiency for your operation. “It keeps all that information
up to date and compares it with reasonable expectancies as
far as how much time it should take, or engineered labor
He continues, “Labor is such a huge portion of the cost

INSIDE BEVSOLUTIONS
PRODUCTION DISTRIBUTION
In-house PET manufacturing Some important tips to help you
becomes a more viable solution. choose a good liftgate.
PAGE 80 PAGE 89

78_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

 80 are using those labor resources across all those
74% Strategies for Best-in-Class different tasks to get the most out of those
This chart reveals how the practices of Best-in-Class sup- resources in the warehouse.”
65% ply chain companies are based on a philosophy of continu-
ous improvement. Many Best-in-Class companies have
9. Use RFID. Radio frequency identification
60 already implemented a WMS and have been able to align systems are being applied to a variety of differ-
operations with their overall business goals, and their ent tasks in the warehouse, from directing lift
focus is now on continuing to improve. trucks to track and trace of products as they enter
40 and leave a facility. RFID still has some trouble
35% accurately tracking caseloads of liquid product,
31%
28% but the technology is continuing to improve.
10. Sustainability. Those who incorporate sus-
20 19% 18% 19%
16% tainable practices into their operations are see-
12% ing real benefits. Explains Sanker, “If we can
All Best-in-Class make the processes or the buildings or whatever
0 we’re doing sustainable, then we are taking
Implement Improve visibility Make greater use Create more Make better use of waste out of the system, we’re becoming more
more efficient to warehouse of warehouse agile, flexible warehouse space
warehouse activities and automation warehouse to through more effi- efficient. And, as a result of less waste, you can
processes inventory and keep up with cient use of existing
order status rapid changes storage mediums make more money.” Sustainability can be as
simple as building your warehouse near public
SOURCE: ABERDEEN GROUP’S “FIVE STEPS TO OPTIMIZING WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT”
transportation; installing skylights in your roof;
painting the warehouse roof white for tempera-
associated with working in a warehouse and the margins are ture control or installing low-flush toilets to reduce the
somewhat thin, so you really need to understand how you amount of water that is used. BW

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BEVERAGEWORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_79

 BEVSOLUTIONS
[PRODUCTION ]

IN-HOUSE PET MANUFACTURING

PET Can Offer Added Value

In-house PET manufacturing becomes a more viable bottling solution for two international
beverage companies. By Jennifer Cirillo

N
o matter what aspect of the production process a Today, the Turkish bottled water market is seeing double-
beverage company is focusing on, reliability, flexi- digit growth and Nestlé Waters estimates that the market
bility and profitability are three things that cross will grow 20 percent in volume by 2011. According to
the minds of those behind plant operations. When Nestlé Waters, this growth is “related to evolving lifestyles
analyzing the manufacturing of PET in-house, choosing the and consumer expectations as the average standard of liv-
best turnkey provider is a thoughtfully made decision. ing increases within the population.”
There are a number of To better handle the vol-
operators out there that ume increase, Nestlé Waters
offer blow molding and Erikli has invested in a line
complete solutions for PET from Sidel, equipped with a
manufacturing. Here are Combi that integrates blow
two supplier case studies molding, filling and cap-
showcasing international ping functions. “We chose
beverage companies that the Sidel Combi for the
have implemented solu- level of hygiene it ensures
tions from Sidel and KHS and for Sidel’s expertise in
that have made in-house blow molding, equipment
PET manufacturing more productivity and package
commercially viable. lightweighting,” explains
Record Speed at Nestlé Nestlé management.
Waters Erikli: Founded in Currently, Nestlé
1965 by the Aslanoba fami- Waters Erikli, with
ly, the Erikli company bot- five plants, produces
tles spring water from 1.2 billion liters of
Mount Uludag in Turkey. In water a year in a vari-
1993, the company decided »
PREFORMS FOR MAKING ety of PET formats.
to invest in a new plant to non-refillable PET bottles for Non-Refillable PET
Maltin are directly conveyed
bottle its water in PET, as to KHS’ InnoPET Blomax for Maltin: Cervecería
opposed to glass. By doing stretch blow molder with 14 Polar, the biggest
cavities.
so, the company gained a brewery group in
strong presence in the retail Venezuela, invested in
and home and office delivery channels in Turkey, a KHS turnkey line for
which eventually resulted in the company becom- Maltin, the company’s
ing a leader in the Turkish PET bottled water market holding alcohol-free malt beverage, because of “the trend towards the
15.6 percent share of sales. The Nestlé Waters Group took non-refillable PET for soft drinks,” explains Joaquin Tresselt,
over Erikli in 2006, and today looks to future production technical director of Cervecería Polar.
growth. Since June 2008, Nestlé Waters Erikli, based in As a non-alcohol malt beverage, Maltin is competing with
Bursa, Turkey, has been running a Sidel line equipped with a a number of other soft drinks in the marketplace, 60 percent
Combi 34, seven days a week, 24 hours a day to package of which are sold in a disposable PET bottle. With the new
61,200 PET bottles (0.33 and 0.5 liter) per hour—a new KHS PET line for Maltin, Cervecería Polar is able to meet the
record in Europe and Asia, according to Sidel. growing demand for malt beverages in PET bottles.

80_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

 »
THE MAIN DISPOSABLE bottle used for
Maltin is a 1.5-liter PET. In Venezuela,
it’s considered to be the typical family-
size bottle. In the Innopack SP 060 V,
the PET bottles are first distributed into
lanes and divided into specified product
groups by a servo-controlled grouping
unit; Nestlé Waters Erikli, based in
Bursa, Turkey, runs a Sidel line equipped
with a Combi 34, seven days a week, 24
hours a day to package 61,200 PET bot-
tles (0.33 and 0.5 liter) per hour—a new
record in Europe and Asia, according to
Sidel.

