[January 31, 2009] Modesto distributor in 3-way merger: Delta Brands name will change, area will grow Tweet Jan 31, 2009 (The Modesto Bee - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Delta Brands of Modesto is merging with two other Anheuser-Busch distributorships, making it one of the largest such companies in Northern California. Starting Monday, the family-owned Modesto business will go by Delta Sierra Beverage LLC. The merger doubles Delta Brands' distribution area and increases its sales from 1,300 retail accounts to 2,500. It combines Delta Brands Anheuser-Busch Sales of Stockton and Anheuser-Busch Sales of San Andreas under Robert Stewart's leadership. Stewart, president of Delta Brands, said Delta Sierra Beverage LLC has been in the making for years. "The timing is right in our industry. Fewer, larger distributors: It's the wave of the future," he said. "I don't think the consumer is going to see much change. It's not going to affect pricing," Stewart said. The merger creates a larger and more efficient company, he added. Stewart wouldn't comment on work-force changes. "I don't want people to worry about their jobs when they don't need to," he said. Delta Sierra Beverage LLC will operate out of three locations: Modesto, Stockton and San Andreas. The merger expands the Stewarts' distribution business from Stanislaus, Merced and Mariposa counties and Yosemite National Park into San Joaquin, Tuolumne, Calaveras, Alpine and Amador counties. "This secures my family's place in the beer business. It makes us the largest Anheuser-Busch distributor in Northern California and the third- largest in the state," he said. The Stewarts' business has evolved over the course of 90 years from a Merced dairy and ice company. The business will remain a private and family-run operation, Stewart said. The Modesto operation is at 3700 Finch Road in the Beard Industrial District. Bee staff writer Eve Hightower can be reached at [email protected] or 578-2382. To see more of The Modesto Bee, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.modbee.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, The Modesto Bee, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]