Beverage World - 07 Jul 2009

07Cover1c:SPRING INDEPENDENT.qxd 7/10/09 10:00 AM Page 1

»Special Report: Distributor’s Toolbox JULY 15, 2009

INTELLIGENCE FOR THE GLOBAL DRINKS BUSINESS

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.

©2009 GM Corp.

WE’RE THE DEALERSHIP.

[

JULY2009

Volume 128 • Number 7 • Issue 1800

]

FEATURES 20 26

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.

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

8 SABMiller to Reduce

Emissions • PepsiCo Opens ‘Green’ Plant in China 14 New Beverages 18 Market Metrics

UPCLOSE WITH...

48 BOCCCHO 52 Bay Area Beverage Co. 53 Beer Capitol 56 Beverage Alliance 57 Refreshment Services Pepsi

72 High Country Beverage 74 Minhas Craft Brewery 75 Saratoga Liquor 76 S.R. Perrott 77 Nappi Distributors

60 Epic Enterprises 62 Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co. of Davenport

64 Burke Distributing Co. 66 Matesich Distributing Co. 68 Del Papa Distributing Co. 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 years, $189.00/three years. Single copies: $10.00; Canada: $99.00/one year, $159.00/two years, $209.00/three years, Single copies: $15.00; All other countries: $159.00/one year, $229.00/two years, $279.00/three years. Single copies $15.00. Periodicals postage for Beverage World paid at Chicago, IL, and additional mailing offices. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608, Canada Returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Beverage World, Subscription Services, P.O. Box 2054, Skokie, IL 60076.

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JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_3

[

JULY2009

Volume 128 • Number 7 • Issue 1800

]

DEPARTMENTS CONTINUED BEVSOLUTIONS Supply Chain 78 The Warehouse Wishlist

R&D 83 Sweetener Alternatives Packaging 85 The Latest on Lightweighting Distribution 89 LiftGate Tips 91 Fleet of the Month: Standard Sales—Littleton, Colo.

PLUS

6 Editor’s Note 88 Operations Observations 95 Road Ways 96 BevSource: Supplier News & New Products

97 Classifieds 98 Ad Index

TO REQUEST A SUBSCRIPTION Production 80 In-House PET Manufacturing 82 Chasers

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[EDITOR’SNOTE] Toasts & Spills 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 how many years. You’ll have to friend me on Facebook to learn that!) Such 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 student-run newspaper. (Shout out to The Daily Targum!) As editorial page editor of the paper I got to compile the weekly “Laurels & Darts” column, which essentially gave the thumbs up or thumbs down to whatever was going on that particular week. So in the spirit of nostalgia (and summer), I’ve decided to do a beverage version of “Laurels & Darts” (But to avoid a lawsuit from Targum Publishing Co., we’ll call it the more liquid-oriented “Toasts and Spills”). A big Toast goes to the Brewers Association for another successful Savor: an American Craft Beer & Food Experience. I was lucky enough to attend the inaugural event last year and the 2009 edition, both in Washington, D.C. A sell-out crowd packed D.C.’s National Building Museum to pair fine food with beers from the nation’s finest craft brewers. It was once again a highly classy sipping-and-mingling event with subdued music, insightful conversation and interactive education (both at the brewer tables and the salons). I really hope this continues as an annual event. Heck, I’d vote for semi-annual. The lone Spill I will bestow in this edition kind of makes me feel a little dirty. Being a fairly green-minded person, it’s always difficult to condemn anything with an eco-sensitive proposition. However when those entities rely on propagandistic scare tactics to sell a product, it’s time to speak out. In its marketing campaign, the EcoCanteen, a portable reusable container to be filled by tap/purified water, resorts to misleading sky-is-falling histrionics to sell a few bottles. (“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 complaint against the campaign, so we’ll see how it Jeff Cioletti, editor-in-chief plays out. [email protected] Let’s end on a positive note, shall we? Last month the Big Apple played host to the firstever New York Sake Experience Week, celebrating Japan’s most famous contribution 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 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 6_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009

BEVERAGEWORLD Kevin Francella, Group Publisher Beverage World +1.646.708.7327 [email protected] EDITORIAL Jeff Cioletti, Editor-In-Chief +1.646.708.7303 [email protected] Andrew Kaplan, Managing Editor +1.646.708.7301 [email protected] Heather Landi, Senior Editor +1.646.708.7302 [email protected] Jennifer Cirillo, Associate Editor +1.646.708.7307 [email protected] ART Rosanna Bulian, Art Director +1.646.708.7312 [email protected] CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Michael Bellas, Tom Kelley John Koss EDITORIAL RESEARCH Joy Francesconi +1.978.299.3499 [email protected] PRODUCTION Jeff Carlson, Production Manager +1.312.447.5112 [email protected] E-MEDIA Amanda Westbrooks, Website Manager +1.312.447.5107 [email protected] GROUP DIRECTORS Barbara Killeen, Director of Operations and Research +1.646.708.7325 [email protected] Erin Fiden, Group Marketing Director +1.312.447.5103 [email protected] Delane David, Director of E-Media +1.312.447.5106 [email protected] SALES DEPARTMENT Jeff Blanch, Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Sales Director +1.203.739.0775 [email protected] Lisa Adams, Midwest/West Sales Director +1.773.871.0757 [email protected] Gabriele Fahlbusch, Europe +49.202.271.6915 [email protected] Antoinette Cantwell, Advertising Sales Coordinator +1.646.708.7315 [email protected]

200 East Randolph Street, 70th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601 Kevin Francella, Chief Operating Officer +1.646.708.7327 [email protected] 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 [email protected] SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES +1.847.763.9627 [email protected] LIST RENTALS Postal, Bart Piccirillo, +1.845.731.2768 [email protected]; Shawn Kingston, +1.845.731.3828 [email protected] COPYRIGHT CLEARANCE CENTER +1.978.750.8400 copyright.com BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

BEVBEAT news and analysis on a changing market

MARKET UPDATE

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

The new target relates to the fossil fuel emissions generated from energy used within SABMiller’s on-site operations. “Climate change is an issue of growing global concern; with likely impacts on weather patterns, water availability and crop yields our business will feel direct effects,” says Graham Mackay, SABMiller CEO. “Our new strategic approach to reduce fossil fuel gas emissions per unit of product will allow us to contain our emissions by 2020, despite growth in production volume. This follows our commitment last year

to reduce our water consumption by 25 percent per hectoliter of beer by 2015—a target towards which we are already making progress.” The company also is committed to reducing carbon emissions within its value chain. For example, SABMiller’s Colombian business, Bavaria, invested $145 million to implement ‘super returnable’ bottles, which have a reduced carbon impact. These are lighter, shaped to reduce wear during transportation and have a special film to protect the surface of the glass, meaning they can be used

twice as often—around 40 cycles instead of 20. The company’s most recent announcement, which was made at the end of June, came with the launch of SABMiller’s Sustainable Development report for 2009, which also details some of the steps that are already being taken around the world to achieve the emission reduction goal. These include: » CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 • The Czech busi-

INSIDE BEVBEAT

MARKET UPDATE

Check out photos from the second edition of Savor: An American Craft Beer and Food Experience. PAGE 12

8_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009

BEVERAGE ROUND UP

Named after the family dog, Margo’s Bark Root Beer offers consumers a naturally sweetened root beer. PAGE 14

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ONE REDEYE/PHILIP MEECH

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.

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 Chairman & CEO

First Beverage 310-481-5101 | www.firstbev.com

Sean McLaren President

First Beverage Financial Advisors 404-442-8760

[BEVBEAT] SABMiller to Cut Fuel Emissions » CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

Pepsico to Open ‘Green’ Plant in China As part of s $1 billion investment effort, PepsiCo opened its first overseas “green” plant in China last month in the western city of Chongqing. The state-of-the-art beverage facility reinforces PepsiCo’s ongoing strategy to expand in emerging markets and broaden its portfolio. PepsiCo plans to fund a variety of major capital programs to grow its manufacturing capacity in China, particularly in interior and western areas. Over the next two years, the company expects to open five beverage manufacturing plants in Kunming, Zhengzhou, Quanzhou, Lanzhou and Nanchang. “Despite the current uncertainty in many parts of the world, we have no doubt that China will remain a powerful engine of global economic expansion,” says Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo chairman and CEO. “This is the largest, most ambitious development effort we’ve undertaken in our more than 25 years of doing business here.” The Chongqing plant is the first “green” beverage plant built in China to comply with the sustainable engineering standards known as Leadership in Energy and NOOYI 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 landscaping 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

SABMILLER is incorporating sustainability efforts across its global brewing operations.

IN MEMORIAM Walter Dunn, a former CocaCola executive who was credited with pioneering sports marketing for The Coca-Cola Company by his peers, died of cancer June 22 at the age of 86 in his home in Atlanta. After spending 40 years working in various positions for The Coca-Cola Company and its bottlers, Dunn retired in 2000 as the senior vice president and special assistant to the chairman’s office. Though his career with the company was extensive, he was best known for leading Coke’s prestige accounts department.