Currently, Maltin is being filled in 1.5-liter and 0.5-liter

PET bottles. The main disposable bottle used for Maltin,
however, is the 1.5-liter PET, which in Venezuela is the typ-
ical family-size bottle. KHS’ line equipment is designed to
handle 22,000 0.5-liter disposable PET bottles per hour or
15,428 1.5-liter PET non-refillables per hour. The system
also can process other types of PET bottles offering
Cervecería Polar flexibility.
The non-returnable PET bottles are produced inline
by an InnoPET Blomax stretch blow molder with 14 blow
stations. The preforms are fed to the blow molder and
heated in the machine oven according to a precisely
specified heating profile. In the blow stations, the preforms
are then stretched and simultaneously inflated with
compressed air. The finished PET bottles are turned and
then transferred to the Innoline LTR air conveyor. It was
important to Cervecería Polar that the blow molds could
be changed within a minimum amount of time for
product changeover. The InnoPET Blomax 14 has thus
SIDEL PHOTOS BY PATRICK BOULEN

been equipped with the Speed-Loc quick-change system,

designed to guarantee that mold pairs and bases can be
switched in a short time, in turn promoting the efficiency
of the line.
“The important thing for us is the outstanding results we
achieve with this new KHS turnkey line with regard to
product quality—and the great flexibility of the line that
makes us fit for the future,” Tresselt says. BW

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
REAL
TASTE
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soft drinks.
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BEVSOLUTIONS
[PRODUCTION ]
CHASERS
Dubai to Host Beverage Meeting
The Arab Asian Beverage Meeting (AABM) is slated in conjunc-
tion with Dubai Drink Technology Expo for Dec. 6-8, 2009 with
the support of the UAEMinistry of Economy and the Federation
of UAEChambers of Commerce and Industry and in collabora-
tion with Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (JAFZA) and the
Department of Naturalizations and Residency in Dubai as a
strategic partner of the event.
The event will focus on promoting the latest drink processing
and packaging systems, light machinery, equipment used in the
process of manufacturing, treatment, filling, supply, packaging,
transport, preservation and distribution of beverages. The
AABM is the first forum specialized in beverage and technology
to be organized in the Middle East. drinkexpo.ae
The 1,000th Variopac Sold
In September 2009, Krones AG, Neutraubling, Germany, will be
delivering its thousandth Variopac packer. Ten years ago the
first Variopac was commissioned
for VMH Rosbach, a bottler of
mineral water. In just 18 months,
100 machines had been sup-
plied to clients for packing
cans, glass or plastic containers.
The Variopac shrink-wrapper
for non-returnables soon
became available to handle
high-speed production ranges
of up to 100 cycles per minute.
In 2007, the Variopac got a new
name—Variopac Pro, which is now available in the global mar-
ket in the following versions: TFS (tray-film-shrink), PFS (pad-
film-shrink), FS (film-shrink) and T (tray). krones.com
Diageo Enhances Perfect Plant Program
Diageo looks to Informance International to drive manufactur-
ing performance in its plant facilities in Relay, Md. and
Plainfield, Ill. The global spirits, wine and beer company lever-
ages Informance solutions and advisory services to support its
Perfect Plant Program with elements for the operating system
foundation. Diageo uses Informance to monitor and measure
manufacturing performance. Then the manufacturer bench-
marks operations performance to identify improvement oppor-
tunities. With Informance IMPACT, Diageo can develop action
plans based on probability of success.
“The Informance pilot effort that led to the deployment in
Plainfield was an eye-opening experience, exposing the extent
of minor interruptions on our production lines,” Ish Ahamed,
vice president supply, Diageo Plainfield. informance.com
¬2)$#¬0ARK¬7EST¬$RIVE¬s¬0ITTSBURGH¬0!¬¬s¬53!
0HONE¬1-800-LANXESS¬OR¬

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INFO LANXESSCOM¬s¬WWW0ROTECTEDBY0REVENTOLCOM

