After many months of watching progress on construction at the Lawton Airport Industrial Park, signage recently revealed it will include a new distribution center for Bottling Group LLC, an operating subsidiary of PepsiCo. The company’s state-of-the-art Lawton facility will open this month, tripling the size of their current footprint to more than 72,000 square feet to help them service customers in the area more effectively and keep up with growing consumer demand for its beverages. PepsiCo is a proud member of the community, directly employing approximately 1,400 people in the state of Oklahoma who help make, move, and sell their brands including Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Quaker Oats, Lay’s, Fritos, and Doritos. 

When the Lawton Airport Industrial Park was established, the Lawton Economic Development Corporation’s vision was to utilize it to attract new investment that would bring additional revenue to the City of Lawton and create new job opportunities. In 2010, LEDC completed the requirements of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce’s Site Ready Program, and the property was successfully certified.  Being “Site Ready” means there is adequate workforce within the area, the site is properly zoned, environmental assessments are completed and all utilities are in place.

Lawton Mayor Stan Booker said, “We are very excited that Bottling Group LLC and PepsiCo chose Lawton, Oklahoma as a place to grow their operations. Lawton’s Capital Improvement Program was passed by the citizens in 2020 for the purpose of supporting job and economic growth. The CIP was very instrumental in allowing the City to incentivize some of the public infrastructure at the Airport Industrial Park. I applaud and send my thanks to LEDC, the Lawton City Council and the City employees who supported this project with their knowledge and expertise.”

“Jobs and investment to our community are essential and we welcome the addition of Bottling Group LLC to our Airport Industrial Park,” said Brad Cooksey, President of the Lawton Ft. Sill Economic Development Corporation.  The LEDC team acted as a central point of contact throughout the project, with outreach to The City of Lawton, Comanche County, State of Oklahoma, Turcotte Development Group, LLC, and Bottling Group LLC, ensuring that the project received the team’s complete attention and was able to be completed on the scheduled timeline.

About the Lawton Economic Development Corporation

Lawton Fort Sill Economic Development Corporation promotes the Lawton Fort Sill community, businesses, workforce training, academic and lifestyle strengths worldwide to attract the world’s finest companies, entrepreneurs and professional talent. Ultimately, the Corporation’s goal is to strengthen regional employment, build a base of high-value industries, and significantly improve the economic future for all who live and work in the region. www.lawtonedc.com