Coca-Cola UNITED announces plan to postpone Bainbridge closure; associates will retain jobs, customers not impacted

Published 2:59 pm Friday, April 10, 2020

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Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Inc., announced today that it will be postponing the closure of its Bainbridge facility due to the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bainbridge facility, which was acquired by Coca-Cola UNITED in late 2017, was scheduled to close on April 24, 2020 but this action has now been delayed until an undetermined date. Customers in Bainbridge will not be impacted and will continue to receive the highest levels of service from the Coca-Cola team.

“While we remain committed to our strategy of strengthening our customer service and operations, the health and well-being of our associates and their families – as well as serving the immediate needs of each community – is our company’s top priority at this time” says Allen Smoot, Division Director for Coca-Cola UNITED’s Deep South Division, which includes South Alabama, West Georgia and Northwest Florida. “I want to express my sincere appreciation to every associate for their support and dedication to continue our operations in response to this extraordinary challenge. Know that we remain committed to our associates, our loyal customers and the Bainbridge community as we face these uncertain times.”

All associates working in, and all customers currently receiving their product deliveries from, the Bainbridge facility will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Coca-Cola UNITED is considered an “essential business” in the support of our communities and our customers during this time of need. 

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Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Inc., founded in 1902 and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is the second largest privately held Coca-Cola bottler in North America and the fourth largest bottler of Coca-Cola products in the U.S.  Now with its fifth generation of family working in the business, Coca-Cola UNITED has approximately 10,000 associates located in more than 60 facilities across six southeastern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee).  Historically significant franchises within our Coca-Cola UNITED family include Chattanooga, the world’s first Coca-Cola bottler; Atlanta, home of the worldwide Coca-Cola System; and Columbus, Georgia, development site of the original Coca-Cola formula.

Coca-Cola UNITED is engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of a diverse portfolio of leading sparkling (Coca-Cola®, Diet Coke®, Coke Zero Sugar®, Dr Pepper®, Sprite® and Fanta®) and still (smartwater®, Dasani®, POWERADE®, BODYARMOR®, Fairlife®, Gold Peak®, Monster® and Minute Maid®) non-alcoholic brands under exclusive franchise agreements principally with The Coca-Cola Company® and Keurig Dr Pepper®.

For more than 117 years, Coca-Cola UNITED has remained true to its foundational core values of: Quality, Excellence, Integrity and Respect.  Local relationships, personalized customer service, and strong community engagement have been the foundation of our business for more than a century.  Each year, millions of dollars are invested in our local communities, supporting education, community development and nonprofit organizations that empower and impact those in need.