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

PHOTOGRAPHY (TOP) COURTESY OF NEWSCAST; WALTER DUNN PHOTO COURTESY OF THE DUNN FAMILY

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 businesses to measure performance and progress against its 10 Sustainable Development priorities. The results will be contained in an interactive online tool on its website sabmiller.com.

»

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 environmental projects. • SABMiller India has invested in renewable energy sources such as agricultural waste, including rice husks. In May 2007, a boiler fired by rice husks

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]

2

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.

1

3

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 managing 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

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 packaging 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 longterm 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, 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 deleveraging program, allowing us to rationalize capital while retaining those facilities that remain most relevant to our beer business.” BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

PHOTOS (TOP) BY CRAIGE MOORE

People News

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 portfolio,” 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

increasingly turns to the web to view its favorite television shows, Malibu has developed web films that will appear on video sites such as Hulu.com and Fox.com. The bowling-themed videos, created to encourage some laughs, promote Malibu Island Bowling, a mobile phone application that allows you to bowl “island style” with a melon. The game will be available online on the Malibu website, as well as other sites including Facebook.com. “Melon appeals to both men and women and is a natural extension for the brand

that truly melds with the essence of Malibu,” adds Johnson. “In testing, consumers chose the melon flavor as having the best fit with the Malibu trademark and ranked it at, or near, the top in terms of uniqueness and Caribbean spirit. Malibu Island Melon represents a new opportunity to build awareness with consumers and help our trade partners increase sales.” Malibu Island Melon is available in 1.75-liter, 1-liter, 750ml and 50ml sizes. The suggested retail price for the 750ml is $12.99. malibu-rum.com

Exotic Energy

Classic to Contemporary

Power Trip Beverages adds a coconut flavored energy drink to its expanding roster of vitamin 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 popularity 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

New Amsterdam Straight Gin pays homage to the Dutch origins of gin while taking a contemporary cue from The Big Apple—New Amsterdam being the former name of the original Dutch settlement that is today New York City. With a distinctive 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

14_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

NEW SUPER POTENT 2-OUNCE SIZE

[BEVBEAT] Red Stag Brings Flavor

Fruit for the Day Fruit2day from Hero-WhiteWave is a drinkable and edible fruit snack with real fruit bits in the bottle that is designed to provide natural fruit nutrition. Fruit2day is made with a combination of real fruit pieces, fruit puree and fruit juice without any added sugar or preservatives. It packs in two servings of fruit and antioxidants in 6.75 ounces with 110 to 120 calories, depending on the flavor combination: Cherry Grape, Mango Peach, Pineapple Banana and Strawberry Orange. The suggested retail price for each two pack is $3.79. fruit2day.com

16_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009

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 distinctively fruity, describes the company, without disguising the nose of Jim Beam Bourbon. The 80-proof Red Stag has a suggested retail price of $17.99, and is available in 50ml, 750ml and 1-liter bottles. beamglobal.com

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

Jones Gets Functional Jones Soda Co. partnered with Mitsubishi Corp. and Pharma Foods International to introduce Jones GABA, a beverage they say improves mental focus, balance and clarity, while reducing stress. The tea-juice blend gets its name, and functionality, from PharmaGABA, the natural form of GABA (gammaaminobutyric acid), a popular ingredient in Japan. It is available nationally in Fuji Apple, Lemon Honey, Nectarine and Grapefruit. Single serve 12ounce cans contain 150 mg of PharmaGABA and retail for $2.99. It is 100-percent natural and ranges from 80 to 90 calories. jonesgaba.com

Root Beer With Bark Margo’s Bark Root Beer grew out of Oscar Youd’s elementary school science fair project. Named after the family dog Margo, a rescued black lab-pit bull mix, 100 percent of the proceeds benefit shelter and rescue dog organizations. Available in 12-ounce glass bottles, it is an all natural cane sugar root beer with no preservatives. SRP is $1.30 to $1.35. margosbark.com

Life is liquid. (3)

Every. Gram. Counts.

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 chemicals. New York-based Crop Harvest Earth Co., makers of Crop, says it is distilled in such a way that no carbon treatment or charcoal filtering is required. Crop is available in artisanal vodka, cucumber and tomato. Available in all major markets, the SRP for the product is US$28.99. cropvodka.com

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

Hall B6

Accounting for a hefty 60 per cent of your production costs, packaging is in truth a weighty consideration. But happily Krones has its own PET design people: our lightweighting specialists are fully capable of coaxing another superfluous gram or two out of even high-price containers. Ideal for anyone seeking to significantly improve their Bottle Mass Index and slim down their costs – permanently.

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.

MARKET METRICS

BEER

Beverage Category Any Beer

Hitting the Big Leagues

W

ith summer comes America’s national pastime, and beer and baseball just seem to go hand in hand. And while it’s not surprising that consumers who attended at least one Major League Baseball (MLB) game in the past year were more likely than the average consumer to have consumed a domestic beer or light beer during the past month, what is interesting when looking at Scarborough Research data is the type of beers that index high with MLB fans. For instance, MLB fans are 62 percent more likely than the average consumer to have enjoyed an import beer in the past month. Data on specific import brands (not shown) indicates some surprising results as Becks has an index of 166, Corona indexes at 164 and Dos Equis has an index of 189. In fact, MLB fans are almost twice as likely to consume a Guinness, while Amstel Light has a sky high index of 252 and Heineken Premium Light indexes at 255 among MLB fans. Also, craft beers score high points with baseball followers as game attendees are 89 percent more likely to have enjoyed a cold Sam Adams in the past month. Also interesting to note, those who attend MLB games don’t limit themselves to just beer as they also are more likely to splurge on a bottle of wine or a fine spirit. Baseball game attendees are 82 percent more likely 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 consumption 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

Index*

139 144

Domestic Light Beer

150

Domestic Regular Beer

162

Import Beer 0

SPIRITS

50

100

150

Beverage Category

200

Index*

126

Blended or Rye Whiskey

142

Bourbon Whiskey

125

Brandy

134

Canadian Whiskey

133

Cognac

149

Gin

174

Scotch Whiskey

150

Tequila

158

Vodka 0

WINE

50

100

150

200

Index*

Beverage Category

164

Merlot

176

Cabernet Sauvignon

169

Chardonnay

176

Pinot Grigio Pinot Noir

182

Sauvignon Blanc

184 175

Shiraz

138

Rose 0

50

100

150

200

*INDEX REFERS TO HOW MORE OR LESS LIKELY THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE (100) CONSUMERS ARE TO HAVE CONSUMED A BEER OR DISTILLED SPIRIT IN THE PAST 30 DAYS OR WINE IN THE PAST THREE MONTHS. SOURCE: SCARBOROUGH RESEARCH

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 running 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 spoken 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, president 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 distribution 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 revenue 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, executive vice president of administration and Felix Williams, CEO.

» BEVERAGE WORLD.COM

JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_21

[COVERSTORY]

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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 family 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 territory. With its original territory covering Monroe, Broward and Miami-Dade counties in Southeast Florida, Gold Coast dramatically increased its sales volume with strategic acquisitions, 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 percent. 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 economy 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 popularity of 18-packs in the South Florida market. “We’re leveraging growth in both the high-end and lowend by doing all the things that a beer distributor does— increasing visibility, increasing shelf space, building more displays with these brands and increasing marketing investment and activity behind them,” Levin says. Although many businesses consider themselves to be “performance driven,” Gold Coast “walks the walk” and continues to win in the marketplace by maintaining high expectations 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 company remains committed to its market share dominance 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

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 dedicated 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 employees 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 profitability without impacting customer service levels, Gold

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Coast team members view these hurdles more as opportunities to step up their game. With large ethnic populations in its markets, Gold Coast relies heavily on sales of its import beer brands, which make up an impressive 57 percent of the distributor’s volume. However, lagging sales of imports has impacted the company’s bottom line. “We’ve been forced to become more efficient by streamlining 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

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increase efficiencies in its operations. Servicing 10,000 customers across a 7,000-square-mile area, Gold Coast can have up to 200 trucks on the road everyday—300 during peak holiday 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

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 competition, 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 market 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 continued 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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C O - L O C AT E D W I T H :

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.

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Warehouse Design

Fabiano Brothers, Inc. contracted HDA Architects (Chesterfield, Mo.) to assist in reducing escalating operational expenses in the company’s new corporate headquarters. Among the things addressed were a concrete tilt-wall system, a white single ply roof, energy efficient fluorescent lighting and a water cooled chilled water system. The concrete tilt-up wall system is among today’s most cost effective construction 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

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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 building automation system that manages the runtime and schedules.

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ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH EDGAR

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.

Distributor’s Toolbox »

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solution spotlight

Handheld devices are becoming smaller and smarter. “Now all the power of the enterprise can come to the doorstep,” says Patrick Byrne, president and CEO, Intermec. “But,” he continues, “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 applications.” The CN50 includes 3.75G WWAN HSUPA radio technology in a small, lightweight, ruggedized form factor providing mobile workforces with a high performance mobile computer. The CN4 is targeted at operations requiring support for fully-rugged front line transactions, including commercial transportation 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 productivity, uptime and on-the-route service capability. These more powerful handhelds are aiding large beverage distributors as they make the change to realtime upload and download of information, the benefits being real-time inventory management and invoicing.

