Natrona Bottling Company (founded as the Natrona Bottling Works) is an independently-owned

Privately held company

A privately held company or close corporation is a business company owned either by non-governmental organizations or by a relatively small number of shareholders or company members which does not offer or trade its company stock to the general public on the stock market exchanges, but rather the...

 soft drink bottling company

Bottling company

A bottling company is a commercial enterprise whose output is the bottling of beverages for distribution.Many bottling companies are franchisees of corporations such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo who distribute the beverage in a specific geographic region...

 in Harrison Township

Harrison Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Harrison Township is a township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,461 at the 2010 census. Pennsylvania Route 28 passes through Harrison Township connecting Kittanning to the northeast and Pittsburgh to the southwest. Allegheny Technologies has extensive steel...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 that produces a line of soft drink

Soft drink

A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...

s that uses cane sugar and is packaged in glass bottles. Located approximately 24 miles (38.6 km) northeast of Pittsburgh, the company is the last glass soda pop bottling company in Allegheny County

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Allegheny County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,223,348; making it the second most populous county in Pennsylvania, following Philadelphia County. The county seat is Pittsburgh...

.

History

The company was founded as the Natrona Bottling Works in 1904 by Ed Welsh, and was purchased by the Bowser family in 1939, who changed the name to the Natrona Bottling Company. John Bowser hired his 15 year old brother Paul, who worked at the company after school and on weekends. Paul operated and later owned the company – for a combined seventy years – until his death in 2008.

Flavors

The Natrona Bottling Company produces a line named Red Ribbon, including Red Ribbon Original Cherry Supreme, Red Ribbon Home Brewed Style Root Beer, and Red Ribbon Sodium Free Grape. Other flavors include Plantation Style Mint Julep, non-carbonated grape flavored Pennsylvania Punch, spicy Jamaica’s Finest Ginger Beer, and Bauser Champayno, a non-alcoholic champagne-like beverage.