Beverage World - May 2008 - (Page 47) [UPCLOSE] W for which she has been a secretary, payroll supervisor and benefits coordinator. Recently, Everette Anderson, VP of sales and marketing, supervised a film crew sent by Pepsi-Cola to capture the spirit of the company. It’s a spirit that has its origins at the start of the 20th century. The company began in 1904 when Samuel Ambrose Jessup (affectionately called S.A. by friends and employees) cofounded a soft drink bottling business in VITAL STATS Martinsville, Va., USA. PEPSI-COLA BOTTLING CO. OF CENTRAL VIRGINIA By 1908, S.A. moved to PRESIDENT: James “Jay” Jessup Charlottesville with the HEADQUARTERS: Charlottesville, Va., USA idea of expanding the ’07 CASE SALES: 9.8 million business. He sought the EMPLOYEES: 350 most popular cola drink GOALS: To be recognized by our customers as the very best supplier of liquid refreshment beverages in Central he could find to base his Virginia and to satisfy every variation of the thirst needs business on, ultimately and desires of the consumer. deciding on Pepsi-Cola. Even though several places in North Carolina were bottling Pepsi-Cola before he started, the Jessup family now has the oldest franchise on record with the parent Pepsi-Cola. Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co. of Central Virginia When S.A. passed away in 1960, the reaches the century mark. By John Karolefski firm was taken over by James L. Jessup, his son. When he died in 1984, the company was passed on to another Jessup—James (nicknamed Jay)— hat makes a successful beverage distributor? who holds the position of president today. His sister, Many point to the deployment of automation and production techniques. Others say doing the Suzanne Jessup Brooks, is executive vice president. Mary Helen Jessup, Jay and Suzanne’s mother, also plays a role in job in a timely fashion. Finally, it is always the the company. people who make or break an enterprise. But true success is The company now operates four soda and water bottling doing all of those things for a sustained period of time. Such is the case with the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co. of Central plants throughout the state of Virginia. Those plants are located in Charlottesville, Virginia Beach, Warrenton and Virginia, celebrating its 100th anniversary this June. Success Weyer’s Cave. In addition to bottling Pepsi, Gatorade, is owed to the commitment of one family and its dedicated Tropicana and other PepsiCo products, the firm distributes team of workers, who built a close-knit bottling company Cheerwine. Also under the company umbrella is a Cadbury ready to begin its second century. facility, which carries 7UP, Snapple and Canada Dry. In total, People? It’s a family business with a third generation of the bottler covers 18 counties and employs 350 people. ownership. The extended family includes several longtime By the time Jay took over, there were still many seasoned dedicated employees. Perhaps the most dedicated is Agnes veterans in the ranks that he had worked with, or at least Garver who just celebrated her 55th year with the company Bottling 100 Years BEVERAGEWORLD.COM » THE BROTHER AND SISTER TEAM of Jay Jessup, president, and Suzanne Jessup Brooks, executive vice president, has taken over the family business. MAY 2008_BEVERAGE WORLD_47 http://BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
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