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By Susan Elise Campbell
Saratoga Eagle Sales & Service is in the process of acquiring two companies that will expand its reach distributing beer, wine, soft drinks and water to an additional eight counties upstate, according to president and chief operating officer Jeff Vukelic.
With roots stretching back to Buffalo in 1928 with parent company Try-It Distributing, what started as a beverage bottling business by the late Stephen Vukelic is now a multi-generational family company. With the most recent acquisitions the company will hold exclusive distribution rights to such brands as Budweiser, Rolling Rock and Michelob in a total of 21 counties in upstate New York.
According to Vukelic, the new acquisitions are Northern Eagle Beverages Inc. out of Oneonta and Seneca Beverage Corp. of Elmira, both Anheuser-Busch distributors. Both will operate under the Saratoga Eagle name.
Saratoga Eagle has been in a growth-through-acquisition model since 2004-2005. This is the time frame when Try-It expanded into the Saratoga and Glens Falls areas with a new distribution hub subsidiary out of Saratoga Springs and grandson Jeff Vukelic took on the role of COO.
“Typically we are purchasing the rights to distribute beverages in the territories of the companies we acquire,” said Vukelic. “Occasionally we acquire a brick and mortar facility, but it is more typical to lease the space where the trucks are loaded for delivery to customers.”
The company will take on 60 stakeholders, which is what the company calls their employees, who have jobs in warehousing, delivery, sales and administration. Total staff will be around 260 once the transactions are finalized and the new companies absorbed.
Vukelic said the beverage industry is one of many that has seen an acceleration in consolidations, especially since the pandemic.
He said there was no break in serving regional chains like Price Chopper and Stewart’s Shops who are among their customers. He did note higher than usual turnover among warehouse staff.
Saratoga Eagle has about 40 delivery trucks on the road and Vukelic said the two purchases will add another 10 to 15, depending on the season.
The number of cases sold annually is expected to increase from less than 6 million to 8 million.
He said, “We have grown up with the people who run the other beverage distributors in New York. They are family businesses like ours. We all know each other, go to the same conventions, and have the same suppliers, so they know we have been acquiring. When someone is ready to retire or decides it’s time to get out of the business, they approach us.”
As with other acquisitions, there is process of assimilating new stakeholders into their culture, which Vukelic describes as one of loyalty, teamwork, accountability and a “will to win.”
Vukelic said the company has “generational employees in all its operations. There are fathers and sons working with us. One delivery driver has been with the company more than 30 years, another stakeholder for about 45 years,” he said.
“I am excited about this latest opportunity, to continue to grow, and to take care of our stakeholders,” he said.