Anheuser-Busch, UP, Doll Distributing Partner for Wholesale Delivery
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
Anheuser-Busch is transitioning over 3,500 over-the-road loads onto the rail network. (Caption and Photograph Courtesy of Union Pacific)
Anheuser-Busch recently teamed with Union Pacific (UP) and beverage distributor Doll Distributing to transport product from its breweries in Colorado and Missouri to wholesalers nationwide, UP reported on its website.
According to UP’s Jan. 12 “Inside Track” report, Anheuser-Busch founder Adolphus Busch in the 1880s pioneered the use of refrigerated railcars to transport the company’s product. More than 100 years later, the brewer has invested millions of dollars to purchase 240 new insulated railcars—equipped with GPS, temperature monitoring and other technology—“to ensure the quality of the company’s products wouldn’t be compromised during transport,” according to UP. “In addition, Doll Distributing worked with the Freight Council and Union Pacific to get its track and new facilities up to code.” UP’s Network and Industrial Development team and its Customer Service team helped oversee the process, the Class I railroad said.
“By owning 200-plus insulated railcars, we are removing over 3,500 OTR [over-the-road] loads from the network,” Aaron Edmondson, Anheuser-Busch’s Senior Manager Rail and Intermodal, Beer Transportation, said in a video UP released online (view below). “Not only does this provide more dependable shipments to the wholesaler, but it allows the brewery to maximize loading capabilities.”
Additionally, with GPS “we can now track the cars on the line, and know exactly when they will arrive at our warehouse,” Andrew Doll, Doll Distributing’s Brand Development Manager, reported in the video.
Andrew Doll noted that one of the distributor’s biggest concerns was product damage during rail shipment. “Since we’ve been testing shipments over the last two months, we are very happy to report that we have had minimal damaged product,” he said in the video.
According to UP, along with the shipments going to Doll Distributing in Iowa, Anheuser-Busch will also increase shipments from breweries in St. Louis, Mo., and Fort Collins, Colo., to Portland, Ore., and the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Bess Jones, UP’s Senior Manager-Marketing and Sales, estimates that more than 2,000 carloads will be transported on UP’s system during the first year, and over time, that number will grow.
“While we’re just getting started with this project, we are encouraged by the results we have seen so far,” Doll Distributing Vice President/EAM Jay Doll commented in the video.
