Victorville, Calif., Oct. 22 - Representatives of Dr Pepper Snapple Group joined elected officials from throughout Victor Valley today to officially break ground on the company's beverage production and distribution center in Victorville.
Larry Young, president and CEO of DPS, Victorville Mayor Terry Caldwell, County Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt and other key company officials and local dignitaries turned the first scoops of dirt on the site of the plant at Southern California Logistics Airport.
When open in 2010, the $120 million Dr Pepper Snapple facility will produce as many as 40 million cases of beverages each year and employ approximately 200 people. It will be the company's Western hub in a regional manufacturing and distribution footprint serving consumers in California and parts of the desert Southwest. The company will produce a wide range of soft drinks, juices, juice drinks, ready-to-drink teas, energy drinks and other premium beverages at the Victorville plant.
"Breaking ground on our Victorville facility is an important milestone in the history of our newly independent company," said Larry Young, president and CEO of Dr Pepper Snapple Group. "This is the final step in establishing five major U.S. distribution hubs that will allow us to more efficiently serve our customers and consumers and strengthen our route-to-market. We're very grateful to the people of Victorville for welcoming us into the community, and we're committed to making the Victor Valley a better place to live and work."
The DPS plant at Southern California Logistics Airport is part of an 8,500-acre master planned multimodal freight transportation hub developed on the site of the former George Air Force Base and supported by air, ground and rail connections. The plant will consist of an 850,000-square-foot building on 57 acres, including 550,000 square feet of warehouse space, and a 300,000-square-foot manufacturing plant with up to six manufacturing lines.
"This is a great day for High Desert residents," said Victorville Mayor Terry Caldwell. "When a company like Dr Pepper Snapple chooses Victorville for its new West Coast facility, it means we have arrived and others will follow. This means hundreds of new jobs for our local residents."