Superior Beverage in Valley unaffected by new warehouse

STAFF REPORT

AUSTINTOWN — Construction of a proposed warehouse in the Cleveland area would not affect local operations at Superior Beverage, a company spokesman said.

The company has no plans to change anything at its headquarters and warehouse on Victoria Road, Joe Mosbrook said. Superior Beverage has 155 local employees.

He added, however, that those plans could change depending on the outcome of labor contract negotiations next year. Truck drivers who are members of Teamsters Local 377 have a contract expiring in May.

The beer-and-wine distributor has requested a tax abatement from officials in Glenwillow, a suburb near Solon, for its proposed project in an industrial park near Interstate 80.

Mosbrook said the abatement is one of several factors that will be considered as company officials look at whether to go forward with the project.

A new warehouse is needed because Superior has acquired two other distributors in the Cleveland area in the past three years and is considering three more, Mosbrook said.

The new warehouse would replace a sales office in Hudson and a smaller warehouse in Mayfield. About 245 workers from those facilities would be relocated to the new location, Mosbrook said.

“We need to get all of this under one roof,” he said.

Superior Beverage also has operations in Mansfield, Canton and Columbus and employs 570 workers overall. The company was founded locally in 1922 as a wholesale grocery business.