Nitro Joe's: from Bicycle Cart to Large-Scale Co-Packer
Sep 14, 2020Rick Eleew, VP Business Development at STOCK America - September 14, 2020
Established in 2015 by Dan McDonald, Nitro Joe’s goal was to create coffee for people on the go. Dan served as developer, brew master, and all the way through to the delivery person. Dan even fabricated a tri-wheeled pedal cycle with cooler so he could deliver his cold brewed Nitro Joe’s coffee product to customers, businesses, and to sell at local fairs and festivals. The Nitro Joe’s delivery tricycle is proudly displayed at their facility in Wichita, Kansas.
After successfully establishing Nitro Joe’s brand and presence, Dan was looking for his next step to grow. In 2017 Dan contacted STOCK America. While initial discussions were vague around the possibility of processing a formulated coffee blend, it became apparent that Dan was not just a “regular Joe” when it came to entrepreneurship. Dan had more than just vision and passion for what he wanted to achieve. Dan also had experience, knowledge, and a proven track record as a business leader in the Aviation Industry for more than 22 years, where he started building pallets, eventually working his way up to Vice President with four factories across the USA. Dan knew how to get things done!
Dan needed help finding the smallest, most cost-effective solution to get him started with product development and production trials. STOCK was able to offer Dan a used Pilot Sterilizer that had been taken in on trade from a previous project, that could be refurbished, updated, and offered at an acceptable price.
What seemed only a few short months after the successful installation and operation of the Pilot Sterilizer, Dan reached out again, looking for “something a little bigger”. At the time, STOCK did not have a used production sized machine in inventory. With a little research and hunting, STOCK located a suitable sized sterilizer that would meet Dan’s needs. Dan moved quickly to purchasing the sterilizer and had it shipped to STOCK for refurbishment and updating. Dan now had his first production sized unit to produce and satisfy the growing order levels for the Nitro Joe’s brand.
While traveling down the path of starting and growing the Nitro Joe’s brand, Dan began to consider what he could do for others that were faced with similar entrepreneurial challenges. Dan wanted to help these people with similar visions and focus get off the ground, and to also be able offer a place for them have their products processed and packaged. So, in 2018 Dan founded Bev-Hub. A 20K sq. ft. facility to enter the world of Liquids Contract Pack to pack for those having limited investment capacity and the need for small production runs.
Once the word was out that Bev-Hub had small production capability and would tailor solutions specifically to their perspective client’s needs, Bev-Hub contract pack and capacity increases happened faster than anticipated. Dan stated, “The phone just started ringing.”
In 2019, Bev-Hub was certified as an SQF Level 2 Certified facility, and they achieved this in just 116 days! A great honor for such a young company. From garage filling operations to 1.5 Million cans in 2019. Truly amazing!
But Dan wasn’t done yet. Having such a strong relationship with STOCK, Dan purchased two new production sterilizers. This time however, Dan wanted something a little more. During the build of the additional sterilizers, Dan contacted STOCK asking for help to solve his rapid growth dilemma. As part of the ProMach family of brands, STOCK reached out the Performance Services Group to help Dan create a plant of his vision. In 2020 and Designed in conjunction with ProMach Performance Services Group, Bev-Hub started construction of a 70K sq. ft. Liquids Processing Facility. With the new plant construction well underway, Bev-Hub continues to grow and acquire additional contracts, resulting in the purchase of yet another two new additional sterilizers!
The new Bev-Hub Manhattan, Kansas facility will be online in January 2021! From humble beginnings, this relationship has had a common theme shared between the STOCK America and Bev-Hub teams... Both are “relentlessly driven to provide valued partnership to those we serve.”
About Stock America
STOCK is a leading provider of retort and in-container sterilization solutions for the North American food processing industry, offering a full range of equipment, systems, and services to produce shelf-stable foods. STOCK is a product brand of ProMach, a global leader in packaging line solutions. As part of the ProMach Handling & Sterilizing business line, STOCK helps our packaging customers protect their reputation and grow the trust of their consumers. ProMach is performance, and the proof is in every package. Learn more about STOCK at www.StockAmerica.com and more about ProMach at www.ProMachBuilt.com.
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