Sacramento’s Nor-Cal Beverage Co., one of the largest bottlers and packers of juices, soda and energy drinks on the West Coast, has bought more than 5 acres of land and building space next to its Anaheim plant for expansion.
The $5.9 million buy, which closed in late December, includes about 50,000 square feet of warehouse, office and factory space that could be used for production, storage and shipping.
A decision on expanding operations here isn’t expected for about a year. For now, the company is using some of the space to improve traffic and security at its plant near the Riverside (91) Freeway.
“We’re looking at the master plan of the whole facility,” Chief Executive Shannon Deary-Bell said.
Nor-Cal now has 350,000 square feet of space in Anaheim, where it makes, packages and ships chilled juices for Coca-Cola Co., Florida’s Citrus World Inc. and Corona-based Hansen Natural Corp., maker of juices and Monster energy drinks.
Nor-Cal also makes its own Go Girl energy drinks for women and distributes beer for Anheuser-Busch Cos., part of Belgium’s Anheuser-Busch InBev.
In 2001, Nor-Cal bought the plant from Coca-Cola. It has invested more than $40 million in upgrades and equipment since then.
Anaheim Operation
Nor-Cal produces about 27 million of its 45 million beverage cases annually in Anaheim, where it employs 187 people, with temporary labor that fluctuates with demand and seasonal hiring.
The company employs 575 people nationwide and has more than 1 billion square feet of manufacturing space.
Competitors include Ontario’s Niagara Bottling Co., which has operations in Irvine, and Cliffstar Corp. of New York.
Nor-Cal has yearly sales of about $200 million.
In the 1990s, Nor-Cal made a name for itself in the industry working with Coca-Cola, bottling and distributing its Dr. Pepper, Canada Dry and Hires root beer brands, among others.
In early 2007, the company got out of soft drinks and spent most of 2008 replacing equipment with new machines, which help mix ingredients in beverages and packages them in bottles, cans and plastic boxes.
Nor-Cal, which was started in 1937, weathered the recession by relying on stable clients that continued to introduce products and packaging throughout the downturn.
“We’ve been very fortunate with very strong companies in our portfolio,” said Deary-Bell, a third-generation executive in the family business. “We’ve have to change with them.”
Land’s Former Use
Nor-Cal bought the land next to its Anaheim operation from Hobbs Trucking Co., a 74-year-old family business that once served the region’s oil and citrus industry but didn’t survive the recent recession.
As fruit growers moved out of the county in the 1960s, Hobbs secured a deal to haul newspaper rolls for what was then the Santa Ana Register, a contract the company held for 45 years until last September.
Hobbs had its best days in the years before the recession hit, growing employment to 45 people with annual sales of $6 million to $7 million.
The company struggled in the past three years and decided to sell the company late last year as circulation at the Orange County Register tumbled.
“There just wasn’t enough volume of paper to merit staying in business,” said President Lee Hobbs, a third-generation executive. “We just couldn’t turn a profit. It was time to call it a career.”