SWEETENER ALTERNATIVES
Naturally Sweet
Beverage developers are exploring new alternative sweeteners or combining them with
mainstream high-intensity sweeteners to hit the right sweet note. By Heather Landi
I
f the IFT show in Anaheim, Calif. in June was any indi-
cation, sweeteners derived from natural sources, Reb-A,
for example, will be the next hot ingredient popping
up in mainstream beverages. Many exhibitors at the
Institute of Food Technologists’ Annual
Meeting and Food Expo showcased the latest
sweetener innovations that offer beverage
developers what many consider the “holy
grail” of sweeteners—natural, zero-calorie and
a sugar-like taste.
Several exhibitors at the IFT show high-
lighted Reb-A stevia sweeteners, including
Wild’s OnlySweet, Enliten from Corn
Products International, Cargill’s Truvia,
Sweet Green Field’s high purity Reb-A 97
percent and PureCircle, a supplier of high
purity Reb-A.
Ever since the Food and Drug
Administration granted Reb-A
(Rebaudioside A) Generally Recognized as
Safe (GRAS) status in December 2008, there
has been a whirlwind of new product devel-
opment activity as beverage companies take
advantage of the sweetener’s potential.
Derived from the leaves of the South America
stevia plant, Reb-A is a stevia extract that’s 350 to 450
times sweeter than sugar, according to Sidd
Purkayastha, Ph.D., technical director, PureCircle.
The GRAS status means Reb-A can be used as a general
purpose sweetener at 95 percent purity or higher. While ste-
via has been available in the US for years it was only FDA
approved as a dietary supplement. Reb-A sweetener is calo-
rie-free and temperature and acid stable, allowing it to be
used in a wide range of beverage products.
The Coca-Cola Company and Pepsi both announced new
product launches or reformulations of beverage products
soon after the FDA approved the sweetener. Pepsi launched
Trop50, an orange juice with 50 percent less sugar and calo-
ries, and three flavors of enhanced water brand SoBe
LifeWater with PureVia, a stevia-derived sweetener developed
by The Whole Earth Sweetener Co. Coke introduced Sprite
BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
BEVSOLUTIONS
[ R&D ]
»
SPRITE GREEN is one of numerous new product launches
containing a Reb-A stevia sweetener. Trop50 and SoBe
Lifewater contain PureVia, a branded stevia sweetener.
Green and two Odwalla juice drinks with
Cargill’s Truvia rebiana natural sweetener.
GLG Life Tech, a supplier of high grade
stevia extract, provides Cargill with Reb-A
for the development of Truvia. Zevia, the
first carbonated soft drink on the market
to feature stevia as a sweetener, recently
reformulated its products using GLG Life
Tech’s Reb-A stevia extract to enhance the
drink’s taste profile.
High grade stevia extracts have
several flavors issues, according to Greg
Horn, senior director, Sweetener
Technology, Wild, including delayed
onset in exhibiting the sweetness coupled
with a lingering sweetness.
“The stevia extracts also have a
slight bitternesss. Like all high intensity
sweeteners, they lack mouthfeel that
caloric sweeteners provide. The delayed onset in
sweetness is especially problematic in beverages
since the sweetness/acid balance is changing as
your drink. The tartness from the acid is quickly
tasted before the stevia’s sweetness is perceived,”
Horn says.
Formulating with Reb-A may require the use of flavor
modifiers, depending on the purity level (95 percent versus
98 percent) and many ingredient suppliers offer taste or
flavor modifiers to help resolve these issues. Kerry
Ingredients and Flavors offers flavor modulation technology
that can mimic the intensity and mouthfeel of sugar to get a
full flavor profile with stevia. Wixon developed Mag-nifique,
a taste modifier that enhances sweetness and reduces the
lingering aftertaste of stevia and Givaudan is developing
flavor masking technology to enhance the overall taste
performance of stevia.
Wild offers stevia blends with its Taste Modification
Technologies, which were designed to provide upfront
JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_83
 BEVSOLUTIONS
[ R&D ]
sweetness, cut the lingering sweetness
and eliminate the bitterness of stevia
while providing mouthfeel, Horn says.
Reb-A also can be blended with caloric
and non-caloric sweeteners for a syner-
gistic effect that reduces stevia’s after-
taste and provides fuller mouthfeel.
For instance, Zevia also contains ery-
thritol, a natural sugar alcohol, to help
overcome some of the stevia extract’s
bitterness. Vitaminwater 10 contains a
combination of crystalline fructose, another natural sweeten-
er, and stevia extract. According to Stacey Walton, senior
food scientist, Tate & Lyle, crystalline fructose rounds out
the sweetness profile of beverages by adding up front sweet-
ness and improved mouthfeel. Tate & Lyle markets Krystar
Crystalline Fructose, which exhibits a sweetness synergy
when blended with many nutritive and non-nutritive sweet-
eners and has high solubility. Sweeter than sugar, it can be
»
ALL SPORT ZERO was formulated with a stevia-based
sweetener to enhance its health and wellness platform.
used at a lower level than sugar while
meeting consumers’ interest in natural
beverages, Walton says. It’s also low calo-
rie and low glycemic.
“Beverage developers can increase the
health and wellness profile and lower the
sugar content of their beverage by com-
bining Krystar Crystalline Fructose with a
high-intensity sweetener, like Splenda
Sucralose, to deliver a lower-sugar product. Krystar also has
been shown to enhance or intensify fruit, spice, chocolate,
caramel and other sweet flavors,” she says.
PureLo is another non-caloric, natural sweetener that’s
gaining ground as its highly stable, soluble and is 300 times
sweeter than sugar. Derived from the Luo Han Guo fruit,
PureLo has been affirmed as a GRAS food ingredient and
was developed by BioVittoria. BW
 BEVSOLUTIONS
[ PACKAGING ]

LIGHTWEIGHTING

Less is More
Don’t call them lightweights! They are helping beverage companies save face,
and money. By Andrew Kaplan

A
t last year’s Beverage Forum in New York City, Kim dent, 4sight Inc. “We created swooping lines of varying thick-
Jeffery, CEO of Nestlé Waters North America, shared nesses in an uplifting visual motion that travel from the
with the audience how his company had reduced lower left to the upper right in the mid section.”
the weight of its packaging by 40 percent. And, he For Honest Tea, having a package that is environmentally
said, that was just the beginning. sensitive augment’s this organic brand’s overall eco-con-
In the 12 months since then, container lightweighting has sciousness. The RTD tea company became the first this past
caught on like wildfire in May to adopt Graham Pack-
the beverage sector. Stung aging’s new Escape bottle,
by criticism about wasteful what it says is the lightest
packaging—criticism that weight bottle in the smooth-
has led some municipalities walled, hot-fill category. “As
to ban the sale of bottled a company we have a very
water in government build- high commitment to mini-
ings—beverage marketers mizing our environmental
are fighting back by literally footprint,” says Seth
doing more with less. Goldman, president and
And it is not just water in TeaEO of Honest Tea. “Our
PET. Glass bottles are get- packaging has always been
ting lighter, as are cans, car- our biggest challenge in that
tons and even secondary regard. This is the single
packaging. In fact, closures largest improvement we’ve
are even shedding a few ever taken in terms of
ounces, too. reducing our environmental
According to PepsiCo’s impact.”
most recent sustainability »
THE NEW PROPEL BOTTLE makes new inroads when it comes to lightweighting PET Paul Kelley, senior engi-
report, the company saved and label materials. neering manager for PET
nearly 6 million kilograms R&D at Graham, says,
of packaging in 2008 and cut annual greenhouse gas emis- “We’re taking about 20 percent of the weight out of the con-
sions by 18,000 metric tons with adoption of a 20 percent tainer.” The Escape is 6.5 grams lighter than the PET bottle
lighter half-liter PET bottle with a 10 percent smaller label Honest Tea was previously using. “It takes fewer resources to
for Aquafina flavored waters, Lipton Iced Teas and Tropicana make the bottle and fewer resources to transport the bottle,”
juice drinks. Kelley says.
And just recently, PepsiCo went one step further, introduc- After the bottle is filled and capped, it goes through a
ing a lighter weight, eco-friendly package for its Propel fit- CMA, a “continuous motion activator,” a machine that inverts
ness water. The newly launched bottle was designed by the base, which takes up the vacuum in the bottle and cre-
4sight inc., a structural branding and packaging firm in New ates a slight overpressure. “This process gives the bottle a
York City. The bottle uses 33 percent less plastic than the rigid feel, like glass, but it’s lighter,” says Phillip Sheets, sen-
previous 500-ml bottle and 30 percent less label material. ior project manager for Graham Packaging. “There’s no struc-
“Using dynamic, uplifting form elements throughout the bot- tural waste—no hoop rings or backing panels,” Kelley adds.
tle, we reinforced a theme of water in motion with a sense of Honest Tea also has partnered with Georgia Pacific (GP) to
energy reflecting the Propel brand,” says Stuart Leslie, presi- lightweight the secondary packaging for its Honest Kids

