The fizz has returned to Arctic Beverages.
Out from under a creditor protection order filed last year, northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba’s Pepsi distributor is thriving under new ownership, says general manager Harold Bonazew.
“The business has been doing really well and we have had several new opportunities coming our way,” said Bonazew, who oversees Arctic’s five locations, including the one in Flin Flon.
Things did not look good for Arctic early last year. In March 2014 the company filed for creditor protection after racking up more than $26 million in unpaid bills.
Arctic at the time was owned by the troubled Tribal Councils Investment Group (TCIG), whose extravagant expenses came to light in an APTN report earlier this year.
In an online report in January, APTN described the state of TCIG as follows: “After 24 years and multi-millions of dollars, there’s very little left of TCIG, a receptionist, office manager and a
ragtag board of directors have little to do after TCIG’s assets were sold off to pay bills.”
Bonazew, who is based in Winnipeg, is more measured in his summation of TCIG’s impact on Arctic.
“It is accurate to say the former parent company caused some challenges for Arctic,” he said.
Fortunately for Arctic and its staff, the business soon found a more stable ownership group in a consortium of three companies, all business arms of First Nations: Athabasca Basin Development Corp. and Prince Albert Development Corp. in Saskatchewan, and Paskwayak Business Development Corp. in Manitoba.
When the sale went through on May 12, 2014, Arctic was officially out from under creditor protection and ready to move forward.
Bonazew said the creditor protection period was difficult for staff, and although some product shortages resulted there were neither layoffs nor service interruptions or reductions.
He said Arctic is concerned that its image took a hit over the creditor protection filing but will work to rebuild trust.
“We can do this by taking care of our customers the way they [deserve] to be treated,” said Bonazew, a former Flin Flonner.
“Things have changed for Arctic in that we are now more focused on growth and being a really great partner for the businesses in all of the communities we service, with the reputation that we are known for in customer service and great care for all of the products we sell.”
In addition to Flin Flon, where the company has a distribution centre on Green Street, Arctic has locations in The Pas, Thompson, Prince Albert and Winnipeg.
With 86 employees, including 14 in Flin Flon, Arctic serves the largest geographical region of any Pepsi bottler in Canada – 21 per cent of the country in all.
The region encompasses northern Manitoba, northern Saskatchewan, northeastern Ontario, Nunavut and the far east side of the Northwest Territories.
Arctic has deep Flin Flon roots, having launched in the community in 1938. It has traditionally been a nationally respected company, having been named Pepsi’s Canadian Bottler of the Year in 1998 and 2007.
TCIG assumed full ownership of Arctic in 1991, making it the only Pepsi bottler in the world that was owned and operated by a First Nation.
