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Watch how Coca-Cola Consolidated beat a second 100-year flood in just over 10 years
With FM Global, we have an excellent relationship around engineering, underwriting,
claims, and overall risk management. It’s important
for our whole company, and for the 60 million consumers who expect Coke to be on the store shelf whenever they need it.
VICE PRESIDENT OF RISK MANAGEMENT, COCA-COLA CONSOLIDATED
MARK BYERS
Coca-Cola Consolidated relies on FM Global for risk improvement at all of its properties for flood, fire, hurricanes, earthquakes and cyber attacks. An FM Global business impact analysis informs the bottler’s new business continuity plan. There is a detailed contingency plan for disruption of any important business function, including manufacturing, procurement, warehousing and distribution.
And FM Global supports the company’s sustainability efforts, including continuously improving water use efficiency, conserving energy and producing packaging that’s made to be remade. “We’re really trying to eliminate waste altogether,” says Doug Leonard, director of environmental affairs. “FM Global is standing side by side with us to make sure the programs we’re implementing are reducing our property risk.”
Coca-Cola Consolidated has become a pillar of resilience in good weather and bad, in Nashville and beyond. “For us, insurance is not a commodity, it’s a valued relationship,” says Mark. “With FM Global, we have an excellent relationship around engineering, underwriting, claims, and overall risk management. It’s important for our whole company, and for the 60 million consumers who expect Coke to be on the store shelf whenever they need it.”
Second storm puts resilience to the test
Preparation is key to enduring sustainability
The validation came on a Saturday night in March 2021, when Nashville experienced another historic deluge, its fourth-heaviest rainfall on record. The water level in Browns Creek rose fast, causing Coca-Cola Consolidated’s plant personnel to rush to install the flood barriers. By midnight, the creek had risen to 10.5 feet (3.2 meters), well over dangerous flood levels.
But by Sunday morning, the waters had receded and workers could enter the plant. “I was expecting carnage,” says Ryan Edixon, safety loss prevention manager, “but I opened the front door, and to my surprise everything was dry. The main manufacturing area looked like a bit of water had just come in and left. It was beautiful.”
It was May 2010 and the culmination of heavy rainfall on back-to-back days dumped a record-breaking 13.57 inches (34.5 centimeters) of rain on Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The deluge turned a nearby creek into a raging river that swamped Coca-Cola Consolidated’s local plant—a key facility for the nation’s largest Coca-Cola bottler. The flood shuttered the plant for three weeks, destroying electrical systems, compressors, and hundreds of motors as large as 150 horsepower. It was a US$7 million loss.
“When we’re not manufacturing Coca-Cola products, we’re not selling them,” notes Donnie, executive vice president of product supply. “So, it’s critical for our business to be up and running.”
It was Donnie Etheridge‘s first flash flood:
To see how quickly it devastated the plant was … awe-inspiring. Water flowed through a major building like it wasn’t even there. I’ll never forget seeing our equipment floating down a river that two days earlier didn’t exist.”
Flood is one of the costliest climate risks in the world, yet most flood loss is both predictable and preventable. To help mitigate the risk at its Nashville, Tennessee, USA, bottling facility, Coca-Cola Consolidated employs a variety of permanent and temporary protection measures, like flood planks, which can be easily installed prior to flooding.
FIGHTING FLOOD
“
Coca-Cola Consolidated is the United States’ largest Coca-Cola bottler, packaging 315 million cases of Coca-Cola and 300 other brands and flavors at 11 manufacturing facilities. The company ships these goods from 60 distribution and sales centers across 14 states and Washington, D.C., ultimately reaching 60 million consumers.
It’s not just sales that are lost in a disruption. At risk is bottled water for first responders or anyone whose drinking water source is disrupted by floodwaters. Potable water becomes scarce when disaster strikes. Even in a flash flood when water is everywhere, tap water is often contaminated.
To help minimize future damage caused by flooding, Coca-Cola Consolidated and engineers from FM Global pored over options. Relocation would be too expensive. Dredging and berms could violate local laws. There was only one solution: work with nature, not against it. FM Global proposed that Coca-Cola Consolidated allow floodwaters to flow through the plant by creating a safe path with floodwalls and gates, like a culvert under your driveway.
“FM Global’s approach was to protect the critical equipment so when something did happen, we would be able to recover much quicker,” says Mark Byers, vice president of risk management. “As we would see, it worked. Due to FM Global’s recommendations, we’re much better prepared to handle flood and other risks than we were 10 years ago.”
After minimal cleanup, the plant was open for business. “We had a similar event at the same facility adjacent to the same creek with a much different outcome,” says Mark. “Instead of US$7 million, the loss was minimal. The flood barriers we installed worked as designed. We were up and running in a couple of days.”
Says Donnie, “I wasn’t really surprised our plan worked well; I was delighted it worked well.”
Coca-Cola Consolidated is the largest Coca-Cola bottler in the United States, packaging 315 million cases of Coca-Cola and 300 other brands and flavors at 11 manufacturing facilities. The company ships these goods from 60 distribution and sales centers across 14 states and Washington, D.C., ultimately reaching 60 million consumers.
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But by Sunday morning, the waters had receded and workers could enter the plant. “I was expecting carnage,” says Ryan Edixon, safety loss prevention manager, “but I opened the front door, and to
my surprise everything was dry. The main manufacturing area looked like a bit of water had just come in and left. It was beautiful.”
After minimal cleanup, the plant was open for business. “We had a similar event at the same facility adjacent to the same creek with a much different outcome,” says Mark. “Instead of US$7 million, the loss was minimal. The flood barriers we installed worked as designed. We were up and running in a couple of days.”
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