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_85

 2
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 BEVSOLUTIONS
[ PACKAGING ]
»
HONEST TEA’S secondary
packaging for its Honest Kids
line cuts down on the use of
more than 1,000 tons of
material while also reducing
CO2 emissions.

drink pouches market-

ed at Sam’s Club
stores. The new pack-
aging features one litho
corrugated B flute box
for all 24 pouches.
According to GP, the new
packaging is 41 percent lighter, is
made with 35 percent post-consumer waste
and the handle is made with 45 percent post-consumer
waste. It annually reduces fiber use by 1,200 tons, elimi-
nates 2,600 tons of carbon dioxide emissions and saves
nearly 12,369 BTU of energy per year.
Even Tetra Pak says it is finding ways to reduce the
amount of material in its cartons. “In 2006 we introduced
a new generation of packaging material that provides
greater security against leakage and reduces its use of
polymers by up to 35 percent of the inner layer,” says
Ivano Selmi, vice president Tetra Pak Carton Value and
managing director Tetra Pak Packaging Solutions. “This
thinner polyethylene inner layer makes the package
lighter, increasing the percentage of renewable content.”
Selmi adds that they are also working on a second genera-
tion of closures that will contain up to 15 percent less
plastic.
Much headway is also being made in lightweighting
glass. Fetzer Vineyards, one of the largest US wineries, has
been working with O-I to lightweight its 750 ml and 1.5L
wine bottles. Another glass company, Vitro Packaging, is
also offering lighter bottles. “The basic process is on redis-
tribution of glass and cooling during the process,” says
Horacio Trujillo, marketing manager. “All this is done by
reducing the walls of the glass container and in case of the
wine reducing the size of the punt of the bottle, but at the
same time maintaining the strength of the container.” (See
Beverage World June 2009 for more on glass lightweight-
ing.)
And what better way to close then with closures?
Considerable work is being done in lightweighting clo-
sures. For example, the low-profile Aqua-Lok mini closure
from Closure Systems International (CSI) cuts resin con-
sumption 40 percent versus a standard 1844 26-millimeter
closure for PET water bottles. Savings stem from the short-
skirt design of the cap and the bottle finish, the company
says. BW

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
 BEVSOLUTIONS
[PRODUCTION]
OPERATIONS OBSERVATIONS
Progressively PET
by john peter koss
P
ET (polyethlyeneterephtalate)
plastic containers appeared in
the beverage packaging market
during the 1980s with empha-
sis on the 64-ounce bottle. Reasons
were broad and varied ranging from
cost effectiveness, replacement for
returnable glass and material handling
issues in plant and retail areas.
Having been involved in initial
design stages for the body/base cup
configuration, the main issues became
container production and cost. What
would the design configuration be and
who had the capability of producing
the container? This meant starting from
scratch with injection and blow mold
designers and manufacturers, resin type,
content and suppliers, container specifi-
cations including finishes and closures
and acceptance among franchisees and
parent companies. The main issues
immediately became production capa-
bilities, capacities and costs.
Strategies were developed that estab-
lished third party manufacturers as the
source of PET bottles; however, injec-
tion and blow molding capability for
this type of material and container had
to be developed. Two entities were
needed to complete the PET bottle
manufacturing cycle: 1) the mold man-
ufacturer and 2) the bottle producer.
Mold manufacturers with some capabil-
ities enhanced existing molding tech-
nologies, improved knowledge bases
and provided feasible production plans.
However, all mold manufacturers didn’t
necessarily produce plastic bottles;
therefore, other production sources had
to be established. With mold develop-
ment and production sources made
ready, PET bottle specification develop-
88_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009
ment was accelerated to meet planned
marketing schedules. This PET bottle
production scenario has existed for some
time with some variation; however, sig-
nificant impacting changes have occurred.
PET bottle sizes now range from 8
ounce to 3 liter in either standard or
proprietary configurations. Although
28mm and 38mm finish and closures
prevail, other “top of the bottle” designs
are used. The most significant design
change has been the resin reduction in
the bottle body. The resin reduction
and a one piece bottle have been two
cost effective measures taken.
The cost issue is still pending: How
economically can you produce a PET
container? Many studies have been
conducted considering upsides and
downsides to self-manufacture of PET.
The results have prompted many large
beverage producers into a self-manufac-
turing mode for PET containers. In this
scheme, producers are provided with
flexible manufacturing capability, cost
benefits, potential over capacity sales
and better control of material.
Even though PET bottles, in any con-
figuration, size or package have
received varied viewpoints and opin-
ions, they have been in a progressively
operating mode for almost 30 years.
Such constant progress has benefitted
the producers, retailers and consumers
and will continue to do so. BW
John Peter Koss, a beverage operations
advisor, has more than 45 years of
beverage business experience asso-
ciated with General Cinema Beverages,
Carling Brewing and Pepsi-Cola. He
was an assistant professor of
industrial engineering at Kent State
University. Contact him at
Tel: 305.829.3631; Fax: 305.829.2484
IN BRIEF
Packaging E-Training
Launched by PMMI
PMMI has launched "Troubleshooting
Packaging Machinery," an online self-
study course open to all packaging pro-
fessionals. The e-course is offered
through PMMI U, PMMI’s training and
development effort.
Developed in
cooperation with
the University of
Florida,
"Troubleshooting
Packaging Machinery," presents entry-
level theory, process and logic of trou-
bleshooting and applies them to pack-
aging operations. It is designed to help
technicians improve observation, think-
ing and communication skills and
become more effective in finding
sources of and solutions to machinery
problems on the packaging line.
Materials in the online course are
based on PMMI’s technical manual of
the same name. The online service
brings principles of troubleshooting to
life with animation, video and interac-
tive exercises. It teaches a logical
approach to troubleshooting, so a tech-
nician understands what questions to
ask—and why —to locate the most like-
ly cause of a problem before making
adjustments or repairs.
Students can access the course at
their convenience, and because it is
online, they can move at their own
pace, focusing the bulk of their time
and effort on the sections they find
more challenging or less familiar. Short
quizzes following each unit ensure stu-
dents understand the material before
moving to the next topic, and a mas-
tery test at the end assesses each par-
ticipant’s understanding of the subject
as a whole. pmmi.org/pmmiu/
BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
 BEVSOLUTIONS
[DISTRIBUTION]