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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 management 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 productivity from increased memory and ease of maintenance and administration.

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Handheld Computers

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 oftenharsh Minnesota weather. Doing so is imperative to product quality and employee comfort. Equally important is employee safety, which is why slippery floors in truck bays are unacceptable. Although faced with multiple 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 stagnant 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 efficiently 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 banking, 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 positive across the board. “Village Farms has found the PORTFOLIO+PLUS site to be a very user-friendly site as well as a most efficient tool in the processing of our CHEP pallet transactions. We find this reporting method to be quick and easy and the reports available to us are very useful,” said Diane Shannon, Sales Administrator, Village Farms, an Eatontown, NJ-based grower of tomatoes.

CHEP © 2009 All rights reserved.

PORTFOLIO+PLUS offers a variety of benefits 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 expenditures. 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.

Labor Management Systems

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solution spotlight

Collision Avoidance/Obstacle Detection Systems Company: Del Papa Distributing, Beaumont, Texas Business Type: Beer distributor Challenge: With a fleet that consists of 45 delivery trucks traveling on heavily trafficked roads in the Houston and Galveston, Texas areas, Anheuser-Busch beer distributor Del Papa Distributing was seeking out ways to improve its safety record and keep delivery drivers out of harm’s way. Solution: Safety Vision Collision Avoidance Camera System Safety Vision (Houston, Texas) provided Del Papa with its Collision Avoidance Camera Systems, consisting of rear-vision cameras and monitors installed in each truck. Designed to help prevent costly accidents and workplace injury, Safety Vision’s camera system affords greater visibility in any direction through rear-, side- and forward-view mobile video cameras. With a distribution fleet that covers millions of miles and makes thousands of stops weekly, moving accidents are a constant concern for the beer distributor. The installation of Safety Vision’s mobile video cameras has helped the distributor’s fleet reduce parking lot and backing accidents.

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solution spotlight

Recycling Solutions Company: Gold Coast Beverage Distributors, Pompano Beach & Miami, Fla. Business Type: Beer Distributor 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 shrinkwrap, which has earned the company nearly $100,000 in revenues. 30_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009

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 such systems for distributors are Manhattan Associates, Red Prairie and Infor. Manhattan Associates describes its Labor Scheduling Optimization as an intuitive solution that uses advanced technology to adeptly match employee skill sets to meet specific workload forecasts during the labor scheduling process. RedPrairie’s Workforce Management changes the way management and associates think about labor management. Customers go from the traditional “carrot and stick” mentality to one where everyone is focused on maximizing performance and customer service. Says Mark Humphlett, Infor’s director of product marketing Supply Chain, “Our solution capturing all of their work activities so you can keep all that information up-todate and then compare that with reasonable expectancies or engineered labor standards.”

Distributor’s Toolbox »

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Greener Forklifts »

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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 routing 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’ logistics tools several years ago to improve its bottom line and operations. 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.

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 sitdown 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 powered 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 emission issues.”

Mobile Printers Lightweight, compact and rugged, mobile printer solutions on the market 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 wearable receipt printers. For instance, Andrews Distributing, a Dallas, Texas-based MillerCoors distributor, implemented a combined mobile computer and printer solution

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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

printer’s durability, ease of use and print quality. Zebra also offers the Economy Mobile 220 (EM 220), a pocketsize, lightweight mobile solution for printing receipts. Intermec’s new PB2 and PB3 lightweight 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 concrete, according to the company.

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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 products, 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 accurately 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, cumbersome 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 management, inventory control, lot tracking, purchasing, production, sales, regulatory reporting, 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 gather and trace lot data via bar code technology:

it will generate bar codes to label lots upon item receipt, and then use hand-held scanners 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 particular raw material from the moment it was received to the moment it was shipped. Upon implementation completion, JUS-MADE will eliminate the business process inefficiencies caused by the use of multiple systems and manual processes. DEACOM will serve as JUS-MADE’s single point of control for its entire operation so it can better serve its customers for continued success. To learn more about DEACOM ERP Software for your beverage manufacturing business, visit www.deacom.net to schedule an online demonstration today.

Contact:

Deacom, Inc. 950 West Valley Road, Suite 3000 Wayne, PA 19087 Phone 610-971-2278 ext. 15 [email protected] www.deacom.net

How Many Software Systems Does It Take to Sell a Gallon of Goop? Whether the goop you make is beer, coffee, or juice or actually just goop - with DEACOM, you only need one software system to manage your entire business. The DEACOM Integrated Accounting and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software System seamlessly integrates all areas of your business - from formulation and QC testing, to lot tracking and invoicing - giving you a comprehensive view of your operation from one system.

LABORATORY

REGULATORY REPORTING

ORDER ENTRY

PURCHASING

ACCOUNTING

STORES/POS

PRODUCTION

INVENTORY

Visit www.deacom.net to arrange an online demonstration, and learn how DEACOM can maximize your productivity and profitability today.

Deacom, Inc. phone 610-971-2278 ext. 15 | [email protected] | www.deacom.net

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solution spotlight

Pallets

Alternative Fuels Here is a breakdown of the different alternative fuels available. Ethanol: Light duty truck manufacturers including General Motors and Ford have sold hundreds of thousands 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 conventional gasoline. Biodiesel: Similar to ethanol, biodiesel can be derived from a number of organic sources, with soybeans being the most predominant source at this time. Unlike ethanol, the soy derivatives used for biodiesel have little 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 performance to the diesel version with far lower emissions and less need for exhaust after-treatment.

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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 market 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 technologies to effectively manage every activity in a beverage distribution warehouse, from the movement and storage of product to order processing 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.

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Distributor’s Toolbox ERP Software Enterprise Resource Planning solutions plan and manage “enterprisewide” the resources needed to take customer orders, ship them, account for them and replenish all needed goods according to customer 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 DEACOM Software System utilizes a SQL Server database.

Storage and Racking Systems

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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 products including Pushback, Drive-In, Cantilever and Pallet/Carton Flow products. The company will design, manufacture and install even the most complex multi-level pick modules 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 threelevel pick module while UNEX engineered a custom flow rack installed with gravity conveyor sections to accomodate the requirements of Capital’s dairy line.

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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 project saved 567,906 kWh, equivalent to removing 76 cars from the road. “We have a cleaner 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 disruption to our daily operation.”

Want more effective strategies, expanded distribution and successful product introductions?

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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

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 [email protected].

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BELLAS

FRANCELLA

Global Challenges & Local Solutions his year marked the 16th annual Beverage Forum held at 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,

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it might be; every dollar counts to the consumer.” 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 management, 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

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

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KELLER

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SANTANA

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADRIENNE HELÉ

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 Santana, vice president, Colas, PepsiCo North America Beverages; Keith Levy, vice president-marketing, AnheuserBusch and Jim Murphy, vice president, director, Jack Daniels Global Marketing, Brown-Forman Corp. Keller introduced the panel warning marketers not to “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 feet.”—Andrew Kaplan

AB InBev Surges Peacock shares insights of integration

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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

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his year, the Small Company of the Year award went to CytoSport/ Muscle Milk and the Large Company of the Year award went to Hansen Natural Corp. While both companies 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. —J.C. BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

PICKETT

RODNEY SACKS, HILTON SCHLOSBERG AND MARK HALL

Isdell Honored for Lifetime Achievement The Former Coca-Cola Company CEO and Chairman shares his expertise.

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fundamentally believe we are in the best industry in the world,” said Neville Isdell, former CEO and chairman, The CocaCola 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. “These are the times that you build your market share,” he said.—J.C.

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[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 economic downturn has brought with it. So they were especially interested in hearing this year’s Wall Street Roundtable, a panel consisting of Carlos Laboy, managing 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, managing 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 bottlers made sense in a market he described as “dysfunctional, with overlapping and conflicting routes to market.”—A.K.

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LABOY

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Mexican Beers on the Rise Durán highlights FEMSA’s success

Leading the Pack Beverage entrepreneurs share insights into making it big

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uring a panel discussion about the successful strategies of beverage entrepreneurs, 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 competitive global beverage arena. Rampolla shared Zico’s SUDANO story of early success by describing how the company focused on the New York City market by going neighborhood 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.

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ice president of international markets, FEMSA-CCM, Luis Durán, touched on many points relating to the beer industry including the performance of the brewer’s brands, particularly, 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 distribution in the US through Heineken USA. “The most important thing is you 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 consumers in the US, respectively, delivering the ads in Spanish using particular Mexican words and phrases. “These are very emotional,” Durán said of the TV ads, and they evoke a personal connection 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 is going to continue to happen.”—J.C. BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADRIENNE HELÉ

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

BEVERAGEWORLD

[BEVERAGEFORUM2009] Reinvigorating the Beverage Market

D’AMORE

Massimo d’Amore outlines PepsiCo’s reinvigoration strategy

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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 popular culture.” To this effort, the company redesigned the packaging and launched a new marketing and advertising campaign. The brand has enjoyed great performance 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

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Self-Discovery Coke’s van Rensburg talks brands. pening Thursday’s sessions, Deryck van Rensburg, president, Venturing & Emerging Brands, Coca-Cola North America, described how Coke goes about nurturing emerging beverage brands. “We have to accept that growth just takes time. It takes time to build these brands and we need to be patient and build them in the right way,” he said. For example, he said putting a large billboard 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.

