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The Anaheim plant also plans to install automated guided vehicles (AGV) in its warehousing operations. Once installed, the AGVs will pick up pallets from the palletizer and place them into existing racks in its chilled storage area, which can hold three days worth of inventory or up to 4,000 pallets, Teeuwen says. When trucks arrive for distribution, the AGV will pick the pallet from the racks and place it directly into the trucks, Sileo says. The models use a combination of laser, optic and pressure sensors to locate and place loads.

In the years since, SDBC has made progress on each of the goals, with some of its manufacturing sites meeting or exceeding the benchmarks, says Ellen Iobst, senior vice president of global manufacturing and innovation for SDBC. The company’s Anaheim production facility, which produces SunnyD beverages for the states west of the Rocky Mountains, exceeded the water reduction goals with a 33 percent decrease, says Keith Teeuwen, SDBC’s Anaheim plant manager. The California facility also is on pace with energy reduction, reporting a drop of 19 percent, he says.

Invests in its product family SINCE SETTING OUT AS AN INDEPENDENT COMPANY IN AUGUST 2004, SUNNY Delight Beverages Co. (SDBC), Cincinnati, has expanded beyond its core brand of SunnyD juice-based drinks. The company now maintains a portfolio of seven brands that not only appeal to children, but consumers of all ages and lifestyles. SDBC approaches its business with “sunny optimism, pun intended,” says Billy Cyr, president and chief executive officer of the company. W. Childs acquired the SunnyD and Elations brands from Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble.