Coke Canada Bottling opens largest centre in western Canada

Coke Canada Bottling inaugurates a new 230,000-sf sales, warehouse, and distribution centre in Richmond, B.C., with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by local dignitaries and company executives.

Parm Bains, MP for Steveston—Richmond East, Aman Singh, MLA for Richmond-Queensborough, and Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie were on hand for the festivities, along with local employees and leadership representatives from Coke Canada Bottling.

The company has invested $18 million on this centre, which it announced in 2022, as part of an overall investment of over $42 million in its capabilities in the City of Richmond. The centre is now home to 250 employees.

The new facility consolidates the strengths and capabilities of several locations, formerly throughout the Lower Mainland, into one. The facility plays a crucial role in supplying product to Coke Canada’s customers on the Sunshine Coast, Whistler, the Lower Mainland, and Hope. Additionally, it serves all seven of Coke Canada Bottling’s distribution centres in British Columbia and all of western Canada, for several packages. It is the company’s largest sales, warehouse, and distribution centre in western Canada, and contributes to helping the company drive long-term growth in the region.

“To be the leading beverage partner in Canada, we know we must invest in our strategic infrastructure, so that we can grow by advancing our role as valued customer partners,” said Mark Scholtes, COO, Coke Canada Bottling. “As a relatively new business, in our first six years of operations we’ve announced capital investments of over $230 million, including more than $42 million in our Lower Mainland operations. Investments like this help us as we continue to grow our local footprint and set us up for long-term success here in the Richmond community.”

Coke Canada Bottling’s $42 million investment in the Lower Mainland also involved $24 million in a new PET line at its Richmond manufacturing facility. New blow moulding capabilities at the facility allow the company to blow bottles in-house from preforms rather than transporting fully formed bottles.