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n the panel discussion “Complexities Facing New Entrepreneurs in the Beverage Distribution Landscape,” panelists Ed Maletis, board member, 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 distribution network. Moderated by Ron Wilson, president and chief executive officer of HERSHKOWITZ MALETIS Skinny Nutritional Corp., the panel answered questions from the audience that included topics on how to handle a multi-beverage house, like Columbia for WILSON MARTIN example, which distributes beer, wine, CSDs and non-alcohol brands, and how distributors deal with the buyouts of brands, such as the Coke deal with vitaminwater. 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. BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADRIENNE HELÉ

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

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he current economic downturn presents 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 climate had, in essence, forced the country to press a “reset” button, which can be a catalyst for change. Sometimes a reset can change the fundamental 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 differentiation. And the second thing to do is you have to get alignment in your value chain,” Long said. To this end, Long discussed MillerCoors’ strategy to accelerate the growth of Coors Light this summer, leverage the continued success of MGD 64 and “fix” Miller Lite.—H.L.

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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, Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM), (right) led a panel discussion on the marketing medium.

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The 2009

FINANCIAL Report VIEWPOINTS

Financing the Next Innovation Wave by bill anderson

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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 product 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 innovations for some time now: consolidations at all tiers, increasing fixed costs, pricing and sales uncertainties, supplier 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 analyzing the prospects for mergers. The best example is the merger of Mt.

Hood and Columbia Distributing in the Northwest, now creating a $1.2 billion 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 immersed 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 distributor consolidations persist, additional streams of financing sources are likely to emerge as a source of capitalizing this

3. Who will handle my claims? When all is said and account. If you're not satisfied, done, you want the person who move on. is most involved with your 2. Do I understand the indiaccount to take personal vidual coverages of responsibility for your my existing policy or claims and that's your those being proposed insurance agent, not by an agent? There is the insurance companothing more dangerny. If you're interviewous than not knowing ing a prospective what your policy covinsurance agent, ask HILBRANT ers. It is extremely who you should call important for you to take the first in case of a loss. The right time to go over your existing answer is the agent. If you are and proposed insurance progiven an 800 number that goes gram thoroughly with your to an insurance company, that's agent. not a good answer. Your agent

Some Tips for Insuring Your Winery All wineries, including even small ones, are complex manufacturing facilities vulnerable to a long list of potential losses. It's absolutely critical to ask the right questions before placing your insurance with an agent or renewing it with your present agent. Here are questions 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

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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 former leading beverage banker, to fill the void of experienced debt advisors exclusively serving the beverage industry. 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 dedicated financing resource on their side. Look for innovation not only in packing or bottle design or vitamin enhancements, but in financial products that will help this industry continue to consolidate, gain operating efficiencies 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.

should want to manage the claim, not hear about it later from someone at the insurance company. You should expect more from an insurance agent than someone who just sells you a policy: your insurance agent should be your advocate. The right insurance agent can be an effective "wingman" in helping you protect your winery’s assets. —James T. Hilbrant, a Certified WorkComp Advisor, is the winery insurance specialist at Invensure Insurance Brokers, Irvine, Calif. [email protected]

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

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his year, for the first time, plastic is the main form of packaging for beverages with one-third of the market share worldwide, just ahead of glass and well ahead of cans. Almost all types of packaging are represented at drinktec 2009, the fair where exhibitors display their capabilities and packaging innovations. Plastic is Racing Ahead In the plastics segment, PET containers are the top favorite in the one-way container bottling sector. According to estimates by market research company Euromonitor, in 2009 the number of PET containers produced will rise to 350 billion per annum, which makes it all the more important to produce PET containers as economically as possible. A range of exhibitors at drinktec, producers of preforms and machine manufacturers, are addressing the issue of lightweighting. Reducing the material used can result in considerable cost savings when purchasing materials. And PET containers are continually increasing in size. Large-volume PET bottles are in demand in South, Central and North America in particular, as the market for soft drinks there is for 3-liter containers or bigger. In parallel with this, the market for PET water dispensers with a capacity from 5 to 20 liters for offices, businesses and households is booming in many countries.

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Reasons to Visit

2009

See It Now Access an exclusive e-book that puts you inside the drinktec experience. Go to beverageworld.com/ go/drinktec

, 2009 September 14–19 Fair Cente

New Munich Trade for and distributed was produced This e-book

In the soft drinks and mineral water sector there is great interest in lighter, more costefficient closures, and so it is expected that at drinktec 2009 producers will be displaying new closure concepts with special designs, which also enable weight savings. The 3rd PET World Congress is taking place during drinktec in the International Congress Center (ICM) on Sept. 16-17, where producers from all over the world will be exhibiting the latest PET technology for beverages and liquid food in Hall B3. While PET continues on the road to success, other plastics such as HDPE or LDPE are

drinktec At-A-Glance What: The largest trade exhibition for beverages in the world

When: Monday, Sept. 14 to Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009

Where: New Munich Trade Fair Center, Munich, Germany

Visitors: 70,000 from 170 countries expected

Visitor Target Groups: Producers of soft drinks, fruit juices, energy and wellness drinks, packaged mineral water, dairy drinks, wine and champagne and distilled spirits; brewers; wholesale and retail beverage merchants; hotels, restaurants and caterers; service providers and advertising; public authorities, universities and specialist colleges.

Exhibitors: 1,500 from 60 countries expected of greater interest to some other segments, such as milk and milk-based drinks. At the same time, new means of packaging are being developed. On the subject of sustainability, ‘organic plastics’, based for example on starch (PHA) or lactic acid (PLA), are gaining in importance. The 2nd PLA Bottle Conference, on Sept. 14-15 at the Holiday Inn hotel, gives an overview of this subject and takes a look at the availability of raw materials plus the latest developments and waste management options. For more on beverage packages that will be on display at drinktec, visit drinktec.com.

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This Special Promotion Section was produced by Beverage World’s Special Projects department.

Website: drinktec.com Contact: Anika Niebuhr 646.437.1014 • 212.262.6519 (fax) [email protected]

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 . [email protected]

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 continued 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 beverages 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 aseptic cold filling, which allows the implementation of consumer-oriented product concepts, providing the public with beverages 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, beveragesterile—many terms are used to describe ‘aseptic filling’. The process involves bottling a product at ambient temperatures, that is without tunnel pasteurization or hot filling and without the use of preservatives 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 recommended 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 beverages. 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 coldaseptic process. The peripheral equipment must be right and do the groundwork for the aseptic process, or be aseptic itself. This applies to everything from the process technology 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, sterile 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 pasteurizers. There must always be an integrated 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-aseptic 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 information 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 fairgrounds 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, guesthouses 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 secondlargest 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 (departing 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 located 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 motorway. Limousine and transfer services travel to and from the airport with passengers getting off and on at designated locations along the way.

Public Transportation: With your online purchase of an admission 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 benchmark organization in the wholesale beverage industry.

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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 purchased 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 really reinvigorated our people and added a lot of depth to our management team,” Hand says. In 2007, BOCCCHO also became Over 60 years three generations of the Hand family played a non-exclusive A-B wholesaler, which also has contributed to the a role in the continued expansion of BOCCCHO. company’s growth. “We looked at By Jennifer Cirillo our portfolio and although we believe Anheuser-Busch really has 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 gengreat 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 operaAround 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 wholepast 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

Bud-ing Growth

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BOCCCHO IS BASED in Clarksville, Tenn. and distributes throughout a 20,000plus-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-

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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 successful business relationship. Contact: Mike Boisseau 931-552-2228

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[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.

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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 celebrate 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.