FLEET EQUIPMENT

Need A Lift?
Here are some important tips for choosing a liftgate. By Tom Kelley

A
s SKU counts grow exponentially and other market says Brent Jones, service & warranty manager for Holland
forces cause loading and routing strategies to be re- Liftgates.
evaluated, more and more distributors are looking Peter Collins, VP of sales & marketing for Waltco Liftgates,
at fleet changes to gain a competitive edge. says, “We’ve worked with a cart supplier to develop an auto
One of the more visible changes is the emerging trend of cart stop that acts as the ramp when the gate is on the
favoring bulk (dry-box/dry-van) bodies and trailers, over the ground, but as soon as the gate is about four inches above
more traditional side-load beverage trailers and bodies. In the ground, it becomes a cart stop.” While a distributor may
our 2009 Truck Trends survey, side-loaders were still in the not adopt a cart delivery system concurrent with the move
majority, but dry van to bulk trailers/bod-
trailers took the top ies, selecting a lift-
spot in future pur- gate that is compati-
chase plans. ble with both pallets
The problem with and carts will allow
moving to bulk bod- for “future-proof”
ies and trailers is that growth.
most delivery loca- 2. It’s important to
tions do not have have some “breathing
loading dock facilities room” in the liftgate’s
available. The answer specifications.
to this problem is the Ordering a 5,500-
addition of a liftgate pound capacity gate
that uses an electro- to move 5,500-pound
hydraulic powered loads, means the gate
platform to move will always be oper-
loads between the ating at 100 percent
»
trailer/body floor and LIFTGATES offer flexibility for moving loose of capacity, wearing
cases/barrels, palletized loads, or the increasingly
ground level. A lift- popular cart systems that expedite product handling on all of the gate’s
gate can pay huge from the warehouse to the store shelf. Larger systems much faster
rail/column style liftgates such as this Maxon BMR
dividends in Series are a popular choice among beverage distrib- than 5,500-pound
increased productivi- utors; (inset) Retention ramps such as those shown loads on a 6,600-
on this Holland DH Series liftgate are compatible
ty, reduced product with both carts and pallets. pound capacity gate.
damage and reduced According to Arnold
driver injuries. Here are few tips for fleet managers to follow Kowal, technical support manager for Maxon Lift, “I would
when choosing a liftgate. always put in at least 10 to 20 percent of capacity headroom.
1. When choosing a liftgate, it’s important to know not only I don’t think that’s a matter of over spec’ing, but rather one
the types of loads it will move today, but also the loads it may of proper spec’ing.”
move as your delivery operations evolve. Retention ramps are 3. At the spec’ing stage, making the choices that will
compatible with both carts and pallets, but a manual reten- ensure sufficient amperage and voltage reaches the liftgate
tion ramp can take more time to operate than a cart stop. is the key to trouble-free operation. Proper alternator ratings
“We use a 24-inch retention ramp on our platform to keep on the truck/tractor, enough of the proper batteries and
the load angle shallow for use with an electric pallet jack, proper feeder wiring, all play a role in delivering the power
making it easier to move the load on and off the platform,” required by the liftgate.

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_89

 BEVSOLUTIONS
[DISTRIBUTION]

»
AN AUTOMATED CART STOP such as this configuration offered on the Waltco
WDV Series liftgate saves the step of latching/unlatching a manual cart stop or
retention ramp.

On trailer installations, the liftgate is usually powered by

a dedicated battery pack, so these batteries can be optimized
for the liftgate’s needs. On a straight truck, however, the
battery pack is usually shared by the truck’s existing electrical
system and the liftgate. Batteries that are good at providing
the short burst of power to start the truck, aren’t as good at
providing the sustained power needed by the liftgate, so a
compromise between battery characteristics is required.
4. Corrosion protection of the liftgate's components is
both an aesthetic and maintenance concern. The liftgate
platform is subject to considerable abrasion, from pave-
ment below and product/equipment above, so the finish-
ing process needs to mitigate corrosion spreading from the
inevitable scrapes and scratches. Maxon offers an optional
zinc rich epoxy urethane hybrid primer, MaxPro Z+, that
acts as a sacrificial anode in the case of a break in the
outer barrier of the finish.
5. Preventive maintenance is the next step in mitigating
potential headaches. Here again, the electrical side of the
liftgate’s systems is critical. Maxon Lift’s Kowal says,
“Battery voltage testing should be done at least once per
year. Any bare terminal connection should be cleaned of
any corrosion, re-tightened and treated with a protective
coating that will prevent further corrosion. Electrical con-
nectors should be disconnected, treated with dielectric
grease and reconnected to prevent airborne moisture from
causing corrosion from the inside.”
6. The final step to ensuring trouble-free liftgate opera-
tion is in the hands of the driver. Nobody should operate
the liftgate without having thoroughly read the operator’s
manual. Knowing the safety precautions and operating
limits of the liftgate are absolute requirements.
Part of the driver’s daily pre-trip inspection of the truck
should include testing the gate through its full operation cycle
before leaving the warehouse. It’s much easier to replace a
battery at the warehouse than it is when the liftgate is stuck
in the down position in a customer’s lot across town. BW

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
 BEVSOLUTIONS
[DISTRIBUTION]

FLEET OF THE MONTH

Beer Mountaineers
Top equipment and team effort keeps the cold ones coming at Colorado’s top ski resorts.
By Tom Kelley

