Plans Announced to Build New $8 million Facility in Panama City

-Will Enhance Service to Customers and Benefit Employees-

Birmingham, Ala.  (January 12, 2021) – Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Inc., (“UNITED”), announced today plans to build a new $8 million sales center in the Cedar Grove Commerce Park in Panama City, Florida.   The newly constructed facility will house a sales and distribution center, warehouse, fleet maintenance operation and administrative offices.   Customers in the Florida Panhandle located in Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gulf, Liberty and Washington Counties will be served out of this facility.

“When Panama City became a part of the UNITED family in 2017, we made a commitment to employ, serve, refresh and invest in the Emerald Coast area,” said Bo Taylor, Vice President of Coca-Cola UNITED’s Central Region, which includes the Florida Panhandle.  “Following Hurricane Michael, which devastated this community and caused severe damage to our existing facility, we moved quickly to assess opportunities for making a positive, long-term impact for our associates, our customers, our consumers and this community.”

While Coca-Cola has been distributed throughout the area for more than a century, Birmingham, Alabama-based Coca-Cola UNITED, acquired the Panama City distribution territory in 2017. The existing sales and distribution facility, located at 6130 Bayline Drive, employs approximately 80 associates, and we anticipate that associates will transfer to the new facility when it is fully operational by the end of 2021. Plans call for the new 24,000-square-foot sales and distribution center to include 18 loading docks and to distribute close to three million cases of beverages annually.

“This location, with access to Highway 231 and Highway 98, brings us closer to our customers and will provide a more efficient and pleasant working environment for our associates,” said Paul Corbin, Coca-Cola UNITED’s Panama City Sales Center Manager. “I am honored to lead our team of highly-motivated associates who are committed to our customers and our communities throughout the Emerald Coast”.

“We are very excited to welcome Coca-Cola UNITED to Cedar Grove Commerce Park,” said Dan Velazquez, Senior Vice President of Commercial Real Estate for The St. Joe Company. “The commerce park has received significant interest over the past few years, and we are thrilled to see a prominent operator come into this location.”

— Stand UNITED –