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[UPCLOSE]

California Dreaming The progressively minded Bay Area Beverage Co. is a pioneer in the use of solar energy. By Andrew Kaplan

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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-powered beer distributors in the country. The company’s territory encompasses the communities 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 communities in our market.” Bay Area Beverage was actually started by TJ’s father Tom

BAY AREA BEVERAGE president TJ Louderback (l) and his father, Tom, show off the solar panels adorning the company’s warehouse roof.

and some partners in 1969. Tom eventually bought out the partners and now runs the company with his son. Since that time, the company has grown into a 7 millioncase 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- squarefoot 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 convincing 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 initially. But we worked through that and now he’s the biggest cheerleader.” BW BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

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Capitol Takeover At Beer Capitol, it’s workforce has allowed the company to achieve continued growth and success in Milwaukee County. By Jennifer Cirillo »

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MEMBERS OF THE BEER CAPITOL t’s been a busy time for Beer DISTRIBUTING CO. staff are Capitol Distributing Co. (front row, l to r) Jack Radichal, on-premise division manager and In December 2008, the beer Ken Zeman, off-premise division wholesaler, based in manager; (back row, l to r) Jim Butenhoff, craft and import manWauwatosa, Wis., completed its ager; David Neville, vice presiacquisition of Miller Brandsdent of sales; Aldo Madrigrano chairman and CEO and Mike Milwaukee LLC, which distributed Meriman, president. Miller brands in Milwaukee County. Miller Brands was the largest single distributor in on the association’s Wisconsin for Miller Brewing Co., board of directors and explains Aldo Madrigrano, chairits executive committee. man and CEO of Beer “The group that Capitol, and the acquisition owned Miller Brands VITAL STATS quadrupled the size of Beer felt it was time for them BEER CAPITOL DISTRIBUTING CO. Capitol’s business. to step away from the business and myself and CHAIRMAN & CEO: Aldo Madrigano “As MillerCoors came my two partners felt that it was time to aggresHEADQUARTERS: Wauwatosa, Wis. together, it was good timsively go forward in the business. And when the EMPLOYEES: 215 ing for both companies,” JV of MillerCoors came together it was the right ’08 CASE VOLUME: about 9 million says Madrigrano of the time for these two businesses to come together GOALS: To be a brand builder and have the appropriate and right amount of products to service its acquisition. Madrigrano too.” customers needs. also is the immediate past Beer Capitol is now the largest beer distributor chairman of the National in Milwaukee County delivering just shy of 9 milBeer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) and currently serves lion cases a year. The company’s portfolio includes a selec-

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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 domestics. Along with MillerCoors, its suppliers include Heineken USA, Crown Imports and Boston Brewing Co., to name a few. “As in any other consolidation there’s always a lot of challenges,” says Madrigrano. For example, Beer Capitol was

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a 100 percent pre-sell operation while Miller Brands was not. Making the shift to a 100 percent pre-sell operation had its challenges, Madrigrano admits, but he says that even in the short period of time since the completion of the acquisition, Beer Capitol has transitioned nicely. “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 highend, 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 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 restaurants,” Madrigrano says. “It helps us develop the brands.” In addition to national craft brands, Beer Capitol also distributes 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 visiting their neighborhood establishments rather than ventur-

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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 company’s strategy when taking on new brands. “There are people out there who want to make sure they get everything. 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 important asset that we have is our people,” says Madrigrano. “Our people, we believe, are the best in the marketplace.” BW BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

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

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ormerly a subsidiary of Carlsberg USA, Beverage Alliance became an independent importer earlier this year in an effort to expand its portfolio of beers. The $18 million company, which sells about 1.1 million case equivalents, is based in New Canaan, Conn., and also now imports Kronenbourg, Tetley’s English Ale, Grimbergen and Okocim. The company’s owner and president, Mike Mitaro—who previously ran Carlsberg USA for five years—answered some questions about his new company.

in your portfolio? Mike Mitaro: Those brands all have had a good base of volume, cash flow and profitability in the United States before we got them.

BW: How are they distributed? MM: We have a network BEVERAGE ALLIANCE owner and president Mike Mitaro of distributors, a combinakicks back with a Carlsberg. tion, depending on the Beverage World: Why do you carry these particular brands market, of Anheuser-Busch wholesalers, MillerCoors wholesalers, a few wine and spirits wholesalers and some smaller 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 thankful 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 alternative to Stella Artois. Kronenbourg has a lot of that similar 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 offpremise 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

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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.”

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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 the same person selling, bottling, packaging, distributing and delivering it,” Bartel says. Times have changed, but some Refreshment Services keeps the lines of communication things have remained. The Vecchie family—now in its fourth generaopen and a Pepsi in every hand. By Carrie Havranek tion—is still involved in the busilot 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 employof 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 anyapart. 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 recthe 1920s in Taylorville, Ill., when founder Louis Vecchie ognize what pieces of our business need to stay decentralbegan a soft drink company that bottled its own flavors— ized. We will err on the side of leaving as much of the decithink 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 lissmall operation has grown considerably, with 400-plus teners with customers and employees. We don’t want to get

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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 improvement. “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 listen to its people or want feedback, the process is difficult; it’s time consuming. “We hear about problems. But if you’re getting to the point where you are not hearing about the problems, 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, what they liked about the company and what they didn’t. He describes the experience as “eye-opening, something we need to do on a regular basis.” Service is a considerable issue and so recently, Refreshment Services established different service levels with its customers. “The more they work with us

AL HUDGINS is general manager of Refreshment Services Pepsi’s Tallahassee, Fla. operation.

and want to truly partner, we’ll up the service.” Once feedback has been solicited, though, expectations rise. “The easy part is listening; the hard part is how are you going to respond to

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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 listener.” As an independent bottler, the company enjoys considerable 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 SERVICES PEPSI’S Florida management team includes VP of operations 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 communities, combining the muscle of a national brand with the relationships that independently owned smaller companies 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 fundraisers 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 driving force in Quincy and Adams County since 1978. Together GREDF and Quincy University thank Refreshment Services Pepsi for their contributions to the outstanding quality of life the Quincy area enjoys.

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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 Hawaiian Punch. GENERAL MANAGER: Don Smallwood s primary and secondary-packaging In this era of rampant SKU HEADQUARTERS: Ayer, Mass. ANNUAL VOLUME: 20 million cases sizes continually change and innoproliferation, flexibility and nimGOALS: To be as flexible as possible; quickly and effivation brings a rapidly acceleratble execution are central imperaciently 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 evermore 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 limitThe 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 proBottling 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 conit…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 coshorter 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-

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SWITCHING TO PEPSI’S new packaging graphics was fairly quick and seamless for Epic Enterprises.

ing from 24 [pack] to 36 is a pretty easy change,” explains Smallwood. “But changing from a 36 back down to a 12-pack is a fairly major change on the packaging end.” On the flexible can line, the challenge is speeding up changeovers among can sizes. “It’s fairly easy to go from the same body diameter in an 8ounce can, to a 12-ounce can, to, say, a 16-ounce can; you just raise the filler and close it,” Smallwood notes. “But the challenges come when you’re dealing with a Slim can or Sleek can, or even a 24-ounce can, where the can body is changing not only in height, but its width. [The key is] being able to do that quickly and efficiently and with all of the flavor changes coming down the road.” The transition to Pepsi’s recently redesigned packages was

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a pretty seamless one for Epic Enterprises, thanks to the highly organized effort among Epic, PepsiCo and the co-op’s owners. “It’s always about coordination when you have something as big as this was that came as quickly as it did,” recalls Smallwood. “I first heard about it in October of last year. By the end of December we were almost fully converted. That’s how fast it happened in the Pepsi system. Frankly it went more smoothly than I had anticipated.” As Epic Enterprises has illustrated in its more than four decades of existence, success lies in how effectively an operation can adapt to whatever twists and turns the industry may have in store. “It used to be that 12-ounce cans were king— that’s all we ever made, and after a while it became routine,” Smallwood observes. “But now that routine is gone, so we’re changing all the time.” With every epic challenge, there’s an Epic solution. BW

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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 employees, including full- and part-time workers. Through a cross-county VITAL STATS PEPSI-COLA BOTTLING CO. OF DAVENPORT agreement, two other distributors help PRESIDENT: Bill Johnson Davenport deliver its products. HEADQUARTERS: Davenport, Iowa here have been many “It’s a unique arrangement,” EMPLOYEES: 80 changes in distribution and explains Johnson. “One distributor ’08 CASE VOLUME: 3.5 million products since the Pepsi-Cola operates in Clinton County and one GOALS: To provide the best customer service at all times. Bottling Co. of Davenport operates in Muscatine County. They became an official independent franpurchase 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 investWe 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 oriits 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

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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 successful beverage distribution. Johnson understands this and makes it a priority in trade relations. “The most important thing we do is try and treat everyone 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 WalMart super centers and eight stores operated by Hy-Vee, its biggest customer. Johnson appreciates his “strong” relationship 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

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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, director of IT; Charlie Balkam, controller

focus on categories, Burke has been able to bring its entire portfolio to market. “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. beer, spirits and non-alcohol EMPLOYEES: 260 drinks throughout the metro ANNUAL CASE VOLUME: 6.8 million Boston area. Its beverage distriGOALS: To be the preferred wholesaler 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 addition to Bill, the third generation of Burkes in the business also include Tim (GM for the Red Bull division), Austin (operations manager), Patrick (warehouse manager) and Alina-BurkeResponding 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 enerhe 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 col2007, the company decided it would be better to manlege 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 marhandles 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 comour 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

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also continues to invest. “We feel that if we invest appropriately, 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 giving 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 employees 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 latest changes in management style are working. In 2008, the company had the remarkable accomplishment of being recognized by Diageo as the distributor of the year in the same year it received the Coors President’s Award. BW

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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.