F
or many distribution fleets, the perils
of making deliveries are fairly mun-
dane, but when the market area being
served includes a number of North
America’s top ski resorts, bad road condi-
tions, inclement weather and extreme ter-
rain are an everyday part of the job.
The Littleton, Colo. branch of Standard
Sales employs specialized equipment, highly
trained drivers and a flexible routing strate-
gy to serve such a market in the mountain
areas of Colorado. The Littleton branch is
one of Standard’s nine distribution centers.
The others are located in Odessa, Lubbock
and San Angelo, Texas; Colorado Springs,
Pueblo and Alamosa, Colorado and Olive »
STANDARD SALES’ Littleton, Colo. branch uses extensive
Branch and Corinth, Mississippi. Standard’s training and a team effort to keep trucks intact and deliveries
corporate offices are located in Odessa. on time in the precarious mountain terrain outside of Denver.
Members of the team include (l to r) Jeff Perizzolo, driver;
Today, Standard employs more than 400 Matt Campbell, operations/fleet manager; Corey Johnson,
people, and is one of the largest beer distrib- driver; Tom Tuffield, brand manager/safety team captain;
Glen Johnson, general manager; Chris Wafford, safety manag-
utors in the United States. er/route supervisor and Daniel Doerr, driver.
The Littleton branch serves the south
Denver metro area as well as the “front range” and mountain more urban areas of Colorado. With Colorado Springs locat-
areas west of Denver. “Our sales region is Standard’s largest ed one hour south of Littleton, and Pueblo another hour far-
territory and the most challenging geographically in which ther south, the transit time spent just getting to routes would
to deliver, particularly during the winter months,” says Matt make a single distribution center impractical.
Campbell, fleet manager for the Littleton branch. “Our trucks Serving the ski resorts brings a seasonal variation in vol-
must handle pulling loads up hills and passes with 6 to 8 ume. The peak season volumes of more than 130,000 cases a
percent grades.” month for the Littleton branch can drop to as little as 80,000
Standard employs a multi-branch strategy to serve the cases per month in the off-season. Between the dramatic sea-
sonal changes, and still significant day-
to-day changes, the company’s routing
Standard Sales Co. - Suppliers/Brands Palmer (PacLease) strategy is dynamic by necessity.
Represented: Anheuser- Route Supervisor/Safety According to route supervisor Chris
FIGURES

Littleton, Colo. Branch Busch InBev, Monster,

FACTS &

Manager: Chris Wafford

Wafford, “On any given day in the off-
Founded: Littleton, Colo. Hansen’s Brand Manager/Safety Team
Branch - 2004; Parent Delivery Area(s): southern Captain: Tom Tuffield season, we may combine two to three
Company - 1954 metro Denver & mountain HR Manager: Pam Duzanica routes in the mountains and foothills
Annual Volume: 1.2 million areas of Colorado together. Some days we only have nine
cases Warehouse Location:
Annual Sales: $20 million Operations Executive/Fleet Littleton, Colo. out of 11 routes running, saving 20
Total Employees: 47 (15 Manager: Matt Campbell percent of our fuel consumption for
drivers) Shop Manager: Rodger the day.”

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_91

Graciously Sponsored by
Thank You!
Beverage World would like to thank all attendees, sponsors and speakers
that helped to make the 4th Annual BevOps/Beverage Fleet Summit an
educational and enjoyable experience for all.

We look forward to seeing you again in 2010.

Graciously Sponsored by
 BEVSOLUTIONS
[DISTRIBUTION]

FLEET MAKE-UP
Type Quantity Primary Brand(s)
Pickups 6 Chevrolet
Campbell relies on a full-service leasing Straight Trucks 1 Kenworth T270 w/ Hackney
package from PacLease for his trucks and 8-Bay Side Load
trailers. With one of Denver’s two
Medium Tractors 3 Kenworth T300
PacLease locations on the south end of
town, the mechanics can get to Heavy Tractors 9 Kenworth T800
Standard’s location quickly to perform Route Trailers 15 Hackney 18-Bay Side-Load
smaller repairs on-site, enabling delivery
schedules to stay on time.
Even under the best weather condi-
tions, serving the mountain area requires specialized equip- the mountain driving and the winter driving, together there’s
ment. While many fleets are able to use the medium-duty a lot to learn. It’s a long process of them being on the trucks,
Class 7 tractors to pull the larger side-load trailers, most of watching the other driver, then when they feel confident,
Standard’s Littleton trucks are heavy-duty Class 8 Kenworth they take a turn driving.”
T-800 tractors, ranging from 350 to 475 horsepower, geared Passing along the strategy that has kept Standard’s
to run at freeway speeds on the mountain grades when Littleton team safe and successful in a hostile environment,
loaded. Tuffield says, “Extensive training of our guys has helped out
Between the terrain and the weather, extensive driver and benefitted us in the long run, it has saved us more
training is a key element in Standard’s success formula. money than anything else. We’re not fixing trucks that are
Campbell explains, “Almost all of our training is hands-on in just smashed up on the side of the road, or having a guy not
the truck. New hires usually start off as a helper on the route knowing how to shift and tearing the transmission out.
with our existing drivers to get familiar with driving in the People can never have enough training, and that’s what we
mountains in the wintertime. You’re addressing two things, try to pride ourselves on and strive for.” BW

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World Trade Center Miami presents
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November 9-10, 2009
Miami Beach Convention Center
12TH AMERICAS FOOD & BEVERAGE SHOW & CONFERENCE
Come to Miami to See and Taste over 5,000 Specialty Foods & Beverages

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Contact: 305-871-7910 or afb@worldtrade.org for more information and assistance with your visas.

