Swire Coca-Cola’s bottling plant at 3825 York St. in Denver in 2023. (BusinessDen file)
Denver is losing Swire Coca-Cola.
The Salt Lake City, Utah-based franchise bottler of the beverage giant announced this week that it plans to build a $475 million manufacturing facility in southeast Colorado Springs, which will replace its existing facility along York Street in Denver.
The decision is a notable fumble for Denver, given that Swire had until recently been planning to build the new facility in Denver, on land owned by the airport.
City leaders approved a ground lease for a site along Tower Road just north of Pena Boulevard in 2023. But in July, Swire said it wouldn’t be building the project there.
“Unforeseen delays and ongoing timeline instability have severely impacted the viability and delivery of the project,” Swire spokeswoman Allison Barrett said at the time, adding that the company was searching for a new site.
That new site ended up being more than 75 miles south.
“Colorado Springs has been a great partner for our existing distribution facility where we employ 170 people. The city offers a highly skilled workforce and a strong sense of community — all of which make it an ideal location for this strategic investment,” Bryan Sink, Swire’s vice president of supply chain, said in a statement.
Swire didn’t respond to a request for comment from BusinessDen on Thursday.
Swire’s decision to bail on Denver International Airport appears to have involved Xcel Energy, which needed to supply power to the site, according to records previously obtained by The Denver Post.
On April 2, DIA CEO Phil Washington wrote Xcel President Robert Kenney: “Swire is concerned that Xcel has not met verbal commitments regarding the service application design process, and that Xcel’s inability to confirm when temporary and permanent power will be available to their site is affecting the feasibility of their project.”
Kenney wrote back, according to records obtained by the Post, that Xcel had extensively communicated with Swire and “deviated from our normal procedures to keep this project on track.”
“Xcel Energy long maintained and assured Swire CC that we could meet their energy needs,” Xcel spokeswoman Michelle Aguayo told the newspaper in August.
Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, head of the Colorado Springs Chamber and Economic Development Commission, told BusinessDen that she heard six to nine months ago that Swire was looking for a new location to build.
“We never work to pull a company from somewhere else in the state,” she said, but noted that Swire indicated the bottling plant could end up moving out of Colorado.
“This project was competitive with other states,” she said.
Reeder Kleymeyer said the company didn’t directly say why it bailed on Denver. But she noted that Xcel does not provide power to Colorado Springs, which has a municipally owned utility provider.
“We can move very quickly,” she said.
Swire is taking space in a business park adjacent to the Colorado Springs airport. Northrop Grumman is among other companies already there, she said. Swire is eligible for up to $20 million in incentives in connection with the move.
Swire distributes Coca-Cola and other beverage brands in 13 states across the American West. The Denver bottling facility is one of six the company has, according to its website. Swire also has a distribution center in the Central Park neighborhood.
“Swire has been a valuable partner to Denver and we look forward to doing business with them in the future,” Jon Ewing, a spokesman for Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, told BusinessDen Thursday.
Coke rival Pepsi is also moving its Denver bottling facility, currently at the corner of 38th and Blake streets in RiNo. But it will remain in the city, relocating to a site it bought near DIA, not far from where Swire would have gone.
Swire Coca-Cola’s bottling plant at 3825 York St. in Denver in 2023. (BusinessDen file)
Denver is losing Swire Coca-Cola.
The Salt Lake City, Utah-based franchise bottler of the beverage giant announced this week that it plans to build a $475 million manufacturing facility in southeast Colorado Springs, which will replace its existing facility along York Street in Denver.
The decision is a notable fumble for Denver, given that Swire had until recently been planning to build the new facility in Denver, on land owned by the airport.
City leaders approved a ground lease for a site along Tower Road just north of Pena Boulevard in 2023. But in July, Swire said it wouldn’t be building the project there.
“Unforeseen delays and ongoing timeline instability have severely impacted the viability and delivery of the project,” Swire spokeswoman Allison Barrett said at the time, adding that the company was searching for a new site.
That new site ended up being more than 75 miles south.
“Colorado Springs has been a great partner for our existing distribution facility where we employ 170 people. The city offers a highly skilled workforce and a strong sense of community — all of which make it an ideal location for this strategic investment,” Bryan Sink, Swire’s vice president of supply chain, said in a statement.
Swire didn’t respond to a request for comment from BusinessDen on Thursday.
Swire’s decision to bail on Denver International Airport appears to have involved Xcel Energy, which needed to supply power to the site, according to records previously obtained by The Denver Post.
On April 2, DIA CEO Phil Washington wrote Xcel President Robert Kenney: “Swire is concerned that Xcel has not met verbal commitments regarding the service application design process, and that Xcel’s inability to confirm when temporary and permanent power will be available to their site is affecting the feasibility of their project.”
Kenney wrote back, according to records obtained by the Post, that Xcel had extensively communicated with Swire and “deviated from our normal procedures to keep this project on track.”
“Xcel Energy long maintained and assured Swire CC that we could meet their energy needs,” Xcel spokeswoman Michelle Aguayo told the newspaper in August.
Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, head of the Colorado Springs Chamber and Economic Development Commission, told BusinessDen that she heard six to nine months ago that Swire was looking for a new location to build.
“We never work to pull a company from somewhere else in the state,” she said, but noted that Swire indicated the bottling plant could end up moving out of Colorado.
“This project was competitive with other states,” she said.
Reeder Kleymeyer said the company didn’t directly say why it bailed on Denver. But she noted that Xcel does not provide power to Colorado Springs, which has a municipally owned utility provider.
“We can move very quickly,” she said.
Swire is taking space in a business park adjacent to the Colorado Springs airport. Northrop Grumman is among other companies already there, she said. Swire is eligible for up to $20 million in incentives in connection with the move.
Swire distributes Coca-Cola and other beverage brands in 13 states across the American West. The Denver bottling facility is one of six the company has, according to its website. Swire also has a distribution center in the Central Park neighborhood.
“Swire has been a valuable partner to Denver and we look forward to doing business with them in the future,” Jon Ewing, a spokesman for Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, told BusinessDen Thursday.
Coke rival Pepsi is also moving its Denver bottling facility, currently at the corner of 38th and Blake streets in RiNo. But it will remain in the city, relocating to a site it bought near DIA, not far from where Swire would have gone.
