History

Over the past ninety years some things have changed at our company but lots have remained the same. We are still locally owned and operated. We still provide the same great service and selection and we continue to grow and evolve with Central Alberta. The story of our company is the Story of the Truant Family.

Alfio is Romano Truant's son, who had worked the mines in Nordegg, Alberta, until 1933. At that time, Romano was offered a share of Red Deer Bottling by then-owner Mr. Maggiora. The Maggiora brothers bought the company in 1927 from A. Pingney and H. Brown who founded the company in 1911. Within a few years, Romano had bought out the Maggiora brothers and began to establish the company as a leader among Red Deer's business community.

When Romano came on board, the company was bottling soft drinks such as: Cal-aid, Delaware Punch, Kings Court, and Canuck Dry Ginger Ale. He soon purchased the franchise rights to an upstart soft drink named Coca-ColaŽ and Orange Soda. In 1968, the territory was expanded when the operations out of Drumheller were purchased.

Romano was an active member of the Rotary Club and enjoyed fishing and golf. He passed away in 1977 and left the company to his two sons, Alfio and Dino, who continued to operate the business until 1995 when Dino left to pursue other interests. Alfio has since handed over the day-to-day operations to his son Mike, the present General Manager. Alfio remains active in the business community. He serves on the board of Parkland Industries, is the Past President & Director for the Alberta Lung Association and is a member of the Rotary Club.

Today, Red Deer Bottling is as vibrant and successful as ever. It remains one of a handful of Coca-ColaŽ franchises left in Canada. The company markets over fifty different flavors of soft drinks to businesses ranging from hotels to grocery stores. It has expanded to include a separate company, M.A.C. Munchies, which provides vending machines to the local area. The territory now covers all of Central Alberta and is serviced entirely from the Red Deer warehouse.