17.	Commitments and Contingencies

Leases

The Company leases office and warehouse space, machinery and other equipment under noncancellable operating lease agreements which expire at various dates through 2033. These leases generally contain scheduled rent increases or escalation clauses, renewal options, or in some cases, purchase options. The Company also leases certain warehouse space and other equipment under capital lease agreements which expire at various dates through 2030. These leases contain scheduled rent increases or escalation clauses. Amortization of assets recorded under capital leases is included in depreciation expense.

Rental expense incurred for noncancellable operating leases was $18.7 million in 2017, $13.6 million in 2016 and $8.9 million in 2015. See Note 7 and Note 13 to the consolidated financial statements for additional information on leased property under capital leases.

The following is a summary of future minimum lease payments, including renewal options the Company has determined to be reasonably assured, for all noncancellable operating leases and capital leases as of December 31, 2017:

(in thousands)	Capital Leases		Operating Leases		Total
2018	$	10,706	$	12,497	$	23,203
2019		10,434		11,872		22,306
2020		10,613		11,380		21,993
2021		6,218		10,879		17,097
2022		2,697		9,867		12,564
Thereafter		10,859		34,717		45,576
Total minimum lease payments including interest	$	51,527	$	91,212	$	142,739
Less: Amounts representing interest		8,058
Present value of minimum lease principal payments		43,469
Less: Current portion of principal payment obligations under capital leases		8,221
Long-term portion of principal payment obligations under capital leases	$	35,248

Manufacturing Cooperatives

The Company is a shareholder of South Atlantic Canners, Inc. (“SAC”), a manufacturing cooperative in Bishopville, South Carolina, managed by the Company. All eight shareholders of SAC are Coca‑Cola bottlers and each has equal voting rights. The Company accounts for SAC as an equity method investment.

The Company receives a fee for managing the day-to-day operations of SAC pursuant to a management agreement. Proceeds from management fees received from SAC were $9.1 million in 2017, $9.0 million in 2016 and $8.5 million in 2015.

The Company is obligated to purchase 17.5 million cases of finished product from SAC on an annual basis through June 2024. The Company purchased 29.9 million cases, 29.9 million cases and 28.3 million cases of finished product from SAC in 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

The Company is also a shareholder of Southeastern Container (“Southeastern”), a plastic bottle manufacturing cooperative from which the Company is obligated to purchase at least 80% of its requirements of plastic bottles for certain designated territories. The Company accounts for Southeastern as an equity method investment.

The following table summarizes the Company’s purchases from these manufacturing cooperatives:

	Fiscal Year
(in thousands)	2017		2016		2015
Purchases from SAC	$	148,511	$	149,878	$	144,511
Purchases from Southeastern		108,528		80,123		63,257
Total purchases from manufacturing cooperatives	$	257,039	$	230,001	$	207,768

The Company guarantees a portion of SAC’s debt, which expires at various dates through 2021. The amounts guaranteed were $23.9 million as of December 31, 2017 and $23.3 million as of January 1, 2017. Effective November 17, 2017, the Company’s guarantees for a portion of Southeastern’s debt were eliminated.

The Company does not anticipate SAC will fail to fulfill its commitment related to the debt. The Company further believes SAC has sufficient assets, including production equipment, facilities and working capital, and the ability to adjust selling prices of its products to adequately mitigate the risk of material loss from the Company’s guarantee.

In the event SAC fails to fulfill its commitments under the related debt, the Company would be responsible for payments to the lenders up to the level of the guarantee. The following table summarizes the Company’s maximum exposure under this guarantee if SAC had borrowed up to its aggregate borrowing capacity:

(in thousands)	December 31, 2017
Maximum guaranteed debt	$	23,938
Equity investments⁽¹⁾		7,325
Maximum total exposure, including equity investments	$	31,263

⁽¹⁾	Recorded in other assets on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets using the equity method.

The Company holds no assets as collateral against the SAC guarantee, the fair value of which is immaterial to the Company’s consolidated financial statements. The Company monitors its investments in SAC and would be required to write down its investment if an impairment was identified and the Company determined it to be other than temporary. No impairment of the Company’s investments in SAC has been identified as of December 31, 2017, and there was no impairment in 2016 or 2015.

Other Commitments and Contingencies

The Company has standby letters of credit, primarily related to its property and casualty insurance programs. These letters of credit totaled $35.6 million on December 31, 2017 and $29.7 million on January 1, 2017.

The Company participates in long-term marketing contractual arrangements with certain prestige properties, athletic venues and other locations. As of December 31, 2017, the future payments related to these contractual arrangements, which expire at various dates through 2030, amounted to $132.8 million.

The Company is involved in various claims and legal proceedings which have arisen in the ordinary course of its business. Although it is difficult to predict the ultimate outcome of these claims and legal proceedings, management believes that the ultimate disposition of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on the financial condition, cash flows or results of operations of the Company. No material amount of loss in excess of recorded amounts is believed to be reasonably possible as a result of these claims and legal proceedings.

The Company is subject to audits by tax authorities in jurisdictions where it conducts business. These audits may result in assessments that are subsequently resolved with the authorities or potentially through the courts. Management believes the Company has adequately provided for any assessments likely to result from these audits; however, final assessments, if any, could be different than the amounts recorded in the consolidated financial statements.