Buffalo Rock’s new $32 million Huntsville facility is currently slated to be operational by June 13 2022. This comes less than a year after the provider of Pepsi soft drink beverages broke ground on the new development and less than two years after the initial agreement between Buffalo Rock and Huntsville was announced.

The facility will replace the company’s current distribution center on Old Madison Pike Road while helping Buffalo Rock to continue their company goal of growing their portfolio and providing better service to their customers.

“The purpose of the new Huntsville facility is to better serve our customers, employee partners and consumers in the North Alabama region while also supporting the strategic growth we have envisioned,” said Buffalo Rock Senior VP Wayne Wisdom in an interview with HBJ. “Our current operations will be moving to the new facility by midyear. Our customers will see real benefits from this expansion.”

Huntsville was selected over various other potential locations in Northern Alabama and Georgia. One reason the company chose to remain in Huntsville is the city’s commitment to roadway improvements in the area as outlined in the agreement between the two. This included a new two-lane east – west access road on the project site as well as a new three-lane road that will connect the site with Alabama Highway 20.

The 204,000 square foot development is located north of I-565 in the same neighborhood as the Mazda Toyota Manufacturing plant. It will spread across 55 acres of land named “Spencer Tract” in the agreement between Buffalo Rock and the city.

The design and construction of the facility was a joint effort between Buffalo Rock and Birmingham based Hoar Construction as well as Hoar’s subsidiary, Hoar Project Management. The two companies have history together as Hoar Construction is also handling Buffalo Rock’s $75 million expansion of their Birmingham facility.

“We place a great deal of value in our relationship with Buffalo Rock,” said Hoar Project Management official Jeremiah Owen. “Buffalo Rock has entrusted HPM and Hoar Construction with the programming, design and construction of the new facility. We’re very grateful to work with Buffalo Rock on a facility that will have such a great impact on their overall vision for their customers, employees and community in the Huntsville market.”

The distribution center will employ a minimum of 130 people by the end of 2022. The hourly wage of those employees will be at least $22.15. This economic impact was a large reason why the plan was strongly supported by Major Tommy Battle and was unanimously approved by the Huntsville City Council. The distribution center will add at least $5 million a year to the economy’s payroll.

It will also absorb some of the operations currently held in the Tuscumbia’s distribution center that employs 87 people. Mike Hamilton, Buffalo Rock’s Regional Vice President of North Alabama, said that while this will cause a slight decrease in that number, the company has created opportunities for those individuals to stay employed with the company at other locations.

The expansion is just the latest chapter in Buffalo Rock’s history with Huntsville and North Alabama. The company purchased Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of the South back in 1983, which included both the Huntsville and Tuscumbia market territories. Last year, Buffalo Rock celebrated 120 years of being in business, and 70 years since purchasing their first Pepsi distributorship. They are currently the largest single family owned Pepsi bottler in the United States.