Carolina Canners

Prior to 1967, there was not a dependable source for canned Pepsi-Cola product availability in the Carolinas, as most canned soft drinks were produced by private-label canneries throughout the Southeast. Carl Worley of Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Selma, N.C., led the planning process to build a Carolina-based Pepsi-Cola cannery. After having convinced most of the independent Pepsi-Cola bottlers to invest in this joint venture, Carolina Canners was born and built in 1968. Worley joined Brantley Burnett of Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Roxboro, N.C., to persuade 30-plus independent North Carolina and South Carolina Pepsi bottlers to build the cannery. Carolina Canners supplies many original stockholders and neighboring bottlers with soft drinks from a production center in Cheraw, S.C. Carolina Canners has expanded many times and has two can production lines, a pair of bottle production lines and a fountain syrup production line that produces numerous brands, flavors and packages of soft drinks.