A PepsiCo warehouse and distribution facility that could bring up to 100 jobs to Greenwood has officially opened after being a work in progress for almost three years.
The site opened two weeks ago, and it is hoped that it will bring 80 to 100 jobs, said Angela Curry, executive director for the Greenwood-Leflore Industrial Board.
This economic project began in the summer of 2014 when Curry was contacted by a PepsiCo consultant. The project was very private, and, as with most economic development projects, everything was confidential in the beginning, Curry said.
“Confidentiality is important because sometimes you don’t want your competition to know you are looking at certain areas or your operations to know,” Curry said. “They (Pepsico) were adamant about confidentiality, and we understood that as a community.”
The facility will distribute PepsiCo beverages, including Pepsi soft drinks and Aquafina bottled water. The company was considering locations in four states but ultimately chose Greenwood, Curry said.
“Pepsi has a long history of doing business in Mississippi, and this latest investment demonstrates our continued commitment to the surrounding communities, as well as optimizing our ability to serve our customers and consumers in the area,” said Jennifer Ryan, director of communications for PepsiCo, in a prepared statement last November.
Greenwood has become attractive as a potential site for distribution facilities because of its transportation infrastructure, she said.
“We were a good fit geographically to serve their customer, and we were kind of in the middle of their service area,” Curry said.
During the recruitment process, Curry and other officials helped Pepsi representatives look for sites or buildings in places such as the industrial park.
Because the company was expecting high truck traffic to and from the site, the location needed to be away from high-traffic and residential areas such as school zones, Curry said.
Ultimately, the company decided to locate a 55,000-square-foot facility on U.S. 82 West. The contractor was Mike Rozier Construction Co.
Curry said it was requested that first priority be given to Leflore County residents during the hiring process. Last November, she said she believed the average annual salary would be around $42,000.
The PepsiCo distributorship will economically benefit Greenwood not only with the additional jobs but with “the economic impact of being able to generate tax dollars and the turnover of dollars in the community for families who are living here, “ Curry said.
Wayne Self, president of the Leflore County Board of Supervisors, said he hopes PepsiCo will attract more people to the area.
“We try to do everything we can to bring jobs to Greenwood,” he said.
In addition to city, county and economic development officials, others such as Delta Electric also played a role in funding and/or making the PepsiCo project work, Curry said.
•Contact Lauren Randall at 581-7239 or lrandall@gwcommonwealth.com.