IN BRIEF
New vehicle tracking
system unveiled
Networkfleet, Inc. has unveiled
the soon-to-be-available
Networkfleet 4200, a low-cost
GPS vehicle tracking system for
commercial and government fleets.
The new system is designed for
fleets that need reliable location
tracking, but do not require the
patented remote engine diagnostics
offered by the Networkfleet 3500
wireless fleet
management sys-
tem. Both prod-
ucts use the
same full-fea-
tured, user-
friendly Web-
based application
to provide access
to vehicle infor-
mation.
The
Networkfleet
4200 gives
fleets a vehicle
tracking system
that includes a rugged, automotive-
grade device backed by
Networkfleet's full service and sup-
port. The company says the 4200,
designed by Networkfleet's experi-
enced telematics engineering group
and built in the U.S., is tamper evi-
dent and hermetically sealed, allow-
ing it to withstand harsh environ-
ments. Additionally, Networkfleet
says, the 4200 works on all vehicles
and is built to pass SAE J1455 certifi-
cation, an industry standard for
electronic equipment design in
heavy-duty vehicles.
The Networkfleet 4200 will be
available for purchase immediately
following the completion of external
network certification processes,
which are estimated to be finalized
in the middle of the third quarter
of 2009.
BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
ROAD WAYS
Half Empty, Or Half Full?
by tom kelley
L
ately, there has been no shortage
of bad news for fleet managers,
but to paraphrase Winston
Churchill, somebody who saw
more than his share of tough times, a
pessimist sees adversity in every oppor-
tunity, and an optimist sees opportunity
in every adversity.
With equipment sales just now
beginning to find the bottom of a
months-long free-fall, dealers and man-
ufacturers are more willing than ever to
wheel and deal on new trucks and trail-
ers. As fleets in more volatile segments
of the economy fall on hard times, used
equipment can be acquired for a frac-
tion of its original cost. Most repair
shops are similarly affected by the
slowdown, so there may be huge bar-
gains to be had on that overhaul or
paint-job that was originally scheduled
for next year.
Perhaps more importantly, the cur-
rent economic adversity also encour-
ages the fleet manager to look inwardly
to cut waste and inefficiency from
delivery operations. When times are
booming, a fleet’s focus naturally tends
to shift toward meeting increased
demand, but when business slows, both
the time and the incentive to improve
operations are present.
Rather than cutting new
equipment purchases, now is the
time to take advantage of bargain
prices on equipment that can make
serious improvements to both customer
service and the bottom line. Recently
in these pages, we’ve looked at
optimization practices that can result
in delivering more product while
running fewer miles, and the shift to
bulk bodies and trailers that enables
BEVSOLUTIONS
[DISTRIBUTION]
an increasing variety and volume of
products to be delivered with fewer
trucks.
Every mile that isn’t driven and every
truck that can be eliminated, without
reducing customer service, is that much
less fuel that needs to be purchased, at
prices that are about as stable as a
Michigan weather forecast.
Even though today’s trucks are
cleaner than ever, there is still some
level of public belief that reducing
vehicular CO2 emissions will have a
positive benefit, so it’s in a fleet’s
best interest to track, document and
publicize any significant reductions in
fuel consumption and the resulting
exhaust emissions.
Rather than cutting a dispatcher’s
hours if deliveries are down, maybe
now is the time to put his/her
analytical skills to work performing a
fleet energy audit. Not only does
this provide the data needed to publi-
cize the fleet’s “green” efforts, but it
also can create a new awareness of the
dispatcher’s ability to impact energy
consumption in typical day-to-day
dispatch decisions.
Look around your fleet’s equipment
and operations. What can you improve
now, that you didn’t have the time to
address 18 months ago? Take the opti-
mist’s view and find opportunity in
adversity. BW
Truck industry journalist Tom
Kelley is a former fleet manager
who now travels throughout North
America to stay on top of the latest
products, strategies and trends for
efficient and reliable fleet
operations.
JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_95
[BEVSOURCE]

New Products
Blow Printer Applicator
Tharo Systems, Inc.’s latest
addition to its product line of
print-and-apply systems is the
PA2000t/b Tamp/Blow Label
Printer/Applicator. With or
without a computer attached,
the PA2000t/b Tamp/Blow can
print and apply labels, the
company says. It has the abili-
ty to apply labels to convex,
concave or flat surfaces, on
either the top or side of a
product. The adjustable prod-
uct sensor stops the Tamp Pad
between 0.5 and 2 inches from
the product—from there the
label is blown on, according
to the company. tharo.com
Performance Audit Program
FKI Logistex is offering a performance audit program for
its sliding shoe, linear belt and pop-up wheel sortation
equipment and systems, including the UniSort product
line. The audit is designed to reveal cost-efficient ways
to optimize system capacity and throughput, improve
equipment utilization and extend system life.
fkilogistex.com
Dispensing Closure
Bericap “Transatlantique” dispensing closure has
been developed and designed to launch a brand
new premium product “Le Fruit de Monin” on the
smoothie market sold in cafés, hotels and restau-
rants. This closure, according to the company,
offers ergonomic and comfortable design allow-
ing a one-hand opening in a fast-serving bottle
with constant flow and automatic closing to
ensure continuing product integrity.
bericap.com

Four-Hose Tap
The Octopus Tap is a multi-
spout beer tap (four hoses) that
provides a 300 percent increase in flow
with the High Capacity Hand Pump, according to
the founders, longtime friends Cody Payne and Ryan Welch.
The Octopus Tap is made from rustproof 303 Stainless Steel or
4 Port Noryl Plastic. octopustap.com

Pallet Washer
Thiele Technologies, Inc.’s pallet washer is designed to unstack
individual pallets from a stack, wash them and restack the cleaned
pallets. Allowing stacks up to 14 pallets high, the pallet washer
cleans up to five pallets per minute, automatically removing con-
tamination from all areas of a reusable plastic pallet, reducing odor
and the potential of disease due to bacteria build-up, the company
says. The Thiele pallet washer has an optional PLC and touch
screen that shows diagnostic information, allowing operator inter-
face. thieletech.com
3D Safety
Pilz Automation Safety L.P. is offering SafetyEYE, a camera
system for three-dimensional safety monitoring, for factory
and non-factory automation. SafetyEYE is the basis for a
technology that detects objects in a three-dimensional
zone and alters a robot or a machine’s movement to pre-
vent accidents. Developed by Pilz in conjunction with
DaimlerChrysler, SafetyEYE places a customized 3D protec-
tive cocoon around a danger zone with a single system,
which has the potential to replace a multitude of two-
dimensional sensors currently in use today. pilzusa.com

96_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

 [CLASSIFIEDS]
FOR SALE

Technical Beverage Services

tbsparts.com • 800-289-6527
Vent Tubes and Components
• Crown
• Simonazzi
•H&K
• Krones
• Meyer
All SS tubes are
electropolished!
Great prices, fast lead times. Not just a shop,
WE KNOW FILLING!