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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 and fourth upgrade in softHEADQUARTERS: Newark, Ohio ware. Salesmen and route EMPLOYEES: 90 ounded during the height of sales people have handhelds ’08 CASE VOLUME: 3.6 million GOALS: To keep growing and providing the best possiProhibition by an enterprising teenager, and data downloads. The difble customer service to everyone in a cost-effective Matesich Distributing now delivers 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 runthem. 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 takknow the customers as well as their own friends. That consising 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,

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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 stories 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 company 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

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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 festivities include galas at each of the three DCs complete with the appearance of the Budweiser Clydesdales— next year will mark the 80th anniversary 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, but the service of the VITAL STATS employees throughout the DEL PAPA DISTRIBUTING CO., INC. distributor’s history. PRESIDENT: Larry Del Papa Manuel Ortega, vice presiHEADQUARTERS: Galveston, Texas EMPLOYEES: 350 dent of logistics, says with’08 CASE VOLUME: 10 million 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 been the key to the compaone case at a time. ny’s success. “And the reason that our people are the key,” he says, “is because of our ownership—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 busiGearing up for its centennial celebration next year, Del ness at the same time.” Papa Distributing continues to build brands and friends. That family feeling that Ortega refers to extends beyond Del Papa By Jennifer Cirillo Distributing to the customers, suppliers 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 distributorGalveston 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 communiassistance. Del Papa Distributing also was able to rely on comty colleges and four-year universities in its 17-county territory. panies it has longstanding relationships with, such as Way

A Good Neighbor

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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 performance 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 nonalcohol brands like Sweet Leaf Tea and Jones Soda. To handle the added volume at the warehouse level, Ortega

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explains lower volume items are picked by route instead of stop (how the distributor picks the rest of its orders) to minimize 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 company, heavy on the marketing side, because anybody can deliver 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/Refrigeration needs. After Hurricane Ike, Way was there to get Del Papa’s mechanical 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.

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A Family Affair Guiffre Distributing Co. celebrates its 75th anniversary. By John Karolefski 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.

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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-quarters 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

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Anheuser-Busch. Other suppliers include Carlsberg, Grolsch, Coastal, Star Hill, Hook and Ladder, Kona and Red Hook. “Number one, we want to be a multibranded 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. The challenge, according to Biggs, will be obtaining enough brands to enable Guiffre to go to market in non-alcohol 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 adultbased area with a lot of volume potential, according to Biggs. BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BOB TAGERT/OLD TOWN CRIER

GUIFFRE DISTRIBUTING CO.’S (l to r) Mike Guiffre, president, Mark Stephens, VP operations and administration, and Wayne Biggs, VP sales and marketing, work hard to build profitable market share.

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 information-based selling, and that Guiffre is keeping pace. “As you build your relationships, you have to make sure you are taking 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 expansion, 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 management and employees on the job they do in a very tight warehouse,” he says. “We are investigating right now how we can

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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

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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, onpremise 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 points out Nichols. PRESIDENT: Dave Nichols Among the larger brands VICE PRESIDENT/GENERAL MANAGER: Steve Nichols HEADQUARTERS: Loveland, Colo. orthern Colorado’s High Country the company now handles are EMPLOYEES: 50 Beverage is a growing family-run busiCoors and Coors Light, ’08 CASE VOLUME: 1.6 million ness with a commitment to the enviMolson, Blue Moon, Corona, GOALS: To be the best beer distributor in the country. ronment, community and the cusPacifico, 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, geartwo 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 continthe 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 numnew 25,000-square-foot warehouse facility in Fort Collins to ber of operational changes over the past few years. In the

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warehouse, it implemented gravity-flow racking, which allows loaders to get to products easier and speeds up loading 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 ecofriendly initiatives. In the warehouse, conversion of refrigeration 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 delivery trucks and idle shutoffs on tractors 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 responsible alcohol use. “We’re very committed 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 Advertisement

ENCOMPASS TECHNOLOGIES High Country Beverage’s innovative operations processes are backed by forward-thinking 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 webbased Route Accounting Software and Mobile Solutions that help keep High Country Beverage at the forefront of the industry.

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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

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onroe, Wis. might be known as the cheese capital of the world, but as it turns out, it’s also the home to the second 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-

MINHAS CRAFT BREWERY brews and contracts a variety of beverage products.

house, a filtration system, a 24-ounce can line, packaging equipment, two threestory silos for malted barley and a second fermentation room, for the production of Corsairs and Peelers, flavored 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 owners in 2006 having previously been the brewery’s largest contract account. Olson relays that Ravinder saw an opportunity 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 museum, 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

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

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third-generation, familydistributors or being able to owned spirits and wine stay in the forefront of technoldistributor 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-grandalways been fortunate to find father of Morley Smith III, who is people with diverse backstill involved with the company. grounds that have been loyal The $35 million company has 65 and work hard and bring SARATOGA’S MANAGEMENT TEAM includes (l to r) owner Skip Smith, employees and covers 19 counties 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 handle 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 portfolio 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

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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

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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 distributor 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-

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 imported 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 market 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 having 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

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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

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third-generation, familyowned distributor, Nappi Distributors based in Gorham, Maine has grown into one of Maine’s largest beer and wine wholesalers. Three brothers, Frank Sr., Nick and Sam Nappi, followed in their father’s footsteps and started the distribution company in 1960. The company has steadily grown through a series of strategic acquisitions with other Maine disFRANK NAPPI JR. continues to run the operations tributors and continual facility upstarted by his father and two uncles. 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.

BW: Your company recently moved into a new 155,000-square-foot warehouse. How has this improved operations? FN: This building, the way it was constructed, was to be as green as possible. All the lighting, heating and cooling are as efficient as possible. Our old facility was actually seven buildings and it was extremely difficult to work out of, especially as we grew. The new facility has a truck drivethru area for loading and fleet dock areas and we have a new wine mezzanine picking system, which improves accuracy. BW

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Beverage World: What are Nappi’s keys to success? Elmer Alcott: We’ve got a very diverse portfolio. The brothers (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 dedicated, loyal people who have been here 20-plus years and it’s the family atmosphere. The family is known in southern 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

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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.

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s a companion piece to this issue’s Distributor’s Toolbox

5. Be flexible. It can seem easier to create a layout for your warehouse report, we thought we’d focus a bit more on that nexus of and then leave it at that, instead of getthe supply chain—the warehouse. So we asked some ting preoccupied by all the little fires you need to put out each day. But put experts if they could build a warehouse from the ground up in aside time on a firm schedule to reeval2009, which factors would they take into consideration? Here are uate the layout of your facility. “An analysis of your building layout can some of their responses. save you money on energy and hourly 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 6. Choose a sensible racking and storage system. You services. Transportation comprises, for a beverage distributor, want to have multiple-sized racking systems in the same up to three-quarters of logistics costs. “If you focus only on building for the multiple different-sized pallets you want to warehousing, you’re missing the real story because the driver be able to accommodate. of costs is going to be transportation,” says Dan Sanker, presi7. Install a voice or light-directed picking system. If you dent and CEO of logistics service provider CaseStack (Santa haven’t already, this minimizes the amount of time your Monica, Calif. and Fayetville, Ark.). employees spend looking for product. And time is money. 2. Labor availability. Once you’re in a market that might 8. Install a task or labor management system. Such a syslook like a good central location, make sure it also has waretem, says Mark Humphlett, Infor’s director of product markethousing-trained skilled labor. Experts say this is not always ing - supply chain, will answer such questions as how much easy to come by. labor do you need throughout the different areas of your 3. Height matters. Make sure the height of the building is warehouse, based upon the upcoming activities for the day enough that it offers you enough flexibility to change your or the week ahead? And it goes even further, actually assignracking and storage options with your product mix. “If you ing the next tasks for specific workers resulting in a boost in have a lot of height, and you use it right, and you rack it efficiency for your operation. “It keeps all that information properly, you can fit more in a building,” says Sanker. up to date and compares it with reasonable expectancies as 4. Plentiful dock doors. When things get really busy, it’s far as how much time it should take, or engineered labor 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. He continues, “Labor is such a huge portion of the cost INSIDE BEVSOLUTIONS

PRODUCTION

DISTRIBUTION

In-house PET manufacturing becomes a more viable solution.

