96 Business View - January 2016
in the industry, Walton Beverage no longer actually
makes its soda products, but still continues to distrib-
ute them. “Most of the smaller bottlers have not actu-
ally made our own product for forty or fifty years,” he
explains. “We’ve aligned with other bottlers to form co-
ops. Here, in the northwest, we have two large, modern
facilities that make the product for PepsiCo’s company
operations and for the independent bottlers here, of
which there are thirteen. There are two sites, one in
Mt. Angel, Oregon, and one in Tumwater, Washington.
Those are the places that receive concentrate. That
concentrate, mixed with sweeteners and water, create
the Pepsi that you put in cans and bottles.”
Today, Walton Beverage has 135 employees, over 30
delivery trucks, and two dozen trailers. The company
delivers Pepsi and other products to large national
chains, such as Wal-Mart, Target, Kroger, Safeway,
FOOD & BEVERAGE