Buy, Sell or Trade 201b or 501b CO2 gas cylinders

in test. Used fountain dispensing equipment,
5 gallon stainless steel syrup tanks
reconditioned with stainless steel lids.
Call for prices 800-642-9124, ask for Mel ext. 112
or www.quick@vinelandsyrup.com
P.O. Box 1326, Vineland, NJ 08362-1326.

ADVERTISE TODAY! • CONTACT US!

US BEVERAGE
J-Cor Trailer Sales COMPANY
“Your Premier Dealer of Liftgate Trailers” For Sale--Company Name--in
business for 20 years, since 1988.
No activity in 2009.
Contact Al Burke, US Beverage
Company, at 1.903.757.2168 or
email: aburke@cablelinx.com

Liftgate Trailers for Bulk/

Cart Operation
Advertise in Beverage World’s
Contact: Corey North at Classified Section!
770-954-3215 (office) or
JcorTrailers@bellsouth.net Call us today @ 1.646.708.7300
www.jcortrailers.com

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_97

[CLASSIFIEDS]
HELP WANTED WANTED TO BUY ADINDEX
Action Air 50
Advance 79
We buy all food & beverage BB&T 50
BERICAP North America 86
CLOSEOUTS Beverage Marketing Corporation
BevOps Fleet Summit
36 - 37
92 - 93
out of code/overruns/pkg Big Systems 53
changes we export cans/ Bond Beebe Accountants & Advisors 71
bottles/dry/frozen B.R. Miller & Company 51
Central Beverage Company 56
Jon at Wham Foods CHEP 28 - 29
Ph (954) 649-7857 Closure Systems International 5
jon@whamfoods.com Deacom 32 - 33
Dr Pepper Snapple Group 59
Elite Storage Solutions 35
AMERICAN WHOLESALE CO. Encompass Technologies 73
McCLAIN RECRUITING SERVICE: We are In need Environmental Systems 54
of job candidates for all positions in the NEW/USED WALK-IN-COOLER-FREEZER-BOXES
beverage industry. Please send resume and salary REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS-EQUIPMENT. First Beverage Capital 9
Large Inventory, All Sizes
information to Dianne McClain, or Brian Cupp at • Buy • Sell - Nationwide
General Motors Corporation 2
208 Bethel Drive, Salisbury, NC 28144. Wholesale Prices Great River Economic Development Foundation 58
Telephone: 704-638-9710, Phone: 216-426-8882 • Fax: 216-426-8883
www.awrco.com Group Hesse 77
Fax: 704-630-0754. All information confidential.
Email: Gotomcclainrecr@AOL.com Halvor Lines 75
Heineken USA 65

$$$ $$$ John Koss

KHS
59
74
LOOKING TO BUY FINISHED Krones AG 17
PRODUCTS OR RAW MATERIALS.
JUDGE INC Labrada Nutrition 100
• short-coded
• discontinued LANXESS 82
An Industry leader for over 35 years • overstocked
with a strong concentration in food/beverage Call Jerry at (847)947-6128 Lujack’s Northpark Auto Plaza 63
manufacturing. Maxon Lift Corporation 90
Contingency or Retained search • VP Messe Muenchen 45 - 47
Eng./Mfg./Quality • Plant Mgrs/Quality Mgrs • Michele & Group 76
Warehouse/Distribution Mgrs • Engineers -
Plant/Process /Project /Etc • Maintenance
Be Seen Online! MillerCoors 55, 73
National City/PNC 67
Managers/Supervisors • Production
Supervisors//Quality Supervisors • Sanitation
Supv/Mgrs
Call us today @ Navistar
Nestlé Waters
65
52
To submit resumes or engage searches please 1.646.708.7312 Northeastern Pennsylvania Carton Company 4
contact: Kristin Gordon Padgett-Young & Associates 67
Associate Vice President, Judge Inc Page, Scrantom, Sprouse, Tucker & Ford P.C. 51
888-819-3916,ext. 1322 Fax:904-998-0966 PMMI/Pack Expo 25
kgordon@judge.com • www.judgeinc.com

http://www.judgeinc.com/brochure/
CONTRACT PACKAGING Powell Walton Milward Insurance
Power Trip Beverage
49
7
Food_Flash/food_flash.html Presidente USA 23
Rechtien International Trucks 24
ROHA Natural Food Colours 84
Sidel Corporate SAS 81, 87
PACKAGING Swisslog 13
CO PACKER The Beverage Forum 2009 41
SYRUPS - Energy drinks and fruit juices. 11/2, 3 and 5 Hot fill Juice & Beverages Truck Country 63
gallon BIB Can, Glass & PET Call about sizes VPX Sports 11, 15, 19
BARBECUE SAUCES - Gallons, BIB or Buckets
KETCHUP - BIB
Way Service 69
Contact: Dodson Galloway
Welchs 16
We private label. Call for prices. Over 45 years in busi- 956-585-8321
ness. Contact Mel at Vineland Syrup., Inc. Vineland, NJ Mission,Tx 78572 World Trade Center Miami 94
1-800-642-9124 email:dodson@tcxjuice.com Worldwide Food Expo 99
www.vinelandsyrup.com• quick@vinelandsyrup.com Zambelli USA 61

98_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

QUENCH YOUR
THIRST FOR
INNOVATION
In a market like this, you need to operate at peak performance.
Beverage processors need every advantage they can get. Today,
your biggest opportunity lies in innovation. At the Worldwide Food
Expo, you’ll see how new technologies can address today’s hot
topics — from trends and ingredients to food safety, sustainability
and how to “green” your operations and packaging. This is the
one event that encompasses the entire dairy, food and beverage
production process from beginning to end.
So go ahead, quench your thirst and better your bottomline.

WHERE THE DAIRY AND FOOD INDUSTRY COME TOGETHER

OCTOBER 28–31, 2009 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS McCORMICK PLACE

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MOVING AT THE SPEED OF INNOVATION

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