On the Move

A soft drink bottler for the past 40-plus years, St Cloud, MN, USA-based Viking Coca-Cola has grown into the 10th largest Coca Cola bottler in the US through a strategic focus on both execution in the marketplace and efficiencies in its bottling operations. A family-run business, Viking relies on a tight-knit, committed executive team, which consists of many team members with 20-plus years of experience with Viking. Although Viking's legacy is in the soft drink business, the company also has dimension and diversity as it operates a beer business, Viking Beverages, and a vending business, First Choice Food & Beverage Solutions. Viking got into the beer business in 2005 with the acquisition of Lenneman Distributing Co, a Coors wholesaler that covers the St. Cloud, Hutchinson and Willmar areas. Viking faces many of the same challenges as other beverage companies, namely, high fuel prices and rising costs, but manages these challenges through annual strategic planning and by producing its own Coca-Cola products.