Some important tips to help you choose a good liftgate. PAGE 89

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are using those labor resources across all those different tasks to get the most out of those This chart reveals how the practices of Best-in-Class supresources in the warehouse.” 65% ply chain companies are based on a philosophy of continu9. Use RFID. Radio frequency identification ous improvement. Many Best-in-Class companies have 60 systems are being applied to a variety of differalready implemented a WMS and have been able to align ent tasks in the warehouse, from directing lift operations with their overall business goals, and their focus is now on continuing to improve. trucks to track and trace of products as they enter and leave a facility. RFID still has some trouble 40 35% accurately tracking caseloads of liquid product, 31% 28% but the technology is continuing to improve. 10. Sustainability. Those who incorporate sus19% 19% 18% 20 16% tainable practices into their operations are see12% ing real benefits. Explains Sanker, “If we can make the processes or the buildings or whatever All Best-in-Class we’re doing sustainable, then we are taking 0 Implement Improve visibility Make greater use Make better use of Create more waste out of the system, we’re becoming more more efficient to warehouse warehouse space of warehouse agile, flexible warehouse activities and efficient. And, as a result of less waste, you can through more effiwarehouse to automation processes inventory and cient use of existing keep up with make more money.” Sustainability can be as order status storage mediums rapid changes 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 temperaassociated 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 80

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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

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o matter what aspect of the production process a beverage company is focusing on, reliability, flexibility and profitability are three things that cross the minds of those behind plant operations. When analyzing the manufacturing of PET in-house, choosing the best turnkey provider is a thoughtfully made decision. There are a number of operators out there that offer blow molding and complete solutions for PET manufacturing. Here are two supplier case studies showcasing international beverage companies that have implemented solutions from Sidel and KHS that have made in-house PET manufacturing more commercially viable. Record Speed at Nestlé Waters Erikli: Founded in 1965 by the Aslanoba family, the Erikli company bottles spring water from Mount Uludag in Turkey. In 1993, the company decided PREFORMS FOR MAKING non-refillable PET bottles for to invest in a new plant to Maltin are directly conveyed bottle its water in PET, as to KHS’ InnoPET Blomax stretch blow molder with 14 opposed to glass. By doing cavities. so, the company gained a strong presence in the retail and home and office delivery channels in Turkey, which eventually resulted in the company becoming a leader in the Turkish PET bottled water market holding 15.6 percent share of sales. The Nestlé Waters Group took over Erikli in 2006, and today looks to future production growth. Since June 2008, Nestlé Waters Erikli, based in Bursa, Turkey, has been running a Sidel line equipped with a Combi 34, seven days a week, 24 hours a day to package 61,200 PET bottles (0.33 and 0.5 liter) per hour—a new record in Europe and Asia, according to Sidel. »

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Today, the Turkish bottled water market is seeing doubledigit growth and Nestlé Waters estimates that the market will grow 20 percent in volume by 2011. According to Nestlé Waters, this growth is “related to evolving lifestyles and consumer expectations as the average standard of living increases within the population.” To better handle the volume increase, Nestlé Waters Erikli has invested in a line from Sidel, equipped with a Combi that integrates blow molding, filling and capping functions. “We chose the Sidel Combi for the level of hygiene it ensures and for Sidel’s expertise in blow molding, equipment productivity and package lightweighting,” explains Nestlé management. Currently, Nestlé Waters Erikli, with five plants, produces 1.2 billion liters of water a year in a variety of PET formats. Non-Refillable PET for Maltin: Cervecería Polar, the biggest brewery group in Venezuela, invested in a KHS turnkey line for Maltin, the company’s alcohol-free malt beverage, because of “the trend towards the non-refillable PET for soft drinks,” explains Joaquin Tresselt, technical director of Cervecería Polar. As a non-alcohol malt beverage, Maltin is competing with a number of other soft drinks in the marketplace, 60 percent of which are sold in a disposable PET bottle. With the new KHS PET line for Maltin, Cervecería Polar is able to meet the growing demand for malt beverages in PET bottles. BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

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SIDEL PHOTOS BY PATRICK BOULEN

THE MAIN DISPOSABLE bottle used for Maltin is a 1.5-liter PET. In Venezuela, it’s considered to be the typical familysize 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 bottles (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 typical 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 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

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[PRODUCTION ] CHASERS Dubai to Host Beverage Meeting The Arab Asian Beverage Meeting (AABM) is slated in conjunction 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 collaboration 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

TASTE

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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 supplied 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 market in the following versions: TFS (tray-film-shrink), PFS (padfilm-shrink), FS (film-shrink) and T (tray). krones.com

Diageo Enhances Perfect Plant Program Diageo looks to Informance International to drive manufacturing performance in its plant facilities in Relay, Md. and Plainfield, Ill. The global spirits, wine and beer company leverages 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 benchmarks operations performance to identify improvement opportunities. 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 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

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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

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f the IFT show in Anaheim, Calif. in June was any indication, 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 highlighted 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 development 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 stevia has been available in the US for years it was only FDA approved as a dietary supplement. Reb-A sweetener is calorie-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 calories, 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

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

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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 synergistic effect that reduces stevia’s aftertaste and provides fuller mouthfeel. For instance, Zevia also contains erythritol, a natural sugar alcohol, to help overcome some of the stevia extract’s bitterness. Vitaminwater 10 contains a combination of crystalline fructose, another natural sweetener, 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 sweetness and improved mouthfeel. Tate & Lyle markets Krystar Crystalline Fructose, which exhibits a sweetness synergy when blended with many nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners and has high solubility. Sweeter than sugar, it can be

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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 calorie and low glycemic. “Beverage developers can increase the health and wellness profile and lower the sugar content of their beverage by combining 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

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LIGHTWEIGHTING

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

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t last year’s Beverage Forum in New York City, Kim dent, 4sight Inc. “We created swooping lines of varying thickJeffery, 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-conIn 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 Packthe 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 smoothhas led some municipalities walled, hot-fill category. “As to ban the sale of bottled a company we have a very water in government buildhigh commitment to miniings—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 getpackaging has always been ting lighter, as are cans, carour 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 Paul Kelley, senior engiTHE NEW PROPEL BOTTLE makes new inroads when it comes to lightweighting PET and label materials. report, the company saved 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 consions 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, introducAfter the bottle is filled and capped, it goes through a ing a lighter weight, eco-friendly package for its Propel fitCMA, 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 cre4sight 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, senprevious 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, presilightweight the secondary packaging for its Honest Kids »

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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 marketed at Sam’s Club stores. The new packaging 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, eliminates 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 generation 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 redistribution 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 lightweighting.) And what better way to close then with closures? Considerable work is being done in lightweighting closures. For example, the low-profile Aqua-Lok mini closure from Closure Systems International (CSI) cuts resin consumption 40 percent versus a standard 1844 26-millimeter closure for PET water bottles. Savings stem from the shortskirt design of the cap and the bottle finish, the company says. BW BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

BEVSOLUTIONS

[PRODUCTION] OPERATIONS OBSERVATIONS

IN BRIEF

Progressively PET

Packaging E-Training Launched by PMMI

by john peter koss

PMMI has launched "Troubleshooting Packaging Machinery," an online selfstudy course open to all packaging professionals. 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 entrylevel theory, process and logic of troubleshooting and applies them to packaging operations. It is designed to help technicians improve observation, thinking 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 interactive exercises. It teaches a logical approach to troubleshooting, so a technician understands what questions to ask—and why —to locate the most likely 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 students understand the material before moving to the next topic, and a mastery test at the end assesses each participant’s understanding of the subject as a whole. pmmi.org/pmmiu/

P

ET (polyethlyeneterephtalate) plastic containers appeared in the beverage packaging market during the 1980s with emphasis 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 specifications including finishes and closures and acceptance among franchisees and parent companies. The main issues immediately became production capabilities, capacities and costs. Strategies were developed that established third party manufacturers as the source of PET bottles; however, injection 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 manufacturer and 2) the bottle producer. Mold manufacturers with some capabilities enhanced existing molding technologies, 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 development and production sources made ready, PET bottle specification develop88_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, significant 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-manufacturing 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 configuration, size or package have received varied viewpoints and opinions, 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 associated 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

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 forces cause loading and routing strategies to be reevaluated, more and more distributors are looking at fleet changes to gain a competitive edge. One of the more visible changes is the emerging trend of favoring bulk (dry-box/dry-van) bodies and trailers, over the more traditional side-load beverage trailers and bodies. In our 2009 Truck Trends survey, side-loaders were still in the majority, but dry van trailers took the top spot in future purchase plans. The problem with moving to bulk bodies and trailers is that most delivery locations do not have loading dock facilities available. The answer to this problem is the addition of a liftgate that uses an electrohydraulic powered platform to move loads between the trailer/body floor and LIFTGATES offer flexibility for moving loose cases/barrels, palletized loads, or the increasingly ground level. A liftpopular cart systems that expedite product handling from the warehouse to the store shelf. Larger gate can pay huge rail/column style liftgates such as this Maxon BMR dividends in Series are a popular choice among beverage distribincreased productivi- utors; (inset) Retention ramps such as those shown on this Holland DH Series liftgate are compatible ty, reduced product with both carts and pallets. damage and reduced driver injuries. Here are few tips for fleet managers to follow when choosing a liftgate. 1. When choosing a liftgate, it’s important to know not only the types of loads it will move today, but also the loads it may move as your delivery operations evolve. Retention ramps are compatible with both carts and pallets, but a manual retention ramp can take more time to operate than a cart stop. “We use a 24-inch retention ramp on our platform to keep the load angle shallow for use with an electric pallet jack, making it easier to move the load on and off the platform,” »

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

says Brent Jones, service & warranty manager for Holland Liftgates. Peter Collins, VP of sales & marketing for Waltco Liftgates, says, “We’ve worked with a cart supplier to develop an auto cart stop that acts as the ramp when the gate is on the ground, but as soon as the gate is about four inches above the ground, it becomes a cart stop.” While a distributor may not adopt a cart delivery system concurrent with the move to bulk trailers/bodies, selecting a liftgate that is compatible with both pallets and carts will allow for “future-proof” growth. 2. It’s important to have some “breathing room” in the liftgate’s specifications. Ordering a 5,500pound capacity gate to move 5,500-pound loads, means the gate will always be operating at 100 percent of capacity, wearing on all of the gate’s systems much faster than 5,500-pound loads on a 6,600pound capacity gate. According to Arnold Kowal, technical support manager for Maxon Lift, “I would always put in at least 10 to 20 percent of capacity headroom. I don’t think that’s a matter of over spec’ing, but rather one of proper spec’ing.” 3. At the spec’ing stage, making the choices that will ensure sufficient amperage and voltage reaches the liftgate is the key to trouble-free operation. Proper alternator ratings on the truck/tractor, enough of the proper batteries and proper feeder wiring, all play a role in delivering the power required by the liftgate. JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_89

