Westrock Coffee has also announced the expansion of its operations in Concord, North Carolina, and the start of new operations in Malaysia
Westrock Coffee location in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. (Credit: Westrock Coffee Company, LLC.)
Westrock Coffee Company has finalised the purchase of a 524,000ft² facility in the city of Conway, Arkansas, US, to expand its operations and beverage capabilities.
The new facility is expected to support the company in the development, production, and distribution of its coffee, tea, and ready-to-drink (RTD) products.
It will feature advanced equipment, including robotics, to manufacture and package a variety of beverages, such as cold brew coffees, lattes, assorted teas, and juices-based products.
The company will also incorporate the latest quality assurance and product development labs, to create, test, and produce new beverage solutions.
The facility would initially create up to 50 new jobs, in phase one, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2023, with plans to increase to 250 positions over time.
When fully constructed, the new facility at Conway is claimed to become the largest facility of its kind in the US.
Westrock Coffee CEO and co-founder Scott Ford said: “We are expanding our finished product offerings, adding end beverage packaging solutions, and expanding our geographic reach to meet our growing customer demand.
“Our growth benefits everyone at Westrock Coffee, from our global customers and farmer partners to our current and future employees and the communities where they live.
“These facility expansion announcements provide further evidence that we are well on our way to accomplishing our mission of building and efficiently operating the preeminent integrated coffee, tea, and extract supply chain in the world.”
In addition to the new facility, Westrock Coffee has also announced the expansion of its Commercial Park location in Concord, North Carolina.
The expansion includes the addition of two automated production lines, which enhance the extracts processing capacity at the facility by more than 50%.
It also includes improving the current manufacturing and packaging for bottled products, and is expected to be completed by the end of 2022, said the company.
The expansion project would help address the growing customer demand across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions.
Westrock Coffee has also announced the completion of works at its 90,000ft² facility in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, with finished good production planned for the first quarter of 2022.
The new facility would enhance its capacity for enhanced manufacturing, packaging, and warehousing, of coffee and extract solutions across APAC and MENA regions.