PepsiCo North America is set to invest in the expansion of its Denver, Colorado facility, making it the company’s largest US manufacturing plant to date. Colorado beat three other states to become the site of the massive facility, the company said in a press release last Wednesday. PepsiCo North America acquired roughly 152 acres of land for the planned 1.2 million square foot manufacturing facility.
“We’re thrilled to call Denver, a city that shares so many of our values, home to PepsiCo’s most sustainable US plant location,” said PepsiCo Beverages North America’s (PBNA) West Division President, Johannes Evenblij, in the same press release. “With the High Point facility serving as a model for the future of PBNA’s supply chain, we’re eager to continue deepening our dedication to Colorado through positive impacts such as new job opportunities and more sustainable business solutions.”
The project, to be built on a greenfield site near the intersection of East 72nd Avenue and Argonne Street, just outside Denver International Airport, will have three times the capacity of the current Denver facility and is scheduled to open in the summer of 2023.
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The High Point facility is also intended to be PepsiCo North America’s most sustainable domestic manufacturing plant. As such, it will aim to achieve 100 percent renewable electricity, best-in-class water efficiency and reduced virgin plastic use, the company stated. While a dollar figure on the project was not disclosed, the Denver City Council approved $1 million in incentives for Pepsi’s project in March.
As PepsiCo North America builds the facility and adds new jobs, the city of Denver will pay the company cash in installments. As part of the deal, the company will move its longtime operation on Brighton Boulevard in Denver’s River North Art District (nicknamed “RiNo”) neighborhood to the new facility. The company says all 250 employees at the existing facility will be moved to the new site and that it will create an additional 250 jobs on top of that.
Denver officials estimate the project could bring $6 million in additional revenue to the city’s general fund over a five-year period and $11 million over a ten-year period. Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock noted that PepsiCo North America has been a significant presence in the city for nearly 75 years.
“Not only will their new facility create more quality jobs in our city, it significantly boosts their commitment to sustainability and supports my administration’s climate action efforts,” Mayor Hancock added. “We’ve been working hand in hand with the PepsiCo team on this project and look forward to taking it across the finish line.”
The announcement of the new Denver facility comes a few months after Fort Wayne, Indiana’s City Council approved an agreement to purchase a 6.4-acre parcel of riverfront property from P-Americas LLC, a subsidiary of PepsiCo North America. A Pepsi warehouse currently sits on the property, but the company intends to invest $19 million to build a new facility near Fort Wayne International Airport.
In the meantime, the new Denver facility will produce multiple PepsiCo products, including Pepsi, Pepsi Zero, Gatorade, Bubly, Rockstar, Propel and Muscle Milk.
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