Dutch bottling conglomerate Refresco is gearing up for a leadership transition, announcing today the retirement of CEO Hans Roelofs, effective August 1.
The company’s supervisory board is searching for a replacement and expects to announce a new CEO “in due course.” Roelofs, who joined Refresco in 2007, will remain at the helm until his retirement date to ensure a smooth leadership transition, per the announcement.
“Together with our passionate and highly professional team, we have grown the business from a small regional player into the global leader in beverage solutions that we are today. With its blue-chip customer base, Refresco is stronger and more resilient than ever,” said Roelofs in a statement.
Founded in 2000, the Netherlands-based company is an independent beverage solutions provider for global, national and emerging brands and retailers with production in Europe, North America and Australia. It offers an array of products and packaging combinations from carbonated soft drinks, juices and ready-to-drink teas to plant-based beverages in aseptic PET, cans and glass.
Over the course of his 18-year career at Refresco, Roelofs helped the conglomerate expand to 13 countries and 75 manufacturing sites. That includes the acquisition of three manufacturing facilities from The Coca-Cola Company in 2022. The plants in Truesdale, Missouri; Waco, Texas; and Paw Paw, Michigan produce brands like Minute Maid, Gold Peak, Vitaminwater and Powerade.
Roleofs previously told BevNET the deal fit Refresco’s broader strategy of building its branded customer business – which includes Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Monster, Red Bull and AriZona, among others – to complement its private label services.
“We see ample potential to continue growing our business and our customer base in North America. With this acquisition, we also further enhance our position in terms of product and packaging portfolio,” he said at the time of the deal.
Roelofs was also at the helm when New York-based investment firm KKR acquired a majority stake in Refresco. According to the companies, the majority stake was acquired from shareholders French investment firm PAI and Canadian group British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI). The deal valued the bottler at $7.9 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Most recently, Refresco filed a $67 million lawsuit against former client Congo Brands, alleging the company backed out of a long-term production agreement for sports drink PRIME. Refresco claims the three-year deal fell apart before a single bottle of PRIME came off a dedicated new production line in its Truesdale, Missouri, facility.