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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 pavement below and product/equipment above, so the finishing 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 connectors 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 operation 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 mundane, but when the market area being served includes a number of North America’s top ski resorts, bad road conditions, inclement weather and extreme terrain are an everyday part of the job. The Littleton, Colo. branch of Standard Sales employs specialized equipment, highly trained drivers and a flexible routing strategy 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 on time in the precarious mountain terrain outside of Denver. corporate offices are located in Odessa. 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 managutors 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 locatareas west of Denver. “Our sales region is Standard’s largest ed one hour south of Littleton, and Pueblo another hour farterritory 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 volmust 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 seasonal changes, and still significant dayto-day changes, the company’s routing strategy is dynamic by necessity. Palmer (PacLease) Suppliers/Brands Standard Sales Co. Route Supervisor/Safety Represented: AnheuserAccording to route supervisor Chris Littleton, Colo. Branch Busch InBev, Monster, Manager: Chris Wafford Wafford, “On any given day in the offBrand Manager/Safety Team Hansen’s Founded: Littleton, Colo. season, we may combine two to three Captain: Tom Tuffield Delivery Area(s): southern Branch - 2004; Parent HR Manager: Pam Duzanica metro Denver & mountain Company - 1954 routes in the mountains and foothills areas of Colorado Annual Volume: 1.2 million together. Some days we only have nine Warehouse Location: cases out of 11 routes running, saving 20 Littleton, Colo. Operations Executive/Fleet Annual Sales: $20 million Manager: Matt Campbell Total Employees: 47 (15 percent of our fuel consumption for Shop Manager: Rodger drivers) the day.”

FACTS & FIGURES

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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

[DISTRIBUTION]

FLEET MAKE-UP

BEVSOLUTIONS

Type Pickups

Quantity 6

Primary Brand(s) 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 Heavy Tractors 9 Kenworth T800 town, the mechanics can get to 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 conditions, serving the mountain area requires specialized equipthe 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

Re gi No ste w! r

®

World Trade Center Miami presents

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

Meet more than 300 exhibitors showcasing thousands of products from 17 countries in the Americas and overseas

Special Priority Registration Code: NASDA

Sponsors:

Contact: 305-871-7910 or [email protected] for more information and assistance with your visas.

BEVSOLUTIONS

[DISTRIBUTION] 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 system. Both products use the same full-featured, userfriendly Webbased application to provide access to vehicle information. The Networkfleet 4200 gives fleets a vehicle tracking system that includes a rugged, automotivegrade device backed by Networkfleet's full service and support. The company says the 4200, designed by Networkfleet's experienced telematics engineering group and built in the U.S., is tamper evident and hermetically sealed, allowing it to withstand harsh environments. Additionally, Networkfleet says, the 4200 works on all vehicles and is built to pass SAE J1455 certification, 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 opportunity, 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 manufacturers are more willing than ever to wheel and deal on new trucks and trailers. As fleets in more volatile segments of the economy fall on hard times, used equipment can be acquired for a fraction of its original cost. Most repair shops are similarly affected by the slowdown, so there may be huge bargains to be had on that overhaul or paint-job that was originally scheduled for next year. Perhaps more importantly, the current economic adversity also encourages 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

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 publicize 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 optimist’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

Performance Audit Program

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 ability to apply labels to convex, concave or flat surfaces, on either the top or side of a product. The adjustable product 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

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 restaurants. This closure, according to the company, offers ergonomic and comfortable design allowing 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 multispout 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

3D Safety 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 contamination 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 interface. thieletech.com 96_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009

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 prevent accidents. Developed by Pilz in conjunction with DaimlerChrysler, SafetyEYE places a customized 3D protective cocoon around a danger zone with a single system, which has the potential to replace a multitude of twodimensional sensors currently in use today. pilzusa.com

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 [email protected] P.O. Box 1326, Vineland, NJ 08362-1326.

ADVERTISE TODAY! • CONTACT US!

J-Cor Trailer Sales

“Your Premier Dealer of Liftgate Trailers”

US BEVERAGE COMPANY 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: [email protected]

Liftgate Trailers for Bulk/ Cart Operation Contact: Corey North at 770-954-3215 (office) or [email protected] www.jcortrailers.com

BEVERAGEWORLD.COM

Advertise in Beverage World’s Classified Section! Call us today @ 1.646.708.7300 JULY 2009_BEVERAGE WORLD_97

[CLASSIFIEDS] HELP WANTED

WANTED TO BUY We buy all food & beverage

CLOSEOUTS out of code/overruns/pkg changes we export cans/ bottles/dry/frozen Jon at Wham Foods Ph (954) 649-7857 [email protected]

McCLAIN RECRUITING SERVICE: We are In need of job candidates for all positions in the beverage industry. Please send resume and salary information to Dianne McClain, or Brian Cupp at 208 Bethel Drive, Salisbury, NC 28144. Telephone: 704-638-9710, Fax: 704-630-0754. All information confidential. Email: [email protected]

AMERICAN WHOLESALE CO. NEW/USED WALK-IN-COOLER-FREEZER-BOXES REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS-EQUIPMENT. Large Inventory, All Sizes • Buy • Sell - Nationwide Wholesale Prices Phone: 216-426-8882 • Fax: 216-426-8883 www.awrco.com

$$$

$$$ JUDGE INC An Industry leader for over 35 years with a strong concentration in food/beverage manufacturing. Contingency or Retained search • VP Eng./Mfg./Quality • Plant Mgrs/Quality Mgrs • Warehouse/Distribution Mgrs • Engineers Plant/Process /Project /Etc • Maintenance Managers/Supervisors • Production Supervisors//Quality Supervisors • Sanitation Supv/Mgrs To submit resumes or engage searches please contact: Kristin Gordon Associate Vice President, Judge Inc 888-819-3916,ext. 1322 Fax:904-998-0966 [email protected] • www.judgeinc.com http://www.judgeinc.com/brochure/ Food_Flash/food_flash.html

LOOKING TO BUY FINISHED PRODUCTS OR RAW MATERIALS. • short-coded • discontinued • overstocked

Call Jerry at (847)947-6128

ADINDEX Action Air

50

Advance

79

BB&T

50

BERICAP North America

36 - 37

BevOps Fleet Summit

92 - 93

Big Systems

53

Bond Beebe Accountants & Advisors

71

B.R. Miller & Company

51

Central Beverage Company

56

CHEP

We private label. Call for prices. Over 45 years in business. Contact Mel at Vineland Syrup., Inc. Vineland, NJ

1-800-642-9124

www.vinelandsyrup.com• [email protected]

98_BEVERAGE WORLD_JULY 2009

5

Deacom

32 - 33

Dr Pepper Snapple Group

59

Elite Storage Solutions

35

Encompass Technologies

73

Environmental Systems

54

First Beverage Capital

9

General Motors Corporation

2

Great River Economic Development Foundation 58 Group Hesse

77

Halvor Lines

75

Heineken USA

65

John Koss

59

KHS

74

Krones AG

17

Labrada Nutrition

100

LANXESS

82

Lujack’s Northpark Auto Plaza

63

Maxon Lift Corporation

90

Messe Muenchen

Be Seen Online! Call us today @ 1.646.708.7312

45 - 47

Michele & Group

76

MillerCoors

55, 73

National City/PNC

67

Navistar

65

Nestlé Waters

52

Northeastern Pennsylvania Carton Company Padgett-Young & Associates

CONTRACT PACKAGING

CO PACKER

Hot fill Juice & Beverages Can, Glass & PET Call about sizes Contact: Dodson Galloway 956-585-8321 Mission,Tx 78572 email:[email protected]

4 67

Page, Scrantom, Sprouse, Tucker & Ford P.C.

51

PMMI/Pack Expo

25

Powell Walton Milward Insurance

49

Power Trip Beverage

7

Presidente USA

23

Rechtien International Trucks

24

Sidel Corporate SAS

SYRUPS - Energy drinks and fruit juices. 11/2, 3 and 5 gallon BIB BARBECUE SAUCES - Gallons, BIB or Buckets KETCHUP - BIB

28 - 29

Closure Systems International

ROHA Natural Food Colours

PACKAGING

86

Beverage Marketing Corporation

84 81, 87

Swisslog

13

The Beverage Forum 2009

41

Truck Country VPX Sports

63 11, 15, 19

Way Service

69

Welchs

16

World Trade Center Miami

94

Worldwide Food Expo

99

Zambelli USA

61

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

WWW.WORLDWIDEFOOD.COM MOVING AT THE SPEED OF INNOVATION

REGISTER TODAY!

USE PRIORIT Y CODE ABW07