RICHMOND - Governor Mark R. Warner today announced that The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc., the world's largest manufacturer, seller and distributor of Pepsi-Cola beverages, has chosen Wythe County as the location for a new 300,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art bottling facility. The new project ultimately will create about 200 jobs through a $65 million investment. Virginia successfully competed with West Virginia for the project.
“I am pleased to confirm this significant investment in Wythe County – the second in the county this week,” said Governor Warner. “Pepsi’s decision to locate a bottling facility in the Commonwealth attests to our positive business climate. The company will benefit from this strategic Southwest Virginia location at the crossroads of I-77 and I-81.”
The Pepsi Bottling Group is the world's largest manufacturer, seller and distributor of Pepsi-Cola beverages. Generating about $8.5 billion in annual sales, the company operates in the United States, Canada, Greece, Mexico, Russia, Spain and Turkey, accounting for more than 60 percent of the Pepsi-Cola beverages sold in North America, and about 40 percent of the Pepsi-Cola system volume worldwide. The new Wythe County bottling plant will employ such positions as merchandisers, forklift and machine operators, lab technicians, administrators, production supervisors, and managers.
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the Mount Rogers Partnership (Virginia’s aCORRIDOR), and the Crossroads Regional Industrial Facility Authority (RIFA) assisted Pepsi Bottling Group with its decision. The Virginia Department of Business Assistance will provide workforce training services. The Virginia Department of Transportation will assist with road access funding.
“We are excited that a company of The Pepsi Bottling Group’s caliber recognized the strategic benefits of our crossroads location for its manufacturing and distribution needs,” said Wytheville Mayor Trent Crewe. “Investment in regional cooperation through the Crossroads RIFA has yielded another major dividend.”