CICERO — The Cicero company that markets itself as “The Pepsi Place” will soon become a bigger place. Clinton’s Ditch Co-Operative Company, Inc. plans to add 100,000 square feet to its existing 274,000 plant on Pardee Road in the town of Cicero. It’s part of a $40.7 million expansion of the current facility, the office […]
CICERO — The Cicero company that markets itself as “The Pepsi Place” will soon become a bigger place. Clinton’s Ditch Co-Operative Company, Inc. plans to add 100,000 square feet to its existing 274,000 plant on Pardee Road in the town of Cicero. It’s part of a $40.7 million expansion of the current facility, the office of Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon announced May 7. The expansion will allow the firm to retain nearly 300 jobs and to create nearly two dozen additional positions.
The proposal also calls for the creation of a new 19,520-square-foot truck-repair facility, along with wastewater improvements.
“Clinton’s Ditch has been a staple in our local business community for nearly 60 years. While there is plenty to celebrate with all of the new investments taking place, it is important that we continue to support our local companies such as Clinton’s Ditch.” McMahon said in the announcement. “This planned expansion will not only allow the company to grow their number of employees, but further build upon their already impressive growth. I applaud and thank the team at Clinton’s Ditch for their partnership and commitment to Onondaga County and Central New York.”
Founded in 1967 as a New York State cooperative, Clinton’s Ditch started as an independent bottler of Pepsi Cola, following its groundbreaking in 1968 on the 150th anniversary of the Erie Canal.
Originally, it was launched by 18 independent New York Pepsi-Cola bottlers with the goal of producing Pepsi in aluminum cans, eventually expanding to bottling, per McMahon’s office. With successive expansions, the plant grew from 47,000 square feet to 274,000 square feet, becoming a major producer of carbonated soft drinks, seltzers, energy drinks, and purified water.
The company uses “The Pepsi Place” marketing moniker on its website and some of its signage. Structured as a cooperative, Clinton’s Ditch operates under a unique model where customers are also owners. All profits, except those necessary to meet debt obligations, are annually returned to the owners.
While four of the owners are multi-generational family businesses, the fifth, PepsiCo, Inc. maintains no direct affiliation beyond being a supplier, with no potential for assistance from the corporation, McMahon’s office said.