Home » Secretary of State tours beverage bottlers, electronics recycler to learn more about businesses in Ky.

Secretary of State tours beverage bottlers, electronics recycler to learn more about businesses in Ky.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 24, 2012) — Last week, Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes spent time with three businesses to learn more about their operations and contributions to their communities and the state. Grimes met with managers of Coca-Cola Refreshments and G&J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers, Inc., both members of the Kentucky Beverage Association, and Global Environmental Services, LLC, a Kentucky company that provides electronic recycling services.

Grimes, the state’s chief business official, said, “understanding Kentucky businesses’ histories, places in the current economic landscape, and plans for the future is critical to state government’s ability to help them succeed.”

CCR has a statewide presence, with distribution centers in Lexington, Louisville, Paducah, Pikeville, and Somerset. CCR employs 715 people in Kentucky with a payroll of $33 million, and it pays more than $4 million annually in state taxes. It has been operating in the Commonwealth for more than a century. CCR’s impact goes beyond economics. For example, CCR has an aggressive environmental program that ranges from using sustainable packaging to building rain gardens that reduce runoff and improve water quality, and it supports a variety of charitable and community programs.

G&J, a family-owned company, is the largest independent Pepsi bottler in the United States. With bottling facilities in Lexington and Winchester, it serves 30 counties in central Kentucky and employs more than 400 Kentuckians. G&J is a model corporate citizen. The company recycled nearly 900,000 pounds of material in 2011, is a member of the Keep Lexington Beautiful Commission to improve the local community, and has purchased and improved reclaimed property.

GES, located in Georgetown, just celebrated its fourth anniversary on July 22, but it already has the distinction of being the seventh largest electronics recycler in North America. In four years, GES has grown from four employees to more than 50 and expanded its services to include electronics recycling, secure data destruction, equipment refurbishment, fleet installation, and hardware and software solutions. GES’s management says the company is committed to doing the right thing because, although it comes at a cost, it protects both the environment and its customers. Its methods have earned numerous accolades, including the Kentucky Small Business Administration Pacesetter award and R2, e-Steward, and ISO certifications. GES is also a KY EXCEL Master member and US EPA WasteWise partner.

“State government must do its part to keep Kentucky’s doors open for business so that businesses like these and so many others can truly succeed,” Grimes said.